Rights Advocate Faults Ribadu’s Claim of Improved Security in Nigeria

Linus Aleke in Abuja

A Child and Gender Rights Advocate, Lemmy Ughegbe, yesterday faulted National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu’s claim that there was improved security in the country. He insisted that NSA’s claim was empty government rhetoric.

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, had last week inferred that the security situation had tremendously improved from what was obtainable in 2022/23. The NSA who represented President Bola Tinubu at the Maiden News Agency of Nigeria’s Annual International Lecture themed, “Insecurity In The Sahel (2008-2024); Dissecting Nigeria’s Challenges – the Genesis, Impacts And Options,” in Abuja, said the military and other security agencies had killed no fewer than 30 terrorist and bandit commanders.

But speaking yesterday during a newspaper review session on AIT flagship programme Kakaki, Ughegbe said that farmers can no longer go to their farms because of the growing level of insecurity in the country.

He noted that the high price of food items in the market are directly connected with high level of insecurity in the land.

He noted that even the federal capital territory was relatively unsafe, as there are several unreported kidnap cases taking place regularly in the remotest part of the territory.

The senior journalist who described Ribadu’s claim of Improved security as empty government rhetoric also took a swipe at the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He averred that going back on unpopular government policies does not amount to weakness, rather it is mark of statesmanship.

He appealed to the president to reverse some of his economic policies, like removal of petroleum subsidy and floating of Naira, arguing that the policies are strangulating citizens.

He observed that Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to float Naira when Nigeria’s manufacturing capacity was at it is lowest ebb was ill advised.

Ughegbe also said that the current statistics by NBS does not represent reality as many Nigerians are going to bed on empty stomach, adding that millions of households are sliding into multidimensional poverty and NBS does not seem to captured this because of political considerations.

On his part the publisher of CKN, Chris Nwandu, said that more and more children are dropping out of school in Nigeria, thereby worsening the worrisome statistics of out of school children in the country.

He also noted that several families now eat once a day instead of three times, while the political class flaunt wealth as if all is well with the nation’s economy.