The six governors in the South West Nigeria have met to assess security situation and supported the move for state and local government police.
At meeting in Ibadan on Tuesday, the governors pledged to find a solution to the lingering security challenges in the zone.
The meeting was fast-tracked by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) in collaboration with the six governors.
In his address of welcome, the host governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State,
argued that a regional approach to resolving the security challenges facing the South West states was important.
According to him, the South West states are interlinked and the challenges of one state could easily become the challenges of the entire zone.
He said some states were close to international borders, increasing the threat that the zone was collectively facing.
The governor described the problem of insecurity in the zone as ”a snake on the roof and we cannot ignore it and go to sleep”.
Makinde decried the rising spate of kidnappings and the growing tension between farmers and herdsmen in the zone.
He was, however, optimistic that deliberations at the summit would ”throw up tailor-made solutions that can be applied to the states of the South West”.
”We know that there are barriers preventing us from carrying out this
constitutional responsibility to the fullest measure. One of those barriers is the fact that we do not control the security apparatuses in our states. It is my belief that at the end of our deliberations, we would have come up with arguments that we are in support of state police,” Makinde stated.
In his keynote address, Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, noted that insecurity has become a major issue in the polity.
Akeredolu, who is the Chairman of the South West Governors Forum, said that the security of life and property of citizens should not be compromised.
He urged other governors in the zone to be proactive in tackling the current security issues, saying that the adoption of a scientific approach would bear far-reaching effects.
Akeredolu said Ondo had adopted a holistic and integrated strategy to manage security risk and urged the governors in the zone to ensure that their strategies were harmonised to achieve a common purpose, stressing that the respective states could not work in isolation.
”We must cast aside all partisan considerations in the interest of our people.
”Our ultimate aim must be the socio economic integration of the region which reflects our collective aspirations for a peaceful and prosperous environment,” he said.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Taiwo Lakanu, who represented the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Idris, said there was no nation that was isolated from crime.
”We are now more conscious of the imperative of collaboration, the indispensability of common front to fight our common enemies, who make lives miserable by their nefarious activities.
”Governors are central and their enviable roles pivotal to security of their states, the people are also cardinal in the overall security architecture.
” This is why everyone, who desires peace and adequate protection must establish with the police and other relevant security agencies a symbiotic relationship that will foster or engender the much desired peace and tranquility in our various communities,” he said.
MM/GIK/APA