Nigerians are suffering, Jega, Onaiyekan tell Buhari

Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja

A former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega; and a former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, have told the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), that Nigerians are facing “double suffering” due to insecurity and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They therefore called on the President to do everything possible to address the security challenge even if it means sacking service chiefs.

They stated this in a statement titled, ‘Mr. President, Governors: The Time for Dialogue is NOW’ on Sunday.

The statement was signed by Jega, Onaiyekan, Gen. Martin Agwai, Amb. Fatima Balla, Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim, Mrs. Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, Dr. Nguyan Feese, Dr. Usman Bugaje and Dr. Chris Kwaja who are all members of the Nigeria Working Group on Peace-building and Governance.

The statement read in part, “Nigeria, like the rest of the world is battling the coronavirus pandemic. However, citizens in Nigeria are facing double the suffering because they also have to contend with rising insecurity and violence across the country.

“The Nigerian government must immediately address the rising insecurity, if it is to succeed in the fight against the pandemic. A recent USIP-commissioned survey in Nigeria found new linkages between COVID-19, instability, and conflict.

“In particular, the survey found that victims of recent violence are less likely to trust the government’s coronavirus response measures compared to those who have not experienced violence.

They subsequently made recommendations on how the Nigerian government could strengthen its efforts to manage the pandemic by addressing the rising insecurity across the country.

 “Kidnapping for ransom is an acute concern across Nigeria. The North-East is witnessing resurgence in Boko Haram activity, and thousands of people are internally displaced by banditry across rural communities in the North-West.

“Criminality in rural areas further complicates the situation by undermining food security, as many farmers have been unable to go to their farms for months for fear of losing their lives,” the group said.

They called on the President to initiate a process of dialogue to address the multiple acts of violence from inter-communal and ethno-religious conflicts.

The group said the National Council of State should initiate the dialogue process at the national level while the Nigeria Governors Forum would ensure it reaches the grassroots.

They said the crisis between herders and farmers had claimed thousands of lives and deepened ethnic polarisation but few persons had been prosecuted.

The group therefore called on the Federal Government to order the reinvestigation of all recent major incidents of farmer-herder violence.

They asked the government to sack the service chiefs if it would ensure that things improve.

“There is a growing public consensus that the current leadership of our security agencies have failed woefully, and that our Commander-in-Chief has so far refused to act. This cannot continue. Mr. President, you must show more concern and do what is necessary to improve the effectiveness of our security agencies, even if it means replacing the current leadership of our security agencies,” the group said.

They called on the President to stop paying lip service to police reform, adding that it is not enough to recruit police officers from the community but there is a need to be trained and re-orientated towards building community partnerships and promoting durable peace in the conduct of their duties.