The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has said the issue of security is the number priority in the country.
In an interview with the BBC aired on Tuesday, Obi said the rising level of insecurity requires must be decisively dealt with by the Federal Government and all Nigerians.
The former Governor of Anambra State said that addressing insecurity will tackle both price and food inflation in the country.
He said: “The number one priority today in Nigeria is the issue of security because it has become an essential issue for Nigeria.
“You can’t talk about being a country unless you are secure unless your citizens are secure. So, it’s an issue that must be dealt with decisively.
“It’s also something that if you deal with today, you can deal with inflation, because the worst part of inflation we are dealing with is food inflation. So, if you secure the country, your farmers will go back, they will produce more and the food inflation will come down.
“We have to immediately review and restructure the entire security architecture, make it responsive and responsible. Responsive is that they will deal with issues as quickly as possible. Responsible is that somebody is in charge and if he’s not doing it, don’t wait, the person will go.”
Obi Bemoan Leadership Failure
Obi pointed out that leadership failure experienced over the years has led to the country being described as a failed nation.
The LP flagbearer said he is ready to build a structure that will secure, unite and bring about production-centred leadership in the country.
He said: “What brought us to where we are today is the cumulative effect of leadership failure over the years by the same people who are in office today.
“We are talking about the structure that has kept us where we are, the structure that has produced the highest number of people in poverty in any country.
“The structure that has produced the highest number of out-of-school children, the structure that has made this country one of the most corrupt countries in the world, the structure that has made it one of the most insecure places in the world, the structure that has brought highest youth unemployment in the world, the structure that has made drug prevalence in Nigeria the highest, the structure that has brought disunity to Nigeria, that is the structure we want to remove.
“We want to bring a structure that will secure, unite and bring about production-centred leadership in Nigeria, where we will start pulling people out of poverty, children will be in school, where we will start ensuring that people get jobs when they leave school by supporting micro, small enterprises.
“A structure that will start governing by the rule of law, a structure that will fight corruption, this is the structure we need now.”
This article was originally published on OsunDaily News
