Dr. Kayode Fayemi, NGF Chairman, on Friday declared that, given the escalation in the spate of violence and coordinated criminal activities, Nigeria is still at a crossroad requiring urgent need for consensual action for security and good governance.
Fayemi who stated this at the launch of Peace and Inclusive Security Initiative (PISI) by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) in Abuja, said the escalation in the spate of violence and coordinated criminal activities have undermined government authority and waned public trust in recent times.
According to the NGF Chairman, the level of insecurity across parts of the country is not only eroding citizens safety and peoples means of livelihood, but is also threatening the expression of the rights of all Nigerians.
“Nigeria is still at the crossroads. One of the key areas where there is urgent need for consensual action today is security governance, given the escalation in the spate of violence and coordinated criminal activities that have undermined government authority and waned public trust in recent times. The level of insecurity across parts of the country is not only eroding citizens safety and peoples means of livelihood, it is also threatening the expression of the rights of all Nigerians” he said.
The NGF boss, who doubles as Ekiti State governor, described the launch of PISI initiative as an important milestone for the governors in their search to build a more inclusive and collaborative platform to drive an urgent country-wide response to the security challenge facing the country.
Fayemi lamented the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country which he said made the situation worse and exacerbated the level of violence and fatalities from crime.
According to him, between May 2011 and February 2021. over 76,000 deaths were reported by the press and tracked by the Nigeria Security Tracker (NST) _ a project of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Africa program which documents and maps violence in Nigeria that are motivated by political, economic, or social grievances.
He added that at the end of 2019, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) reported a total number of 2,583,000 internally displaced persons who have been affected by conflict and violence in the country.
Also speaking, Chris Beecroft of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, commended the NGF and Governors across the Federation for their commitment and dedication to building sustainable peace and security for all in Nigeria.
Beecroft declared that Nigeria is in a critical juncture in her journey, stressing that now is an important moment for new thinking and action to build a more peaceful future for all.
“We are at a critical juncture in Nigeria’s journey, and now is an important moment for new thinking and action to build a more peaceful future for all” he said.
Earlier, Asishana Okauru, the Director General, Nigeria Governors’ Forum, explained that the Peace and Inclusive Security Initiative is a consequence of the NGF’s determination to contribute to the conversation on inclusive security and add the leverage of the sub-nationals to the efforts to secure the lives and properties of the Nigerian people.
“With the support of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), we have been able to set up the Peace and Security Desk at the NGF to help in driving the dialogue around keeping the country safe and bringing all State and non-State actors together around one table to frame a sustainable resolution to the series of security challenges confronting our national experiment” he said.
By Chidi Ugwu,
Independent