Being a Keynote Address by the Ameer of Birnin Gwari, Malam Zubair Jibril Mai Gwari II at the 2018 Award Organized by Blueprint Newspaper on Tuesday 17th July 2017 at Rockview Hotel Abuja.
Bismillaahir Rahmanir Raheem.
Praise is to Allaah, we seek His help and His forgiveness.
We seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of our own souls and from our bad deeds.
Whomsoever Allaah guides will never be led astray, and whomsoever Allaah leaves astray, no one can guide.
I bear witness that there is no god but Allaah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.
The Chairman of the Occasion, The State Governors here present, The Awardees, The Press, Ladies and Gentlemen, Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
Introduction: To address this gathering is a unique privilege.
I feel particularly honored standing here before you on this podium to address you on a very topical and national issue.
The theme of this year’s event organized by the Blueprint newspaper did not come to me as a surprise, taking into consideration the most striking issues that Nigeria is currently battling surrounds the thorny issues of Tolerance, Unity and Security.
Development and National Development in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges: For the purpose of this paper, I wish to follow the definitions of Development offered by a number of scholars on the phenomenon.
First of all, Guzman (2011) defines development as “the accumulation of human capital and its effective investment in the progress of an economy.
This definition treats the human person as a means to a certain end.
What this means is that no person has worth simply because he is a person.
One’s worth depends on what one can do, or what one can contribute to economic progress of one’s country.
Based on this, Nigeria can be said to be developed only when our teeming youth can engage in various businesses, transforming their talents and skills to produce goods that we need for survival.
Nigeria can boost of development only when it uses the God-given opportunity not only to be agrarian but principally a nation that produces and processes agricultural goods for both internal and external use.
When that is achieved, we can then feel secure from Food Insecurity.
The second definition we shall consider is that by Topadro and Smith (2011) who defined development as “the process of improving the quality of all human lives and capabilities by raising people’s levels of living, selfesteem, and freedom.” Development here is assumed to be the sole prerogative of the government.
The political will determines what develops.
So, government and all other relevant stakeholders and forces must engineer the process of development.
You must notice immediately that Topadro and Smith (2011) emphasize human person as the centre of development, unlike Guzman who emphasized economic progress.
In Topadro and Smith, we identify an effort to improve the human person not because of what can be gained from him but simply because he is a human person.
It can be said here that man is properly instituted as the subject, goal and reason for development and not its object.
The political elites of the country should rise and provide for the mass of our people with ample opportunities with which poverty can be fought and provide for them the opportunities to have tangible prospects for a better life.
This should be done by sustained efforts and decisive programmes aim at attacking poverty by the democratic government.
Until this is essentially done, Nigeria’s democracy would continue to be threatened and will not flourish expectedly.
In this regard Nigeria must move away from a docile situation, where citizens passively receive services from the State, and where elected officials seek commendations for doing what they ought to do.
We should adopt a system that systematically includes the socially and economically excluded, where people are active champions of their own development, and where government works effectively to develop people’s capabilities to lead the lives they desire.
In the opinion of Giorgis (2010) “The pervasive malaise troubling Africa today is primarily a function of the chronic deficit in democratic governance, widespread economic mismanagement and rampant corruption that operate to undermine nation building, undercut state construction hinder national development and vitiate state fragility”.
This is indeed true of Nigeria.
We continue to struggle on the threshold of these anomalies which strongly undermine our optimal development.
To get out of this malaise, we need to stimulate Nigerians to work together.
Our national plan has to attack the blight of poverty and exclusion, and nurture economic growth at the same time; creating a virtuous cycle of expanding opportunities, building capabilities, reducing poverty, involving communities in their own development, all leading to raising living standards.
Such a virtuous cycle requires agreement across society about the contribution and sacrifices of all sectors and interests.
This will translate into greater confidence and a greater field of opportunities for individuals and the country.
Growth and development, and reducing poverty and inequality, strong leadership throughout society, national consensus, social cohesion and a capable state are its key enablers towards national development in Nigeria.
Tolerance and National Development: The Roadmap for Nigeria: According to Emmanuel, (2003) tolerance is the mutual understanding and cooperation between groups with different ethnicities, religions, political ideologies and economic status.
It is seen as the basis for longer and deeper process of developing a culture of peace, it is the minimal essential quality of social relations that eliminate violence and coercion.
This simply affirmed that tolerance is the pathway to peaceful life and community, without which national development cannot be attained.
Nigeria should be able to evolve a mechanism of action through which moral and religious tolerance will be pivoted on.
This can be achieved by inculcating the spirit of servant leadership which promotes mercy and kindness between and among the people.
We must not burden ourselves with what we cannot bear and we have to learn how to optimize our commitments and engagements.
Whatever mistakes or offence we might commit against one another, tolerance should be a unifying force that expiates the offence.
We must remain conscious that on The Day of Judgment, Allah will bring us individually and collectively to account for all transgressions we perpetrated against one another.
This suggests that we have to be kind and merciful to one another in Nigeria and in Africa generally.
Religious tolerance among Nigerians can be developed through generosity and kindness between and among faithful of varied ethno-religious backgrounds.
We must refrain from taking revenges on those who have wronged us or transgressed against us willfully.
Through this mechanism, we can avoid wars and fights or clashes in Nigeria, and so ensure development.
Nigeria must evolve a strong mechanism of tolerance because our national development is indeed based on that.
The unfortunate religious crises and ethnic clashes in some parts of Taraba, Benue and Plateau States could have well been intercepted and avoided if we have evolved tolerance mechanism among us.
Our politicians must begin to tolerate one another knowing fully well that ideological variations are bound to occur.
In as much as the variations did not negate our essential basics and are not in conflict with our established laws, then we have to naturally adapt to one another’s perspectives.
We do not need to integrate those variations intrinsically in our psyches but we need to understand them and believe that they really exist.
Tolerance is a very good way to live in harmony.
Unity as a catalyst of national development: Nigeria is a large country occupied by diverse people with diverse languages and culture (Oputa, 2006).
Put it more succinctly, Nigeria is a very large country with different ethnicities, different languages, different cultures and different people.
These are destined to live together by the 1914’s amalgamation led my Sir Frederick Lugard.
The mutual oneness of both the Northern and Southern protectorates becoming Nigeria is the beginning of our indispensable unity.
Unity is defined as the state of being united or joined as a whole, the state of forming a complete and a harmonious form.
In Nigeria, we experience unity in different perspectives.
We are united by different parameters.
Religion being the principal factor that unites us is keenly followed by ethnicity.
Ideally, the corporate existence that we enjoy in Nigeria should be such that makes us have strong concerns whenever some devastating conditions befell any part of the country.
We should be able to collectively work to avert any ugly scenario that pervades us.
Unity should bind us together devoid of sentiments or ideological conflicts.
While we are living and enjoying the luxuries and the comforts of the 21st Century, the spirit of unity among us should make us become immune to any oddity.
In a country where unity thrives, the people do not feel oppressed because they are strengthened by each other in periods of afflictions.
Such a society does not collapse because there is love and a cohesive bond of togetherness.
In a country where unity thrives, tribalism does not play any role and nationalism will naturally evolve.
Security as indispensable necessity for Nigeria’s national development: Security can be defined as protection against something that might happen in the future or as the activities involved in protecting a country, a building or persons against threats danger, etc., (Wehmeier and Ashby, 2002).
Essentially, security must be related to the presence of peace, safety, happiness and the protection of human and physical resources or the absence of crisis, threats to human injury among others.
Security according to Nwagboso, (2012) is the act of being safe from harm or danger, the defense, protection and preservation of values, and the absence of threats to acquired values.
Security also exists when people live together in a certain environment without disturbance or violent.
Accordingly, Adebakin,(2012) also viewed security as freedom from danger or threats, and the ability of a nation to protect and develop itself, promote and cherish values and legitimate interests and enhance the well being of its people.
This can be maintained through internal security system.
Internal security ensures freedom of people from any criminal disturbances and the absence of criminal tendencies which can undermine internal cohesion and cooperative existence of the nation and its ability to maintain its core values and meet the legitimate aspiration of the people Some of the reasons that cause insecurity in Nigeria include a confused system of governance which we hurriedly inherited which lead the concentration of political power to the center (Federal and States).
Weak judicial system, injustice, nepotism and the culture of impunity, bribery and corruption, religious intolerance, political thuggery, as well as unemployment aided by Insecurity has cost Nigeria a great deal over time.
The Impacts of Insecurity in Nigeria: Insecurity with all its attendants’ allies has ravaged the country considerably.
Armed robbery, armed banditry, Boko Haram terrorism, Niger-Delta militancy cattle rustling, ethno-religious crises and others have for a very long time thwarted an optimal development in Nigeria.
Insecurity especially in the form of Boko Haram insurgency in Northeast, Ethnic clashes in North Central, armed banditry in North West, constitutes the biggest threat being faced by this country and its neighbors.
For instance, in Kaduna state, several local government areas are severely affected by bandits.
Our story in Birnin Gwari of Kaduna state is that of agony and sympathy.
The armed bandits have made hell out of the people’s lives in my area.
They have completely ravaged the areas by armed robbery, armed banditry, cattle rustling and abductions.
Our agricultural and socio-economic sectors have been crippled.
Still in Kaduna state, areas like that of Sabon Birni in Igabi, Chikun and some places in Southern Kaduna are still battling with armed robbers and armed bandits.
The story is same with Zamfara state where people are being killed on daily basis by the same armed bandits and agriculture is seriously crippled.
In Katsina and Niger states, the people are still experiencing threats and killings by the criminals who sometimes open fire sporadically on a complete village.
Just last week Tuesday, in Rabah local government area of Sokoto state, more than 40 people including the village head of Tabanni were massacred by the armed bandits after rustling their cattle and scorching the entire village.
These and several other crimes committed on innocent people in North West are indicators that insecurity has eaten deep into the fabrics of Nigerians.
We commend the efforts of the Federal government and the Kaduna state government for whatever efforts they put in place in recent times to forestall the crime in Birnin Gwari area and the state entirely.
State Police: A formidable step towards fighting crimes in Nigeria: Mr.
Chairman, permit me to lend another voice in support of State Police.
Nigeria must rise to this contemporary necessity.
We must not continue to manipulate issues of national importance in favor of our political inclinations.
Much discourse has been propounded in recent times about the establishment or otherwise of the State Police, as the practice is found in other nations.
I therefore see this as a timely necessity.
It is the only hope left for us to curb rising cases of insecurity in our localities.
The concept of state police has well and fully been integrated in the Law enforcement agencies of various countries and the phenomenon has succeeded in ensuring security of the valued citizenry.
For example, the system has worked quite impressively in the United States of America.
It has also worked perfectly well in Argentina as Provincial Police.
The story is same in Australia where the six states that make up Australia are well secured through the system of State police.
In Belgium, the majority of policing work is carried out by the State Police forces while the Federal Police are left with the investigations of crimes.
Countries like Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom all have State Police, Provincial Police or Local Police apart from the National or Federal Police.
That has significantly improved the security apparatus of those It is my candid opinion that the State police when established can work routinely in towns and villages as opposed to strictly patrolling the politically oriented programmes of their respective state governors and federal highways.
Their duties should become similar with the duties of federal police in crime detection, prevention and eradication.
Similarly, there should be partnership between the State police and the local vigilante and other law enforcement agencies as this will open door for community policing and easier interception of crimes.
By and large, issues of insecurity in Nigeria can be overcome by sound planning frameworks, political will, clear policies, consistent application and sensible financing arrangements.
Mr.
Chairman, before I would like to advocate for the critical involvement of the t I in community policing and crime prevention.
I deliberately left the issue out of the main discussion because I am aware that on so many fora this issue has been put forward and in reality has proved to be practicable and effective.
Conclusion/ Recommendations: After careful review of our situation, I recommend that government at all levels in Nigeria should show more concerted concerns by increasing the political will in fighting the scourge of insecurity that ravaged parts of this country.
Politicians must fear Allah and avoid imposing their personal and jaundiced wills over a collective mission that can better our societies.
They should rather become unifying forces who individually and collectively promote tolerance, unity and security between and among us.
We need this much more than any other time as we approach the 2019 elections.
Those who are in authority and claim to represent the people should listen and follow the aspiration of the wider majority including deepening democratic processes and experiences.
This is the spirit of servant leadership.
Similarly, I recommend strongly that the Federal Government should expedite actions to complete the Legal processes towards establishing State Police in Nigeria and strengthening Community Policing.
Tolerance and unity are key elements that breed unity and national development.
It is my prayer that our Universities will start to run Undergraduate programmes on Nationalism, a platform where Nigerians will be trained, groomed and instilled with the spirit of nationalism.
There is a strong need for the emergence of new crop of leaders that are visionary centred, selfless, patriotically nationalists, accountable and transparent in all their dealings, Leaders who are tolerant with one another, leaders who are advocates of Nigeria’s unity and those who take to heart issues of insecurity with the mindset to resolve them for national development.
On Unity, I recommend that Nigeria should encourage formal education in local languages as it is recommended in the National Policy of Education.
Every Nigerian should be taught the Citizenship values right from Primary schools.
By the same token, inter-tribal marriages, inter-cultural debates and competitions including soccer competitions, should be encouraged as that can significantly boost unity among Nigerians.
Finally, it is very pertinent that the Federal government and all state governments in Nigeria put in more efforts in involving the masses in the formulation and implementation of developmental policies.
There is a remarkable and visible progress in the fight against corruption, but then governments at all levels must fight against corruption more fearlessly, firmly, and fairly.
That is to say, even after strengthening the agencies fighting corrupt practices like EFCC and ICPC, government should expedite judicial actions to strengthen our judicial system so as it will become more resistant to corruption and be seen as a mechanism that condemns and abhors corruption sternly.
I thank you all for listening, and Wassalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.
