Seriake Dickson: Leadership lacuna at local government level fuelling insecurity

Seriake Dickson, senator representing Bayelsa west, says the collapse of leadership and governance at the local government tier is worsening insecurity across Nigeria.

Dickson relayed his position on Monday after a phone conversation with Hyacinth Alia, governor of Benue, over the spate of killings in the state.

“I condoled with him, the government, and the good people of Benue State, as well as the families and loved ones of those who have died in this dastardly massacre of innocent people in the state,” Dickson wrote on Facebook.

The senator described the attacks as “almost at a genocidal proportion” and called for full federal deployment of security forces to Benue and other affected areas.

He warned that the killings have been normalised.

“We cannot be a nation where hundreds of our citizens are killed routinely on a daily basis,” he said.

“We are gradually becoming so used to the bloodletting that it no longer makes news, but this is abnormal. It is turning us into a nation of brutes, lawlessness, and a nation that has failed.”

The senator welcomed President Bola Tinubu’s security personnel deployment to Benue, saying Alia confirmed the move during their conversation.

He implored the governor to fully cooperate with security agencies and mobilise public support for their operations.

 ‘WEAK LOCAL GOVERNMENTS UNDERMINING SECURITY’

Dickson harped on the need to fix governance at the grassroots.

“At the base of our nation’s political system — the local government areas — there is a lacuna: a gap in leadership and capacity to function, which is also affecting our national security,” he said.

He urged Tinubu to ensure full implementation of the supreme court ruling mandating direct allocation of funds to local government councils.

According to him, empowering council chairpersons to collaborate with divisional police officers and local security personnel, is critical to effective security management.

“The cooperation and understanding of the governors must be obtained to ensure their total autonomy so that council chairmen can also take responsibility — along with the DPOs and security officers at the local government level, who know the localities better,” he said.

Dickson, who served as governor of Bayelsa from 2012 to 2020, said he adopted a decentralised model during his stint in office and urged other states to follow suit.

He reiterated the need for non-partisan collaboration in tackling insecurity.

“As I have always maintained, issues of national security, the economy, and the protection of our national values and democracy know no political colour,” he said.

He also restated his call for state policing and a security framework that accommodates subnational participation.

On Monday, the North Central Peace Advocates (NCPA) described the rising wave of violence in Benue as politically motivated campaign of terror, insisting that the perpetrators are not herders but foreign-backed terrorists.

In a statement issued by Frank Utor, coordinator of the group, the NCPA said hundreds have been killed and entire communities displaced in “a systematic effort to destabilise Benue and other parts of the north-central”.