Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has expressed sadness over the spate of security challenges bedevilling the country, alleging the Federal Government is not interested in the security of lives and property of Nigerians.
The governor disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday night, noting that no government can provide good governance when if it fails to protect lives and property.
According to a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri released in Port Harcourt, Wike said the prevailing insecurity in the country was disturbing and reiterated his call for State police to boost internal security.
He said, “The issue of security is paramount in governance and when a government cannot protect life and property, then that government has failed. There are no two ways about it. There is no propaganda that can solve the problem.”
He stated that the reasons insurgency, banditry, cultism, and other heinous crimes besetting Nigeria had continued to fester was because the Federal Government has failed to admit it lacked the capacity to tackle these security challenges bedevilling the country.
“The President of the country has not shown enough strength to say I am willing to fight this insurgency; I am willing to fight insecurity problem in this country. As a leader, when people see you are willing to do something, I can tell you, you will see that people will come out and give him their best,” he added.
The governor said there was nothing wrong with the Federal Government admitting they have obviously failed in the protection of life and property and that they need support, ideas to tackle the prevailing insecurity across the country.
Wike described as pathetic, the incessant cases of kidnapping, banditry, and murder of innocent civilians and soldiers.
He added, “I think the federal government is not interested in the protection of life and property of Nigerians.”
He said there will be nothing wrong if the Buhari-led Federal Government should seek help from countries like the United States of America, China, United Kingdom and others that have faced and solved similar security challenges.
“If you are incapacitated, there is nothing wrong asking for help from people who have the capacity, who have what it takes to solve such problem. You don’t need to shy away because Nigeria is an independent sovereign country and therefore as a President of a country, you don’t need to seek help from outside.”
“If you listen to the security men they will tell you they lack equipment, they lack what it takes to fight terrorists or insurgents. They will tell you that, look, we don’t have the equipment,”