Abba Hamisu Sani
Africa-Press – Nigeria. The region battles with different kinds of insecurity ranging from banditry, Kidnapping for ransom, and the years of Boko-Haram terrorist activities. This pushes the northern region backward educationally and economically compared to the southern part of the nation, even though it also has its share of security challenges such as the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra -IPOB ,NigerDelta militants and the agitators for the Yoruba nation.
In search of a lasting solution to the lingering problem besides the Federal government’s conventional method of using security apparatus to contain the situations, the state governors in their various states come up with different initiatives toward tackling the menace in their states.
The highly criticized recent northern governors’ visit to the United States of America to attend a symposium on peace and security in northern Nigeria organized by the African Centre at the United States Institute of Peace seems part of such efforts of identifying the practical measures against the insurgency and other security challenges.
Ten northern governors that attended the symposium are from the North West and North Central.
The governors are Uba Sani of Kaduna State, Abba Yusuf of Kano, Nasir Idris of Kebbi, and Umar Namadi of Jigawa State.
The rest are Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto State, Dauda Lawn Zamfara, Hyacinth Alia Benue Mohammed Bago Niger, and Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State
The essence of the trip and the symposium
The symposium that took place from 23 to 25 April 2024 in Washington was meant to explore the pressing security challenges in the region and build the capacity of the governors in conflict prevention and peacebuilding across Nigeria through dialogue and collaboration.
It is also aimed at empowering the governors on how to address the underlying causes of instability and strengthen peace-building initiatives at local and state levels.
During the event, the northern governors and other participants engaged in panel discussions focusing on the drivers of insecurity and opportunities for stabilization to deepen their understanding of the complex security landscape, identify strategies to address the challenges, and explore opportunities for sustainable peace and development in the northern region.
The programmes also provided an opportunity for the governors to have special panel discussions that focused on strengthening Commercial Business and Two-Way Trade Between Nigeria and the United States of America.
The criticism against the governor’s trip to the USA
Several comments were made by commentators, particularly on social and conventional media platforms
Some commentators described the trip as a waste of resources and time. They said the solution to the northern insecurity is nothing but addressing bad governance, unemployment, and lack of commitment to tackling problems from its root.
Traveling to the US will not change the situation, all the problem needs is a local solution through good government policies implementation and the political will to tackle it instead of paying leaf service to it.
Sule Lamido is the former governor of Jigawa state and the former Minister of Foreign affairs. He criticized the Northern governors for their recent visit to the United States, saying it showcased their lack of understanding of the Nigerian Constitution.
Lamido voiced his concern via a statement on his official Facebook page recently.
“Our Northern governors as concerned leaders traveled to the United States of America to attend a lecture at the American Institute for Peace titled Advancing Stability In Northern Nigeria as to find a lasting solution to the intractable problems of insecurity bedeviling their states.
Their concern is commendable as it ended up exposing their ignorance and understanding of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the very instrument that gave them the legitimacy and the authority to be governors.
If the Governors had traveled to the US to engage on how to boost Agriculture or health issues or any other pressing local problems listed on the concurrent list of our constitution, this could be quite understandable.
But to engage on issues that are on the exclusive Legislative list such as security says a lot about the substance they are made of.
Security is a very wide subject which their Excellencies must have the capacity to grasp. Most urban towns in their states lack portable drinking water and refuse dumps are all over some streets.
Governors in ability to provide the basic amenities worsen the insecurity
Our children attend primary schools under the trees and where there are classes, they take their lessons sitting on the floor, yet the security implications of this cannot be discerned by their Excellencies.
Deliberate and harshly induced poverty by unplanned government policies have made citizens lose their esteem, honor, and self-worth by lining up scrambling to collect palliatives from patronizing and condescending leaders yet the insecurity of this kind does not worry or concern them.
You have governors with no human empathy or respect for dignity or decency in an open show of shame throwing money like confetti from an open jeep and people scrambling to pick it, like the governor of Niger State. Yet they fail to see the security implications of all these.
If the governors were serious and wanted to have a lecture on security, they need not have embarked on such a wasteful journey with accompanying expenditure of flight tickets, hotels with all their aid, and above all valuable time wasted at the expense of running their states.
Certainly, they could have gotten more than they wanted from our resourceful institutions such as NIPSS in Kuru, Jos ASCON in Badagry, or even the Nigerian Intelligence Agency(N I A).
These three institutions have more than enough materials, essays, and templates on the problems of security in Nigeria than the far-fetched American Institute ” Sule Lamido said.
The governors lack guidance from the Federal Government Agencies
The former governor, however, blamed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NIA for failing to properly guide the governors for this folly.
“The governors could not have traveled without the facilitation of the Ministry or our Embassy in Washington.
Nigeria and Nigerians now carry the image of advancing our Shane and embarrassment beyond our frontiers caused by their Excellencies.
One is inclined to believe Rufai Oseni when he recently said ” Nigerian madness has no bound or limit”
So in Nigeria today, one’s biggest challenge is how one remains sane in this insane country ” The former governor added.
The governors’ reaction
Dikko Umar Radda is the governor of Katsina State and one of the governors who attended the peace symposium in the United States of America.
Radda who serves as the chairman of the North West Governors Forum addressed concerns regarding the northern governors’ two-day symposium organized by the United States Institute of Peace, USIP outside Nigeria.
His response is contained in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary Ibrahim Kaula Muhammed.
“There are so many questions and comments on us here, some people are thinking that we should be in Nigeria and discuss security issues that are affecting the people,” Radda said.
The Katsina state governor emphasized that the meeting was part of efforts to find a lasting solution to Nigeria’s Security challenges through International collaborations.
He further clarified that sharing experiences and ideas on a global scale is crucial in today’s interconnected world.
“Exchange of ideas is very important in the global space that we have today as the World is now a global village” he added.
The Northwest Governors Forum chairman expressed his appreciation to the US for recognizing the need to engage with sub-national governments in Nigeria.
“We are happy and glad that you recognized the need to engage sub-nationals at the implementation stage of all the policies and programs of the United States and we are willing to give our support and partner with you ” he expressed.
Governor Radda also praised the USIP, highlighting the value of open communication and collaboration between US officials and Nigerian governors.
In conclusion, to look at the two sides of the issue, people like the former governor of Jigawa State Sule Lamido said Nigerian Agencies NIPSS have the capacity, documents, and resource persons to lecture the governors on the issues and how to address them.
But on the other angle which is also critical, there is no precious treasure like searching for knowledge in all aspects of leadership, particularly from world-recognized institutions like USIP that have experts from all parts of the world with multiple experiences in peacebuilding and conflict resolution.
Another thing that needs to be considered is that the government spends huge capital on updating the skills of its civil and public servants. So attending training by governors is not different from that of Civil and public servants. The only hope is that the governors who are the chief security Officers of their respective states will apply the knowledge acquired from the symposium in managing and tackling the security in their states through collaboration with security agencies handling the challenges.
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