*Commiserates with affected families
By Daniel Kanu
Miffed by spate of attacks and resultant killing of security agents and other Nigerians in recent time, Sokoto State governor, Waziri Aminu Tambuwal, has blamed leadership failure for the lapses.
The governor who made the observations in a statement personally signed by him and made available to TheNiche, was particularly pained that the deaths were avoidable and preventable, stressing that that was not what Nigerians voted for in 2015.
“The worst part of all this is that these deaths are avoidable and the killings preventable. It boils down, at the end of the day, to failure of leadership. Nigeria cannot progress and be part of a 21st Century forward looking world by creating new batches of mourners every other day.
“This is not the way to go. That is not what Nigerians voted for in 2015. That is not what will build a virile, united, politically stable and economically prosperous African Giant,” he said.
He also commiserated with the families, friends, colleagues and associates of Nigerians, who lost their lives in what he described as the persistent and senseless killings currently taking place in all parts of the country.
The governor decried the growing incidence of mindless shedding of innocent blood, especially of policemen and other security personnel on their lawful duty posts, arguing that the development has brought a new dimension to the reprehensible state of insecurity in the country.
Tambuwal, erstwhile Speaker, House of Representatives, recalled that last week, seven policemen were reportedly gunned down in Abuja, and their arms and ammunition taken, by unknown persons.
Two months earlier, he added, three policemen were shot dead in Sokoto State by kidnappers, who abducted a Syrian national they were escorting. A few days later, four police officers were ambushed and killed in Benue State.
“This is happening amidst repeatedly reported cases of attacks on police stations and other security facilities in various parts of the country.
“The question from every law abiding citizen today is: “Who will protect us, when even those constitutionally charged with the responsibility of protecting our lives and property have, themselves, become vulnerable targets of criminals? Where shall we run to for protection, when the institutions of State put in place to protect us are being progressively dismantled by opportunistic criminality and the trained personnel are also on the run?”, the governor fumed.
As a way out of the situation, he argued that the country’s security architecture and the strategies currently adopted and deployed for national security, if any, be comprehensively overhauled, because it is not working.
According to him, the needless waste of life everywhere, both those of trained security personnel and ordinary citizens, is a drain on the nation’s resources and an unacceptable diminution of its valuable human capital.
“Every policeman or military personnel is someone’s father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, aunt or friend. The number and frequency of deaths is undermining our humanity, making us less sensitive to the gravity of the situation we are in today and also creating a new generation of Nigerians, who may get accustomed to inhuman acts as the norm”, the governor remarked.
