We can’t rely on Buhari alone for security – Presidency

The presidency on Monday said Nigeri­ans will be making a grave mistake if they believe that it is the sole re­sponsibility of President Mu­hammadu Buhari to provide security for the country.

Femi Adesina, Special Ad­viser on Media and Publicity, who disclosed this while fea­turing as a guest on Channels Television programme, ‘Poli­tics Today’, said the president was right when he charged school owners, including state and local governments, to scale up security around their educational institu­tions.

According to him, while he swore to protect the lives and property of Nigerians as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, every Ni­gerian is part of the security architecture of the country.

“That can only be wrong and it can only be part of the problem, rather than the solution. Security is every­body’s business. Even at the ward and local government levels, people can be part of the security apparatus. Be­cause when you see some­thing and you say something, you are contributing to the security architecture of the country.

“When you see strangers loitering around and mov­ing suspiciously at the local level, you can tell somebody. You can tell the traditional rulers who will tell the se­curity agencies. If we have the mindset that everything about security is the duty of the president, then that can only be wrong.

“Yes, the president has the responsibility to guarantee safety of lives and property according to the constitution that he swore to uphold but to say that it is his sole business, responsibility or prerogative, we will be very wrong. Every­body is part of the security architecture of the country. It is just that the responsibility weighs heavier on one person than the others but we all are part of it”.

Speaking further, Adesi­na said state governors as the chief security officers of their respective states have the duty to secure their states as they have sworn to do un­der the constitution.

“You are talking of diffus­ing power so that state gov­ernment can be in charge, they have always been in charge. Governors are the chief security officers of their states, it is not the pres­ident. It is very convenient to talk about true federalism when it pleases us, at other times, it is also convenient to heap all the blames on the president.

“Governors are the chief security officers of their states and they have a role to play in the security architec­ture of the country. Yes, the president is the command­er-in-chief and the bulk stops on his table but governors are chief security officers of their states”.

Also reacting to the spate of abductions under Presi­dent Buhari, Adesina said Ni­gerians should be concerned about the swift response of the government in rescuing the abducted students rath­er than focusing on why the kidnapping occurred in the first place.

“Now when these abduc­tions happen, how did it end? You have Dapchi, they were recovered. You had Kankara, they were recovered. You had Kagara, they were recovered. We are working on Jangebe in Zamfara now. You look at the end result not just that it happened.

“This is a vast country with security challenges. There could be glitches, there could be shortcomings in one area or the other but how did those things end? So, Nigeri­ans should give some credit to this government.

“There is nothing wrong in being reactive; you can’t be proactive about everything. In security, there are things you can also react to. Yes, you can be proactive in pre­venting certain things, but the truth is that, you cannot prevent everything.

“No single country in the world has been able to pre­vent all security glitches. It happens. But the speed with which you react and the effi­ciency with which you react will matter”.

Also speaking on last Fri­day’s abduction of female students from Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangebe, Adesina said all cards are on the ta­ble to ensure that they are rescued at the shortest pos­sible time.

“The Zamfara girls will be rescued at the shortest possible time. That is why government is working, the state government is working, security and inter-security are working. Everything is being done to bring those girls back.

“Every card is on the ta­ble. Each situation is taken according to its peculiarity. There are situations in which there will be dialogue, there will be situations in which there will be negotiations”. (Daily Independent)