All Governors are Worried About Insecurity in Nigeria – Gov Fayemi
Ekiti State Governor, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi
Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, said all governors are worried about insecurity in the country.
He said all the elected governors are tested politicians and technocrats in their own right just as he expressed confidence on both the new and returnee Ministers on their abilities to deliver on their assignments.
Dr. Fayemi said these today while responding to journalists’ questions on the sideline of the first Governors’ Lecture series and book launch held at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) where he delivered the keynote lecture titled “Excellence in Governance: Exploring a Synergy Between Think-Tanks and Mass Communicators.”
“The elected governors are all tested politicians and technocrats in their own right. The returnee Ministers are full of substance. I believe they will deliver on their assignment they have been given.
For the new Ministers at least, the ones that I know like the one from my own state, he is a performer. He has antecedence of decency, honesty and credibility and I believe in the portfolio he has been given as Investment, Trade and Industry Minister, he is going to perform creditably.
All the Ministers I know even the ones that I don’t know personally but having interacted closely with them, I believe the President must have been informed by those who have written their stories before appointing them” he said.
Responding to question on insecurity in the country, he said “Every governor is worried about insecurity in the country. For us in the South-West, we have deliberated over this over the last couples of months with our own traditional institutions. We have met with non-state actors in the field of security. We have met with self determination groups all in a bid to proffering solution the situation.
He said the region is working seriously for the establishment of a “Western Nigeria Security Network” which, according to him, “is going to be announced soon”
Dr. Fayemi said as far as the South West is concerned, the mainstream security outfits in the country are intensifying their efforts in their fight against the menace of insecurity which he said is yielding positive result.
“The Mainstream security outfits in the country are intensifying their effort as far as the South-West is concerned and you would have noticed a reduction in the spate of activities of kidnappers but that is not enough. We want it sustained. We want it comprehensive. But that is in the short term,” he said.
Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum identified economic challenges, inequality, and poverty in the society as the cause of long term insecurity and lack of safety in the country.
“There is a long-term insecurity and lack of safety and you cannot remove it from the correlation to other challenges, inequality in the land, poverty in the society. There is direct correlation between insecurity and inequality and we most tackle that by ensuring we provide enabling environment for job creation for Nigerians who are seeking to work. Not every Nigerian wants to work but for those that are seeking to work, they ought to be able to find job. It might not necessarily be the best job. Our Youths/job seekers need to improve on their entrepreneurial skills so that they can create job for themselves and also add value to the society.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion who is also the Chairman, Centre of Excellence, Media and Technology, Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye, called on the press to be socially responsible in the discharge of their duties.
He called on the media practitioners to wake up to their professional responsibilities in order to be able to tackle the challenges thrown up by social media as well as the virus of fake news.
While warning journalists not to abandon their job for those who are not professionally trained for the job, he called on them to support the present administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Also speaking the Vice Chancellor of UNILAG, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, said the University has been empowering their students with knowledge and skills that will make them to become self-employed after their duration of studies.
Prof. Ogundipe said the responsibilities of a University such as UNILAG among other things are to identify societal problems as well as be able to tackle same by proffering solutions to those problems.
The high-point of the occasion was the launching of the book titled: “Introduction to Philosophy of Mass Communication for Higher Institutions” jointly edited by Dr. Oscar Odiboh, Senior Lecturer, Covenant University, Prof. Abiodun Salawu, North West University, South Africa, and Mr. Chris Dughudje Chairman, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON)
