Dr Kayode Fayemi, Governor of Ekiti State and the Chairman of Nigerian Governor’s Forum (NGF), has said that the Nigerian security situation requires collective effort if it must be addressed.
Speaking at an event in Ibadan, Fayemi said the present situation in the country is not supposed to give rise to political blames and opportunistic opposition, adding that “it is time to build a nation and not to fritter it away.”
According to a report by The News Agency of Nigeria, Fayemi stressed that Nigeria needs patriotic statesmen and women and not rumour mongers, ethnic crisis entrepreneurs, provincial men of little minds who see everything from the prism of ethnic and religious conspiracy.
According to Fayemi, one method through which the current trend of insecurity in the country can be brought to an end is to recruit a large number of people to join the police and the military, on a short service or otherwise. He further pointed out that one of the fastest and easiest means of achieving this is to amend the law setting up the Nation Youths Service Corps (NYSC).
The Governor explained that the existing orientation camps can be used to train willing and able graduates to reflate the security personnel under a special arrangement that will be worked out.
He said corps members who cannot join the military services can serve in their community without pay.
“By available statistics, we need a minimum of 200,000 personnel to boost the fighting power of our men.
“This number is very large and a potential financial and logistic nightmare, yet we cannot delay any further.
“The ungoverned spaces needed to be closed up quickly by motivated men with the singular objective to save the nation. That takes us to the number two issue of financing and arming large recruitment.
“With this, we can use the existing orientation camps to train willing and able graduates to reflate the security personnel under a special arrangement that will be worked out.
“That way, the fund that is currently deployed to the NYSC can be used with just some additional funding, which could be sourced through a national emergency fund for the next five to 10 years.
“Those who cannot join the military services can serve in their community without pay if we must still retain the NYSC for everyone.
“To incentivise those who may volunteer to serve, they will have a separate certificate and medal of honour in addition to having priority for military, paramilitary and civil or public service recruitment after service.
“We also need to encourage investment in the real sectors that can engage people and reduce unemployment, which is a major source of insecurity,” the NGF chairman added.
Fayemi, finally expressed confidence in the fact that the seemingly helpless situation of Nigeria will sooner than later see a significant improvement and that Nigeria would come out stronger from this moment of national distress.
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