Katsina Governor says declaring a state of emergency won’t solve Nigeria’s insecurity

Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State has said that declaring a state of emergency is not the solution to Nigeria’s insecurity problems.

He stated this while speaking to journalists after a meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the presidential villa, Abuja on Thursday.

Masari, who conceded that insecurity was a serious problem, maintained that even if a state of emergency was declared, it is the same security personnel and same resources that would be available to execute it, which he said, was unlikely to make any difference.

“It cannot because how can state of emergency solve the problem? You have a situation where the military are in all the states of the federation, then you ask yourself, how many do we have?” he said.

“Are we not overstretching them? So the reality is the responsibility of securing this country is ours, all of us. We have a role to play, and we must play it for the sake of the country and for the sake of our children and grandchildren, not for the sake of the persons that in office.

“I think we better be serious about this issue of security. If you say set up state of emergency, what do you do? We are having the same people, the same security agencies, the same capacities, and the same resources. So what are we talking about?” he said

He noted the security structure and personnel that would be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched by a myriad of crises across the country.

He emphasised the need for all Nigerians to be involved in the task of finding peace and security, adding that Nigeria must not be allowed to disintegrate as such would mean a major crisis for the entire African continent.

Recall that the House of Representatives on Tuesday asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately declare a state of emergency in the security sector to effectively tackle the worsening insecurity in the country.