By Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, OON.
Extraordinary Summit of Leaders and
Elders of Nigeria.
Wesdesday,18th July,2018,Abuja.
Protocols,
I am humbled and honoured by this opportunity
to deliver the Welcome and Keynote address at this historic Summit of Leaders
and Elders of Nigeria. In these challenging days when the very foundations of
our nation are often questioned by all and sundry, it is my hope that Nigerians
are sitting up and taking note of this event. They will see, without any
ambiguity, an unfamiliar union of Nigerians brought together by the realization
that no one section of our country can achieve any meaningful goal of
development or security alone. Nigerians will see in this setting a strategic
closing of ranks around certain fundamentals, a deliberate step towards leaning
on each other to solve particular and general problems.
This
Summit is evidence that the nation is successfully revisiting one of its
authentic and most valuable assets, which is its stock of elders and leaders. As
Africans, we know that our communities are rooted in the wisdom and experiences
of elders. Our history is a patchwork of follies of ignoring this asset, as
well as the values of turning to it in the most trying times of need. There is
no better time than now to pool together our entire stock of elders and
experiences of leaders to put at the disposal of those whom destiny and our
mandates have made our leaders today. No one needs worry about the taunting of
the ill-informed and the mischievous who question the value and credibility of
elders and leaders such as those assembled here today. It is enough that we
know what to do when our communities and our nation are challenged for
direction, for vision, for courage or caution. This Summit is as representative
of Nigeria as the best-designed institutions of state, and the nation will do
well to pay due attention to because it represents the beginning of a momentum
that with a clear vision and an intrinsic value.
This
Summit represents a bridge across all Nigerian communities. It speaks of a vast
foundation of commonness of our challenges as a people, as well as the futility
of damaging quarrels over matters we can best solve together. It is inspired by
a genuine desire to lend support to leadership at all levels, whether that
leadership asks for that support, or is uncomfortable with it. This Summit is
the elder who insists that the goat will not give birth while tethered. It
is not the actualization of an idle wish, but the culmination of very demanding
discussions and engagements that successfully lowered barricades and
barriers we have erected our the past decades around our communities. In this
hall, there is a string resolve to work together so that every Nigerian can
live in the realities of our ideals, which is to live in peace with dignity and
to pursue progress unhindered by region, religion or ethnicity.
The
decision to create a common national platform from all the regional and
socio-cultural groups is a major breakthrough in the search for solutions
that have made every Nigerian a living grievance. I commend the tenacity of our
elders who saw real possibilities in collaboration, leaders who felt incomplete
because they are unable to lead in a situation where every section is pulling
in its own direction, and elders who are experienced in managing complex
situations. In this hall we can commit to protecting the rights of Fulani herders
who are only interested in living in peace and herding their only source of
livelihood. We can speak for the farmer who is threatened by violence from his
land and livelihood. We can speak for communities that need each other to
survive and develop; communities that long to be relocated away from IDP camps;
communities that live in fear from the next attack and see enemies in every
stranger; and communities that are losing faith in a nation that has room for
everyone.
Distinguished
elders and leaders, my prayer is that the fire you lit will never be
extinguished. I hope younger Nigerians and our leaders will listen to the
voices of this Summit. They will experience a world that can exist without
hate, a nation that can deliver on the promise to be just to all, to protect
the weak and not penalise the strong.
I
have listed a number of personal observations I hope will be useful to the
Summit as it examines the state of security in which we live as Nigerians:
a)
The nation is facing unprecedented spate of violence from familiar sources as
well many new fronts, with vast tracts of the nation completely at the mercy of
marauding killers, inter- communal conflicts, violent crimes, kidnapping and
violent urban gangs;
b)The
nation’s entire security and law and order assets appear incapable of arresting
the drift towards pervasive and widespread conflicts and violent crimes which
make every citizen a potential victim;
c)Fear
and uncertainty are fuelling narratives that create convenient enemies, and
many communities are in danger of coming to terms with permanent state of
insecurity;
d)
The failure of the government to arrest and successfully prosecute killers is
creating the impression of a weak state in which killers and criminals operate
almost at will;
e)
Entire communities have been uprooted and placed at the mercy of an unprepared
state and the elements. Livelihood will be disrupted for many years to come;
f)
Hate, suspicion and fear are driving dangerous barriers in community relations
in many parts of the country, and governments themselves have been responsible
for their spread;
g)Federal
and state governments have failed to put forward policies, initiatives or
progammes that will improve citizen and community security, improve community
relations or mediate conflicts;
h)Security,
law and order agencies have not been held accountable for the disastrous
collapse of the nation’s security infrastructure;
i)
The nation is potentially exposed to more violence as the police fails in its
basic responsibilities, the military is stretched beyond its capacities and the
challenges of the forthcoming elections will divert resources and attention
from basic security responsibilities;
In
addition,I would offer these suggestions:
i)
President Muhammadu Buhari needs to
show firmer and more decisive leadership in dealing with alarming scale of
killings and other violent claims. It is the responsibility of leadership to
secure the citizen, no matter what the sources or nature of threats to
his life and property are.
ii)
All leaders and citizens have a
vital role in improving levels of security. The President’s claims that certain
interests and persons are involved in fueling the killings for political
reasons must be taken seriously. These persons and interests must be exposed
and brought to book. They must not remain as mere excuse for failure to secure
citizens and the nation. Heads of security, law and order institutions must be
held accountable for failures and lapses. The President should critically
assess the levels of competence and commitment of agencies responsible for
securing Nigerians and take necessary steps to ensure that only the best and
most committed from them are entrusted with responsibility.
iii)
The nation’s basic security
infrastructure must be completely rebuilt on a new philosophy, structure and
commitment to security as the prime function of the state.
iv)
The nation should come to terms with
the realities of the limitations of the current structure of our union, particularly
in the area of security and welfare of citizens. There are compelling grounds
for restructuring our federal system in a manner that benefits all sections and
interest in the nation. In this respect, the recent initiative of the Senate to
initiate a review of the Constitution towards creating State Police should be
supported as a matter of the highest national priority. The amendments on
devolution of powers should also be revisited by the National and State
Assemblies. Nigerians demand that their leaders must operate with requisite
sensitivity to the challenges of our existence,and must put aside parochial and
divisive sentiments in dealing with national issues.
v)
Government should take
immediate and decisive steps to do the following:
a)
Address the alarming spread of
illegal weapons in the hands of citizens, criminals and communities;
b)
Adopt measures that will hasten the
ranching of cattle, and encourage communities to create harmonious working and
living relationships with other communities;
c)
Address hate speach it all its
ramifications; Design strategies that will encourage improved understanding and
unity among all communities in Nigeria;
d)
Address widespead poverty and youth
unemployment;
e)
Take decisive steps to demonstrate
respect for the rule of law, the sanctity of life and rights of citizens to
justice;
f)
Improve popular perception on the
fight against corruption by removing any hint of partisanship or bias in the
manner cases are investigated and prosecuted;
g)
Assure Nigerians that the 2019
elections will be free and fair, and conducted in an atmosphere devoid of
violence.
I
thank this Summit for this opportunity to sgare with you my personal views on
the search for peace and security in our nation.
May
God bless your efforts and our nation.
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