By Ahmed Idris
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Solomon Dalung, has called for State of Emergency in Plateau, Benue, Zamfara and Taraba and other troubled states in the country in order to address the persistent killing of innocent people.
Fielding questions from State House correspondents in Abuja, the minister condemned the renewed killing of people in some parts of Plateau state in recent times.
He said it has become a matter of necessity for President Muhammadu Buhari to impose state of emergency in Plateau, Benue, Zamfara and Taraba so as to put a stop to the unwarranted killings in the states.
The minister also frowned at those apportioning blame on the federal government over the persistent crisis in the Plateau, saying that authorities in the state and local governments should be held responsible for the problem,
He also attributed the persistent killings in the states to the inability of local governments in the state to put robust mechanisms to check security threats and unemployment among youth.
“The Plateau crisis can be traced to many years of inaction by previous and current administrations in Plateau state despite the Federal Government’s efforts to address the problem. It is disheartening that Plateau state has been witnessing killings of innocent citizens in the last four to five days and this is very annoying and disturbing to the government and inhabitants of the state.
“I alerted the Federal Executive Council on September 5 on the need to take drastic and emergency measures to tackle the crisis because the local and state governments have failed in their responsibility of offering useful information to security agents despite the huge resources being spent on security. It has therefore become imperative for the federal government to declare state of emergency in Plateau and other troubled states across the country so as to put a stop to the killings,’’ he said
The minister, therefore, advocated for the re-reintroduction of Crises Resolution Committee at the local government level with membership drawn from religious bodies, traditional institution, Cattle Breeders’ Association, farmers’ groups, women and youth organisations.
The minister warned against politicising the killing of innocent Nigerians as the federal government was doing all it could to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to book.
He said the government had already put in place measures to check cases of insecurity, adding that Nigeria needs peace and stability to progress and achieve meaningful development.
“But security personnel alone cannot achieve much in addressing the problem without the support and cooperation of the state and local governments as well as the local communities. There is the need for collaboration between all the three tiers of government, the local communities and youth councils in order to find a lasting solution to the crisis,” he said.
He identified lack of strong and dedicated leadership at both local and state levels as main factor responsible for the inability of the combined efforts of the security personnel to check the killings in Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Zamfara and other troubled states.
