Nigerians in U.S under the aegis of Diaspora Organisation Americas (NIDOA), USA Chapter, has written to President Muhammadu Buhari on some issues affecting the country and suggested the way forward.
In the letter, jointly signed by its President, Dr Eromonsele Idahosa and other officials of the association, Nigerian in U.S expressed concerns over the security situation in the country.
“We are reaching out earnestly to you in view of the recent resurgence in separatist agitations in various parts of the country where tensions have boiled over partly.
“We urge you to take immediate action to move Nigeria swiftly in the direction of graduated level of jurisdictional policing authority predicated on community police philosophy which the Federal Government sought to introduce since 2016”, part of the letter read.
NIDOA’s letter, a copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York, said that growth and development would elude the country without security.
It noted that Nigeria had been scourged with multiple security challenges, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and internecine ethnic skirmishes, noting that these phenomena did not start overnight.
While identifying lack of planning, communal distrust, corruption and incompetence, high youth unemployment, poverty, greed, nepotism, and compromised/ill-equipped security agencies as the causes of insecurity, NIDOA said insecurity and instability in the country would continue to scare away potential investors while making it near impossible to guarantee the basic rights of Nigerians to life and liberty.
“Experts have noted that Nigeria has not conducted a strategic analysis of its security systems and infrastructures since attainment of political independence in 1960.
“The result is that practices that even the British have jettisoned such as a centralised police force under the command of an Inspector General remain entrenched in Nigeria”, the group lamented.
It stated that most advanced societies had police at county, city, and state levels so that they could effectively fight crime at local level with local personnel and command structure.
“The campaign against corruption should be ongoing, total, non-discriminatory, and non-partisan; it should become ingrained in our national consciousness as a people.
“Poverty and ignorance also contribute to our national menace of insecurity to our large population of poor and uneducated citizens.
“Government must move swiftly to reduce and ultimately eliminate the number of out-of-school children by guaranteeing access to education which should be compulsory up to basic education level.’’
NIDOA warned that the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria is a ticking time bomb, urging government to implement policies that have direct impact on job creation and entrepreneurship development.
“We are mobilising our members to invest in scholarships, skills acquisition, entrepreneurships and career development opportunities for Nigerian youth; the Federal Government is welcome to collaborate with us in this respect.
“The diversity of Nigeria in religion and culture should not be viewed negatively but leveraged as a positive force for development and the secularity of the Nigerian state should be protected,’’ NIDOA said.
It emphasised the need for Nigeria to adopt a true Federal Constitution before the 2023 elections, suggesting the 1963 Constitution and the report of the 2014 National Conference as the basis.
NIDOA called for the devolution of power from the “over-bloated” exclusive list to concurrent list to enable states handle more constitutional responsibilities and unlock the potential of the nation.
“We believe in the promise of a unified Nigeria where every citizen is treated with dignity and respect, justice and fair play,” the letter further read.
