Worried by the state of insecurity across the country, the Centre for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ) has urged President Bola Tinubu to engage the services of traditional rulers as well as address unemployment and youth restiveness.
The national coordinator of CEPEJ, Chief Sheriff Mulade, said at a press conference in Warri, Delta State, that such a move will foster national economic growth and stability.
He said: “As the national coordinator of CEPEJ, I dare say that one of the sure means to fight and end insecurity in Nigeria is to engage the traditional rulers with the responsibility of ensuring that their respective domains are totally free from insecurity issues.
“It is important to note that traditional rulers, as custodians of culture and traditions in their kingdoms, are more familiar with and abreast of their domains and environments.
“This places them in a strategic position as leaders that can effectively take charge and control of their areas.
“Therefore, they should be given the responsibility to protect lives and property in their domains, in collaboration with security agencies, particularly the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
“I believe that such collaboration will go a long way towards bringing the security challenges under control. It is also worthy of note that bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements hide in a place within the domain of a traditional ruler, where they carry out their nefarious activities which have become an international embarrassment to Nigeria.”
Mulade further said that in the fight against insecurity, traditional rulers, as stakeholders, should be given the authority to also secure their kingdoms against political violence.
“This means that security votes should be allocated to them, as they are in better positions to fight against insecurity in their kingdoms if the country’s leadership truly wants to end insecurity in the country.
“In other words, traditional institutions in the country should be strengthened if Nigeria must be insecurity-free so as to achieve a stable economy that will attract international and local investors.
“The Federal Government, led by President Tinubu, should take proactive steps to ensure that traditional rulers are at the forefront of the fight against insecurity nationwide,” he said.
Mulade, who is a traditional chief at Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, also charged Nigerians to get involved by supporting the security agencies with credible intelligence.
and then