By Toby TAIWO
Nigeria’s top politician and major opposition leader, Atiku Abubakar advised Nigeria President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare an emergency on security in the country.
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and former Vice President, lamented that terrorists and bandits are wasting precious human lives and crippling the country’s education.
Atiku said there is a pattern in these attacks aimed at crippling the education sector and consequently stalling our development strides.
He said the attacks on schools are a direct threat to education and a colossal national embarrassment that demands urgent and drastic action.
“It is high time the Federal Government declared a state of emergency to empower commanders with more freedom to act decisively and proactively with these monsters in the county,” Atiku said.
“I am not in any way calling for the removal of elected officials, but rather advocating for commanders to have freer hand to protect their battlefield decisions from political interference.”
The ADC Presidential candidate explained that “Nigeria is facing worsening insecurity that demands extraordinary measures, including a state of emergency.
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“Learning can only take place in a safe environment, and terrorist attacks on schools are increasingly making our schools dangerous places. Worse still, the anxiety and trauma that follow terrorist attacks on schools will inevitably make the school environment unsafe for both students and teachers.
“Under no circumstances should we allow terrorists or bandits to destroy our way of life and stop our children from going to school.”
To address these security challenges, Atiku called for the establishment of national guards made up of retired veterans to complement the efforts of the military and police that are clearly overstretched and undermanned.”
He also called for improved human intelligence on terrorist movements and greater community vigilance, explaining that “our communities have a great role to play in information sharing and eternal vigilance.
