South-West Governors and Traditional rulers have demanded more police presence in their communities to address the issues of insecurities. The dialogue was at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari, represented by the Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari; Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Adamu; and all the 6 Governors of the Southwest states, as well as top Traditional rulers.
According to the press release, this demand was made in a 13-point communique issued at the end of the Lagos State Government hosted-dialogue, where the Governors and Traditional rulers demanded for the repair of destroyed economic assets in the region.
They also demanded for an immediate adjustment of the security architecture of the country in a bid to address the threats and realities of insecurity.
What they are saying
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu while presenting the 13-point communique signed by the Governor and the Ooni of Ife on behalf of the participants, said,
“Before our very eyes, what started as a peaceful demonstration turned to a different thing that became a threat to all of us, who are regarded as elite. What we witnessed in the violence showed that something needs to be done to address the underlying issues and come out with solutions. We must be able to sustain the peace in our region at all cost.”
However, in a bid to sustain the peace of the region, he made the following demands,
“The security architecture of the country requires adjustment to adequately address the threats and realities of insecurity in the country. There should be more police presence in communities in the Southwest states.”
“A comprehensive programme that addresses youth employment and empowerment should be prioritized. Closer coordination and complementarity between the States and the Federal Government. Curricular of tertiary institutions should be reviewed, with emphasis placed on skills acquisition and entrepreneurship.
On the impact of the social media and unverified news report issued during the peaceful demonstration, he said,
“We recognize the damaging and negative impact of fake and false news, and we worry about its destructive and dangerous potency. We call on Federal Government to use the instrumentality of existing laws and regulations bench-marked from other countries to provide safeguards against the spread of fake news. The 2015 Cyber Act must also be fully used.”
Bottom Line
The recent vandalization of key public assets in the Southwest led to the peace dialogue in which political leaders, traditional rulers and security heads across the region came together to discuss the way forward.
The dialogue was set up to open a new chapter of peace and prosperity in the Southwest, as the agenda of the meeting was to forge a common front with traditional institutions in addressing the issues that led to the recent nationwide youth demonstration.
The session offered traditional rulers a no-holds-barred opportunity to bare their minds on the marginalization of traditional institutions in the process of governance.
