BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

ILORIN— Former Inspector General of Police, IGP, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, yesterday, expressed concern over the current security challenges facing the country, saying it was threatening its corporate existence.

Coomassie, who spoke at opening ceremony of the College of Humanities Conference, Al-Hikmah University at Ilorin, capital of Kwara State, said that the responsibility of any serious government was to ensure the maintenance of law and order with a view to creating conducive atmosphere for socio-political and economic development.

The theme of the conference was, “National Security and Development in contemporary Nigeria.”

Coomassie, who is the Pro-Chancellor of the university, said: ”It is very disturbing that today security challenges facing our dear country has reached the dangerous level of threatening our corporate existence.

“Many things have surely gone wrong, this is not the Nigeria that we all knew. Primarily, it is the duty and obligation of any serious government to tackle this menace.

“The nexus between security and development has made the goal of entrenching and maintaining law and order a major challenge of most governments across the globe.

“Today, bomb explosion and sporadic gunshots have continued to endanger the polity and threaten the corporate existence of Nigeria

“Communal clashes, tribal hostilities, kidnapping, religious bigotry and post-election violence stagnate and retard socio-economic activities and developmental processes.”

Diagnosing the situation, he said: “In addition, structural violence which is expressed in social deprivation, social inequality, high level of poverty arising from unemployment and mass illiteracy and ignorance constitute debilitating conditions that pose serious threat to security and development.

Consequently, sufferings, heartaches, instability and disunity are inevitable corollaries resulting from violence and state of insecurity.”

One of the guest lecturers and a Professor of Criminology at the University of Abuja, Femi Odekunle in his remark said that President Goodluck Jonathan does not have the strength of character to bail Nigeria out of her current challenges.

Odekunle, who was the pioneer Director of the United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime further stressed,“Jonathan may not be the right man at this time. In terms of character and orientation, Nigeria needs a strong hand and a focused national leader, who will not care whose ox is gored.

“He will say this is the right thing to do and that is what I am going to do, not whether I will be elected next year or not. Somebody that has strength of character and the will; would not dissipate energies on minor issues like who will be minister; a man that will say this is where I want to take the country to and this is my vision. A man who can say within the next one year, I will remove lawlessness and injustice on our roads. That is the vision.”