Nigerians Treat Insecurity With Scant Regard, Ndume Laments

Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno south district, says Nigeria is teetering on the verge of collapse amid perennial and pervasive insecurity.

Ndume, who spoke at a media briefing on Saturday, bemoaned Nigerians indifference and aloofness to the troubling security situation in the country, saying the citizenry appeared not have an inkling as to the magnitude of problem confronting the nation.

The lawmaker expressed concern over the increase in criminal activities, adding that security and welfare are threatened in Nigeria.

He disclosed that only a couple of daredevil and audacious popular criminals were known in the past as no one had the temerity to embark on the galling, unsettling and mind boggling crimes and heinous acts that take place today.

Ndume charged citizens to match faith with action on ensuring an urgent improvement in the security situation.

“The fundamental thing that keeps the country going is security and welfare of the citizens. That’s why our constitution clearly states that the purpose of government is security and welfare of the citizens. You know these two key things are now under threat in Nigeria,” the lawmaker said.

“At the beginning, it started like a joke, staring from small stealing and all that. That culminated into armed robbery. In the early 70s in this country, you hardly hear of armed robbery. I remember when we were in secondary school. One of the first armed robbers that was executed at the beach in Lagos was Oyenusi; they call him ‘rob and kill’. Over 30,000 people gathered at the beach to watch his execution with his colleagues. The next one that was famous was that of Anini. But other than that, before today, armed robbery was a small crime in Nigeria.

“You see people involved in banditry, kidnapping, and of course, the insurgency that has bedevilled the north-east for the past 11 years now, to the extent that in Maiduguri now, once it’s 5 o’clock, you cannot go in or come out of Maiduguri. From all angles. By 10 o’clock, Maiduguri is shut down. You can’t go anywhere. In fact, this is even an improved situation.

“We hear of kidnapping, banditry, and all sorts of crime these days. The nation is at the brink of collapse. The unfortunate thing is that Nigerians, from top to bottom, still trivialise, tribalise or give the situation religious colouration, and we’re now in this sorry state.”

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE :

• Ndume Withdraws As Maina’s Surety
• Blanket Amnesty May Breed A New Form Of Criminality – Ndume