Amaechi: Policing alone can’t curb insecurity — hunger must be addressed

Rotimi Amaechi, former minister of transportation, says the fight against insecurity will not yield significant results until the government addresses the problem of hunger among the citizens.

Speaking on Sunday during a virtual parley with youths of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Amaechi said over-reliance on military force to tackle insecurity without addressing economic deprivation only fuels instability.

“Any leader who wants to resolve the issue of insecurity in Nigeria will know that physical policing alone will not be the solution,” he said.

“No matter how much you equip the police and the army, the other people will continue to equip themselves to fight back against the state actors.”

Amaechi said as governor of Rivers, his administration enforced the law, built the capacity of security agencies, improved inter-agency collaboration, and improved the social and economic well-being of the people to curb insecurity.

“When we got in, we started building primary schools in every village, constructing primary health care centres, and opening roads in rural communities,” he said.

“But beyond that, we localised the contracts, meaning contractors came from the same communities where the projects were sited.

“When you pay them, they pay their workers, and that money circulates in the community. It created jobs, kept people busy, and reduced crime.

“We created alternatives first, then policed the state. People knew that if they got involved in banditry or kidnapping, they were lawbreakers, not freedom fighters.

“You can’t police hunger. You build peace when people have work, dignity, and faith in government.”