Former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okoocha has described the killing of 43 farmers in Borno State as an assault and insult on the nation.
Okorocha who was in Benue state to condole with Wantaregh Paul Unongo, former Minister of Steel, over the death of his wife, told journalists after he paid a courtesy visit on Governor Samuel Ortom, that the killing was done in such a manner that challenges the government to a fight.
Okorocha said “it is unfortunate that in our own time and generation, we are witnessing a very high level of inhumanity to man. It’s bad enough to kill but the humiliation and the insult in the killing is another dimension to it. It is like a situation of what can you do.”
The former Imo governor enjoined leaders of the country to arise and take responsibility so as to reassure Nigerians that electing them into office was not a mistake.
He suggested that if past strategies are no longer working, they should be changed saying “We need to create a new vision for this our great nation, be it in security or economy because it is obvious that our old stand is not making the necessary impact so we need to change it to give everyone a sense of security.
“What we need to do in this new vision is go engage our traditional rulers to play a key role in the security of this country by giving them a space in the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria at the security advisory level so that they can become the chief executive, security officers of their communities.”
He recalled that Nigeria had a pattern of governance before the adventure of democracy saying “we know ourselves within a community and we know when a stranger comes and where he goes and what strategy we can use to protect ourselves.
“Nigeria has the capacity to protect itself even at the community level despite the emergence of our system of government. So let us go back to the basics, give our traditional rulers a space in the constitution, make them more powerful to help tackle the security situation because the government of Nigeria is over centralized to handle security issues that affect us.”
While questioning whether Boko Haram has more equipment than Nigerian army, or whether they have more resources and number than Nigerian army, Okorocha said “I think it goes beyond equipment or no equipment to commitment and unity of purpose.
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“I believe that if there is unity of purpose within the military rank and file, people are willing to stake their lives to protect others. But I see a situation where some people are saying let things go wrong and let others be blamed.
“It’s more of us fighting ourselves more than fighting Boko Haram. And I think that if it means firing or hiring anybody to strengthen the security situation and give everybody in the system the sense of belonging, that should be done and urgently too,” he added.
Earlier, Gov. Samuel Ortom had
thanked Mr. Okorocha for his condolence visit saying Benue is his home.
The Governor also thanked him for making attempts to bring Rocha’s Foundation to Benue state saying that the state will support him to achieve results.
He, therefore, appealed to all Nigerians especially the leaders to leave sentiments, partisanship and work together for a better Nigeria, just as he also appreciated the FG for the security it has provided for Benue to have relative peace.
