By Caleb Ayansina
Battling with the menace of Boko Haram in the country, the Federal Government has thought it wise in its struggle to tackle the deadly Islamic sect to actively involve the traditional rulers, community leaders and local government chairmen as it parades the array of notable security experts to evolve sustainable strategies on security challenges in Nigeria.

Addressing journalists on the theme of the forthcoming National Cultural Conference on Security in Nigeria; Culture, Peace and National security; the Roles of Traditional Ruler and Local Government Chairman in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation, NICO, and Dr. Barclays Ayakoroma explained that “there is a cultural dimension to sustaining peace in our local communities”.

He added that traditional rulers are in the best position and are seen as the best collaborators that government can engage in the effort to curtailing insecurity in the country, owing to the fact that they have the best intelligent about their subjects.

Ayakoroma explained that government is thinking in that direction because some of things that are happening now were not the order of the day in the past, because there was integrity to protect, adding that, “People will rather remain poor rather than kill to make money, but, nowadays; people take pride in getting money from criminal activities.”

“Talking about our local communities, the persons who are best placed to solving this problem are the traditional rulers, because you will recall that in the past, security in our various communities was the business of traditional rulers, we know ourselves, the traditional ruler knows everybody, he knows the family of the bad boys in the community and if any thing happened there is always that security network through which such perpetrators were brought to book.

“The Local Government Chairmen, who are at the helm of the third tiers government, have roles to play too. There should be a synergy between the local council boss and the traditional ruler in order to ameliorate the security situation in our communities.

“Once we sustain peace in our communities, then, development can come in and grow, and the problem associated with the decay of our cultural practices will be checked.”

The Conference to be declared open by President Goodluck Jonathan will be chaired by the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and it will produce a working document for the Federal Government to see how the security situation can be ameliorated.