FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo and popular Islamic cleric Sheik Ahmad Gumi have urged President Muhammed Buhari to devise fresh methods of tackling security issues in the country.
They have also called on President Buhari to set up a special court that will handle security-related issues.
The duo had, on Sunday afternoon, met behind closed doors in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital to discuss ways of solving the country’s perennial security challenges. The leaders later released a jointly signed communique on Nigeria’s state of insecurity after the meeting.
In the statement received by The ICIR, the two Nigerian leaders recommended special courts to try bandits, kidnappers and anyone caught carrying arms illegally.
“Special courts should be created to deal promptly with cases of banditry, kidnapping, ransom demanding and unlawful carrying of weapons.”
They also urged the Federal Government to take the issue of insecurity up with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The two leaders said the remote causes of the insecurity issues in the country were educational and economic disparities, adding that the negative use of religion and ethnicity by unscrupulous politicians also played roles.
“Solutions must be seen and provided on short-, medium-, and long-term bases and must be composed of stick and carrot for the offender and the vulnerable.”
Gumi and Obasanjo, however, urged all well-meaning Nigerians to desist from blame game, as well as ethnicising, regionalising and religionising the crimes.
They also tasked the state governments to provide security in their respective states, noting that, “they must have the means at their disposal to ensure security for all within their states.”
They urged the Federal Government to solve the issues of out-of-school children, adding that it was one main key to solving the problem of insecurity in Nigeria.
“The 14 million children that should be in school and are out of school must be put in school with local authorities, state governments and federal government working together.”
'Niyi worked with The ICIR as an Investigative Reporter and Fact-checker from 2020 till September 2022. You can shoot him an email via [email protected]. You can as well follow him on Twitter via @niyi_oyedeji.