BY Chinedu Asadu
Abdulsalami Abubakar, former military head of state, has expressed worry over the growing insecurity in various parts of the country, calling for urgent action.
Speaking at a roundtable discussion on the security challenges, he said: “there is anger in the land and the voices of reason are drowning very rapidly”.
The parley organised by the General Abdulsalami Abubakar Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution held in Minna, the Niger state capital.
Abubakar said Nigeria is going through a trial period; witnessing growing tension and resentment among citizens.
“It is clear that the situation requires that we all live up to the expectations of a nation that puts so much value in elders and leaders,” he told stakeholders who attended the meeting,” he said.
“This roundtable discussion is not a mini-national conference or a forum to review the constitution, neither will it be fixated on those issues that feed the prevailing tensions.
“These are matters that will doubtless appear in our discussions but they should not be allowed to distract from the key goals of the roundtable discussion.
“We are all here as Nigerians who share responsibility for the state of our nation, therefore if any forum can help in the accurate identification of the problems and solutions for a united peaceful Nigeria, let us be counted among such fora.”
There have been various cases of insecurity across the country in recent times. From clashes between herdsmen and farmers, attacks of bandits and insurgents, among others.
Mohammed Adamu, inspector general of police, recently announced that over 1,000 persons were killed in the first quarter of 2019.
In a 2018 report, Amnesty International said at least 1,813 people were murdered across 17 states in the first half of 2018, “more than double of those killed in 2017.”
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