Insecurity: Governors’ Hands Are Tied – Olu Falana

By Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu/

The Federal Government has been urged to empower state governments to fight insecurity through state policing.

Decrying the helplessness of the state governors which has disabled them in the fight against insecurity, at a weekly Facebook interactive forum, People’s Arena, the guest speaker Hon. Olufemi Falana (CIH) wondered why the states should not have their own police, and also generate their own electricity.

The forum handled the theme, “Insecurity In Nigeria and the Role of Governments”.

Reacting to a question on the role of governors in the face of incessant attacks on their people, Falana, a 2019 governorship candidate in Ogun State, said:  “People sometimes have to be sorry for governors. This is why. From my briefings during the last election, governors have no power over the police. It is federal. They have no power to generate electricity it is federal. So major social facilities is not within the procurement of governors, hence the birth of Amotekun to enable them have some respect and tackle insecurity. This is one reason for call to restructure.

“I feel sorry for governors at times. There hands may be tied.”

On the way out of the ongoing security crises, Falana said the government of President Buhari had not won the people’s trust and confidence.

“The Head of State himself has not proven to the people that he is competent and less tribalistic or look less religious in a way that it will not make his religion look dominant above all other religion or tribe.”

Hon. Funso Asagun, former lawmaker, Kogi House of Assembly; said “…the problem with governance is that majority of our representatives serving under this present government are so greedy and self centered individuals. The state governors who are supposed to be the chief security officers of each states cannot account for the provided security votes by the federal government. “What are they doing with this security votes? Embezzlement! They make money in the absence of moral decency without thinking about the poor masses that voted them to power. People are no longer safe in their villages and the government did not see anything wrong in that.”

A participant, Adel Sammie Godson said the nation’s problem arose from the sectionalism being displayed by some leaders.

He added that issue of federal character as entrenched in the 1999 Constitution as amended, proscription of IPOB with Fulani/Herdsmen not proscribed, were parts of the grey areas in the implementation of the Constitution.

He said, “Over  the time, the President’s appointments have been lopsided to suit one region against other regions, which breeds the fear of the minority over the majority…

“Now, the aggrieved minorities, aren’t happy seeing things going that way, they had no option than to fight back.

Proffering solution, he suggested that “leaders should as a matter of urgency call all aggrieved stakeholders to a roundtable, all grievances should be treated accordingly without politicization. Then, the constitution should be trashed for a rebirth of Democratic Constitution to be fashioned by civilians, not military personnels.”

He added that the current constitution represented no one’s interest.

0