In a bid to address the lingering issue of insecurity across communities, the Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, Barrister Sani Haruna, has harped the need for local government autonomy.
Haruna, who also serves as Chairman of Gombe Local Government Area, stressed that autonomy would enable traditional institutions to work towards peaceful coexistence in their domains.
PERISCOPE NIGERIA reports that Haruna stated this during the maiden edition of Peace Dialogue, organised by Youth O’clock Advancement Movement Nigeria at Education Resource Centre, Gombe.
“Now that there is Local Government autonomy, the traditional institutions will be engaged more due to their closeness to the local government areas to ensure peaceful co-existence in their communities,” he said.
Haruna attributed the root cause of insecurity to injustice, emphasising the need to address this issue. “Believe in one another, understand where the line begins and ends. We should be able to go to the root cause of insecurity in our society, and it all boils down to injustice. This injustice brings about inter or intra conflict in the society.”
Seth Francis, Convener of Youth O’clock, urged politicians to empower idle youths with skills, rather than fueling insecurity, adding “They should rather empower them with knowledge, to enable them become self-reliant, independent. That is why we are mobilising the young people across the country to realise they have the numerical strength to attain development.”
Abdulazeez Sani, Coordinator of Youth O’clock Advancement Movement of Nigeria, noted the importance of collective effort in achieving peace.
Sani added, “Security is everyone’s business. The dialogue is in stages; the religious leaders, traditional leaders, service chiefs, and the media will all share their perspectives on how to achieve peace.”
