Afenifere to President Buhari: Clean up Nigeria’s mess now

Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to clean up Nigeria’s mess now.

The apex Yoruba body made the demand in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, on Sunday.

It said: “Reports from various parts of the country posted an unprecedented level of insecurity, direct attacks on security formations and camps of the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, as well as actual occupations of some areas by terrorists, especially in the northern part of the country. The recent invasion of Kaduna airport and the attack on the Abuja-Kaduna bound train by terrorists are things that bring not just shame to the country, but engendered deadly fear in the hearts of an average Nigerian.

“The level of insecurity was compounded by the unprecedentedly high cost of living, the collapse of social welfare, malfunctioning infrastructure, high level of unemployment, crime and hopelessness.

“While it is noteworthy that President Buhari conceded that there is ‘mess’ that needs to be cleaned up, such expression ought to come from an in-coming administration and not from someone who has been in the saddle for about seven years – out of the maximum eight years that he can spend in the office.

“Since the efforts the administration has been making all these years have not yielded the desired fruits, especially in the area of security, it is incumbent on the President to call on retired security officials to come and support those who are still in the service. Those to be recalled should include the retired soldiers, police and security officers of various hues. State police should also be allowed forthwith.

“In the same vein, the Federal Government should make use of the abundant human resources with which the Almighty blessed this country by allowing knowledgeable Nigerians to have input into the running of the country. The present attitude of we know it all as being exhibited by government officials cannot solve the problem which the President identified just as the intolerance to suggestions from well-meaning Nigerians on the part of government officials is at variance with the ‘accountability mantra’ that President affirmed while hosting the ICAN leadership on Friday.

“The tendency by those in government to regard the calls by well-meaning people and organizations to change for better as hate speech is not helping either the government or the country.

“It is not too late in the day to reverse the nation’s vehicle which appears to be heading towards the precipice. Greater respect must be given to the rule of law, justice must be allowed to prevail just as no group or entity is preferentially treated at the expense of others in the country.

“Indeed, to confirm that President is really determined to ‘clean the mess’, particularly in the area of security, willing states should be allowed to have their own state police just as government should show more commitment to education by respecting agreements reached with ASUU and other unions so that our youths can return to their schools.”