State police solution to insecurity – Osinbajo
Vice Presidentr Yemi Osinbajo has called for creation of state police as a means of curtailing myriads of security challenges in the country.
Speaking yesterday when he opened a summit on National Security organised by the Senate in Abuja, Osinbajo said "We cannot Police a country the size of Nigeria centrally from Abuja."
He also described as ‘untrue and unfair’ the suggestion that President Muhammadu Buhari was backing herdsmen because he is a Fulani man.
He said there was no other issue that worries the President like the farmers/herdsmen clashes.
"Every killing demeans us as a people and every killing undermines the authority of the state. This is why the suggestion sometime that because the president is Fulani he has ignored the killings of herdsmen, is both untrue and unfair," he said.
Osinbajo who listed various efforts taken by government to address the security challenges, said the herders/farmers clashes have been on for at least two decades.
Osinbajo said the fall of the Libyan government under Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 heightened the proliferation of light arms and small weapons in the country.
He said Nigeria's situation was complicated by its porous borders of more than 4,000km, which allows easy flow of illegal weapons.
On the controversial cattle colony, Osinbajo said the Federal Government won't snatch lands and hand over to herdsmen for the colony.
He said in several states, especially in the North, there are duly gazetted grazing reserves but that majority of it have been degraded and are without pasture or water.
“Grazing routes leading to these reserves must also be secured. The grazing reserves to be effective and operate effectively, should operate as ranches or livestock production centres on a commercial basis. The ranches will have adequate water from boreholes, salt points and pasture.
“The locations would serve both as forage points, but also centres for providing extension services to boost animal care, feeding and veterinary facilities, and even abattoirs. Because the ranches are commercial ventures, cattle owners will pay for its use.”
Four quick insecurity solutions to
After about 30 minutes, the Vice President enumerated four solutions to the security challenges including the creation of state police.
"For a country our size to meet the 1 policeman to 400 persons UN prescribed ratio, would require nearly tripling our current police force, far more funding of the police, military and security agencies is required.
“We must intensify existing collaboration with our neighbours in the Chad Basin, especially border communities to prevent the movement of small arms, and disarming armed pastoralists and bandits, who go through our borders day after day.
"Lastly, we must avoid the dangers of allowing these conflicts to harden to religious or ethnic conflicts. This is the responsibility of political, religious and all other parts of our leadership," he said.
We must restore order - Saraki
Speaking earlier, Senate President Bukola Saraki called for concerted efforts from all stakeholders in the country, saying, "We must take this country back and restore order.”
While stressing that the executive arm of government cannot do it alone, Saraki said all hands must be on deck to restore order in the country.