By Godfrey Bivbere

Former Minister of Interior, John Shagaya has faulted state and Local governments in the country for failing to effectively handle the security problems in their domains.

Speaking in an exclusive chat with Vanguard in Lagos, Shagaya said the security situation in the country, especially in the northern parts, were peculiar to their environment and as such, the states and local governments were better placed to deal with them.

His words, “I will challenge the state governors and chairmen of local governments who I believe have absconded from their responsibilities of handling situations very local and peculiar to their own environment and rather are pushing it to the Federal Government of Nigeria.” “I think the third arm of government has more to do in this regard.

So local government chairmen and state governors, considering the funds some of the state governors are spending in the name of handling security, they have not done enough. They may be doing their best but their best is still not yet good enough from most Nigerians point of view, considering the facts that very important lives of innocent citizens have been lost in crisis they are not responsible for, so we need to do more.”

On the issue of state police, Shagaya, who is the Chairman of Ports and Cargo Handling Services Limited, said he was in total support, as the country was greatly under policed. He pointed out that during the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) administration when the issue came up at the Supreme Military Council (SMC), he recalled that he stressed the need for state police back then.

“My stance and position was that the number of police by the recommendation by the United Nations (UN), is one or two police men to 100 Nigerians, and considering that they are not up to half a million (policemen) in a population of 150 million.”

“If the responsibility is shared between the state and federal governments, the state will take the brunt and burden of some of the challenges. When that debate was going on under IBB ruling council, there was this avocation that yes; the state should be able to control from the rank of Constable to the rank of an Inspector. Meaning that they serve within the community, their immediate constituency where everybody knows everyone else.”

Speaking on the security situation in the country, the former minister challenged Nigerians to work together as one. He noted that the armed forces alone could not effectively deal with the situation since they were just about two million.

He said that “Nigeria being a country of 150 million people, the security challenges in the country is the responsibility of all Nigerians, of all citizen, especially when we consider the fact that the armed forces put together, the Army, Navy, Air Force, the Police, the Federal Road Safety Corp, Civil Defence and all Para-military put together, would not make up to two million, which is a very negligible percentage to be able to cover the entire country . “So, I believe very strongly that Nigerians, especially in some northern states where these challenges are more prominent, should join hands with government to handle these challenges.”

He also commended the armed forces for their efforts in dealing with the security challenges in the country; especially considering the fact the some of them had lost their lives in the cause of duty.

“I will also want to commend the armed forces and all other security agencies who are taking risk, some have lost their lives while facing these challenges. They are doing very well but they can still improve, since the challenges are not stagnant, they are dynamic. So we want the Federal Government to give them all the support in terms of equipment and or service material to make them perform better,” he concluded.