How My Govt. Will End Insecurity, Unite Nigeria – Peter Obi Unveils Plans
Mr Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party in his 72-paged manifesto released on Sunday, dolled out his plans on ending insecurity and unite the country.
According to Obi;
To secure Nigeria, we will:
I. Deal decisively with insecurity by putting a permanent end to the incessant banditry, insurgency, kidnaping and cross-border terrorism in our country today.
II. To achieve this, we shall take the following immediate actions:
a. Activate all the necessary regional corporations and arrangements for securing our borders with neighboring countries in west and central Africa, particularly Niger, Chad, and Cameroun;
b. Increase the personnel of our armed forces, police and other security agencies and optimally equipp, train, and fund them to respond adequately to security threats;
c. Deploy state-of-the-art military technology to fight terrorists, bandits, insurgents and kidnappers;
d. Recreate community relations with security agencies in order to increase public trust and build human intelligence to restore law and order in the communities.
III. Pursue proactively and deliberately policies that will implement the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state police in the constitution so as to create a secured society that reduces the social pressure for crimes and provides viable livelihood for the youths. This will be in fulfilment of the obligation of government to ensure the ‘security and welfare of the people’.
IV. Engage, support, and partner, with national and sub-national institutions and governments and network them into an integrated and reinforced onslaught against insecurity. This requires decentralized and professional management of security institutions and the use of grant-in-aid to encourage efficient criminal justice administration at subnational levels, namely, state, local government and community security administration.
To deal with cross-border crimes, we will also adjust security modalities to address gaps and vulnerabilities arising from our obligations under the ECOWAS Protocol on the Movement of Persons.
V. Undertake institutional reforms to secure Nigerians ,which consists of four initiatives pursued simultaneously:
a. Reforming the security sector, with particular emphasis on re-focusing the military on external threats and border protection, and the police on internal security threats and law enforcement;
b. Swift, firm and fair prosecution of criminals, bandits and terrorists to end impunity;
c. Enhanced coordination among security agencies to enhance operational efficiency,
d. Fair and transparent administration of justice hinged on the rule of law.
VI. Improve the functioning and effectiveness of our security agencies particularly the police, by strengthening their civilian oversight as well as increasing their size, equipment, funding, and enhancing their professional training.
VII. Strengthen the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Police Affairs, and other regulatory and supervisory agencies to provide robust and regulatory oversight and enhance coordination and performance of statutory mandates of the security services.
VIII. Ensure, in accordance with Section 33 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as Amended), that every Nigerian life is protected at all cost. The basic minimum of DEMOCRATIC CITIZENSHIP is that every Nigerian life is protected by the state.
There shall be no more impunity. All criminals are equal and will be equally prosecuted and punished. No
persecution; no privilege. The same law for the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless.
In uniting Nigeria and running an all-inclusive government, we will:
I. Ensure that our administration’s pronouncements, policies, and conduct reflect its strong commitment to fostering a united Nigeria, and the reaffirmation that achieving that objective requires securing the lives and
property of Nigerians by creatively managing her diversity.
II. Make deliberate efforts to re-create a sense of patriotism, shared ownership, and responsibilities in matters of nation-building, integration, and cohesion.
III. Ensure transparency and strict adherence to the dictates of our constitution in all matters of governance and the allocation of resources and projects.
