- The Chief of Army Staff asserted that granting full autonomy to local government areas will significantly address Nigeria’s insecurity issue
- He emphasized that local communities must experience development for the country to tackle insecurity effectively, and blamed the lack of good governance at the local level as a driver of insecurity
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, has revealed how insecurity will be solved in Nigeria. In his statement, he asserted that granting full autonomy to local government areas will significantly address the issue of insecurity in Nigeria.
During a Nigerian Army celebration, General Lagbaja made this statement on Friday in Jos. He emphasized that local communities must experience development for the country to tackle insecurity effectively.
He said, “Why are the elites resistant to LG autonomy, which people are clamouring for? The surest way to bring development to the grassroots level is to ensure LG autonomy. It’s not by establishing commissions or bureaucracies. We have already established bureaucracies. Until we take development to the grassroots level, we will not solve the problem of insecurity.
“For those familiar with the North East environment, when I was posted to 93 Battalion in 1992, driving from Maiduguri to Manguno, Kukawa, and other places within three hours was easy. But today, it’s not possible. Good governance at the local level is nonexistent, and that’s what’s driving insecurity in the country. This is not only in the North East but also in the North Central and other regions.”
Meanwhile, the federal government is taking steps to grant autonomy to the LGAs. Through the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the government has taken the 36 states to the Supreme Court over LG autonomy.
