Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, says Nigeria’s security agencies need superior weapons to fight criminals rather than prayers.
El-Rufai stated this at a town hall organised on Monday by the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd) and which was attended by governors from the states in the North-West region as well as traditional rulers.
The Kaduna governor, who announced the postponement of the meeting, expressed appreciation to the service chiefs for their commitment to ending insecurity, and expressed the hope that the meeting will come up with a roadmap to end the security challenges in the country.
El-Rufai said the topmost priority of the government and the collective responsibility of all citizens should be security.
He said, “This town hall meeting is not complete without other stakeholders because of the short notice. So, we agreed that this north-west be reconvened in the next two weeks. The date will be announced by the NSA and COAS.
“Bandits now have the audacity to attack the military men. Bandits have become vulgar. Those who are not informed believe nothing is being done to deal with them.
“We need to support our security agencies not with prayers, but with superior weapons. Security is a collective responsibility.
“All of us, the governors, are going round, talking with stakeholders to calm people down.”
Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Simon Lalong, urged Nigerians to learn to live in peace, regardless of religious and ethnic differences.
“I came to add my voice on behalf of the entire northern governors. When looking for peace, we have no religion other than peace. We are determined to work for peace in the North and the entire country,” Lalong said.
Katsina State Governor Aminu Masari, on his part, said government would not relent in its efforts to provide security for everyone.
He said, “Security is community-based. All of us must go back to our community to ensure the security of the areas.
“It is our responsibility to provide security. We take responsibility to protect the people, irrespective of tribe, religion and where they come from.”
In his remarks, the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, said some Nigerians believe that the country had come to a dead end, owing to the rising insecurity in the nation.
Monguno noted that though security is the responsibility of the government, tackling insecurity requires a multifaceted approach.
He stressed that President Muhammadu Buhari was deeply worried about the issue and had the determination to end the menace.
Monguno said, “Buhari is worried and deeply concerned over wanton killings, not only in the north-west but in the whole country.
“We have a lot of suspicious people undermining government efforts. Some of us are spiritual in our thinking. Some believe that we have come to a dead end.
“This is not the end of time as predicted in the Bible. It is in the book of Matthew that when you see brothers killing brothers, son killing father, nations fighting nations, the end of time has come. But this is not the issue with our country.
“It is true that security is the fundamental responsibility of government. Insecurity requires a multifaceted approach to overcome it.
With the new service chiefs, there is a new dimension to ending insecurity
“President Buhari is determined to end insecurity in the country. All the tiers of government must cooperate on security.
“It is possible that other people outside the government are sabotaging government’s efforts, but the government will not give up.”