Safety and security is vital to prosperity in any community - Governor Uzodimma has not abdicated his responsibility to anybody

IMO STATE PUBLIC ENLIGHTENMENT

Safety and security is vital to prosperity in any community - Governor Uzodimma has not abdicated his responsibility to anybody

By: Prince Eze Ugochukwu.

In developed countries, local authorities normally go beyond the normal defence and policing structure to embrace and incoporate the citizens as part of the security architecture, working closely together across all areas that contribute to security.

Only last week, the Imo State Governor interfaced with Traditional Rulers,Town Union President Generals and community youth leaders in a new, systemic approach to security that broadens participation.

Although security is a core task of governments, it can’t be achieved in isolation. It needs to be viewed holistically, with governments taking the lead in encouraging, and nurturing collaboration across all institutions, sectors and divides in order to deliver the security that is vital. And this is exactly what the Governor has put together in Imo State.

At times when you hear the statements coming from some governorship candidates in Imo State, you begin to wonder where they came from and what drives them.The closer you interrogate their opinions, the more obvious it becomes that these candidates are ill-equipped, and ill-prepared to govern Imo State.

Take the case of the Imo State Labour party. It is engulfed in crisis from top to bottom. It has four different state chairmen and state executives. It has four governorship candidates or should I say pretenders. It has more the ten different court cases from Port Harcout to Yenegoa to Owerri and even Abuja. Both the party and her avalanche of candidates has never sat down to talk peace among themselves. Everybody is up in arms.

You can imagine how Mr. Athan Achonu who is a player in the Imo Labour party debacle and who has not made peace within the bosom of his political household suddenly became an expert on how to handle state security.

Mr Achonu had accused His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma of abdicating his responsibility to traditional rulers and Town Union President Generals and the youths over insecurity. Achonu went ahead and asked the Governor to resign.

The deliberate mis-diagnosis of the security situation in the entire South East by some politicians is extremely despicable. You wonder if such comes from a lack of knowledge or mere pretences of dancing to the public gallery for votes.

If not, how can a so-called governorship candidate forget the role of traditional rulers in any society. Or how such a candidate forget that traditional rulers are part of the governance architecture with roles to play?.

Everybody know that the South East has been faced with security challenges especially over issue of agitation. We have not heard Mr Achonu caution against or profer solutions for its eradication. He has never commended the efforts of the security agencies to tackle the problem. No. But Hope Uzodimma is the only problem of Mr Achonu.

If Mr Athan Achonu does not know, the traditional rulers of various communities, are the custodian of the people’s culture, value and tradition. They have some grip on the people at the grass root and therefore can mobilize the people for action against insecurity in their domain and by extension the entire state.

Even at that, the citizens themselves are part of the security of their society and environment anywhere in the world. Probably Mr Achonu have not heard about the concept of popular resistance and community policing. Achonu should know that even the United Nations encouraged youth participation in security.  For example, Security Council Resolution 2250 of 9 December 2015 on youth, peace and security recognized the central role of youth in peace and security and recommended that states make them strategic partners. Again this is what Governor Uzodimma has done.

Building an effective  society requires periodic restructuring and injection of new ideas for it to perform better. Governor Uzodimma wanted the traditional rulers, president generals and youth leaders to operate optimally in the maintenance of security.
Traditional rulers  hold the highest traditional authority within the community and whose title is recognised by the Government of the State.

The roles of traditional rulers in conflict resolution include reconciling and integrating both parties in conflicts, maintaining law and order in the communities, promoting the use of informal settlements, checks and balances in the society.etc.

On the other hand, President Generals of town unions are community leaders and there is nothing to condemn if government decide to back and encourage them to talk to their people to shelve violence.

Mr Achonu should remember what the Federal and State governments did in the Niger Delta through the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) which persuaded the Niger Delta militants to shelve and suspend all actions of militancy in the region which they did. This created stability and boosted economic activities in the region.

Governor Hope Uzodimma is so much ahead of his opponents in all facets and ramifications. The daily watery and uninspiring potshots at him makes absolutely no sense at all.