Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has called on the Federal Government to rethink the security infrastructure in the country.
This call is coming against the background of string of recent killings of farmers and indigenes by rampaging Fulani herdsmen across the country, especially the murder of about 50 persons in Uzo Uwani community in Enugu State two days ago.
Ekweremadu made the call on Wednesday at the public presentation of his book, ‘Who will Love my Country’ in Abuja.
“The primary responsibility of government is the security of lives and properties of the citizens. We must rethink our security system to serve us better”, the Deputy Senate President declared.
At the event, a minute silence was observed at the behest of the Deputy Senate President, in honour of victims of the Uzo Uwani killings, Enugu State and other parts of the country.
According to him, “the sad incident further reinforces the need for this book and the ideas espoused in in the book”.
Ekweremadu also urged Nigerian leaders to govern effectively and use power wisely, saying that was the only way to safeguard the citizens’ interest.
He challenged Nigerians to be patriotic- show love for fatherland above tribe, ethnic, religious and political persuasion, for the overriding interest of the country.
According to him, to love Nigeria, would entail for its citizens to critically revise and reexamine their attitudes, values, and treat one another kindly, adding that “it demands of us some sacrifice.”
He asked rhetorically: “Are we going to bequeath to them a banner stained by corruption, bad governance, ineffective leadership, ethnicity, slacking moral values, decadence, mediocrity, and sloth? God forbid!”
He said Nigeria needed to return to the path of progress and unity charted by her founding fathers.
He said: “If you are on a journey and you find out that you are travelling the wrong road, the right thing to do is to turn back and take the right path.
“We must be ready to surrender our perceived narrow advantages to the general good. We must let go, for unless you release the man you are holding to the ground, you would not also be able to move an inch. Now is the time to offer one another a hand of comradeship and together we can move to the Promised Land.”
He said he wrote the book not as the Deputy President of the Senate, nor as a card carrying member of any political party, but as a patriotic Nigerian, who was concerned about Nigeria’s future, adding that “I lay no claims to having the solutions to Nigeria’s problems; I simply want to challenge and inspire Nigerians to rise above ethnic, partisan and selfish interests and focus more on how to build a better country for us and our children.”
Ekweremadu, further charged Nigerian leaders to “show fidelity to democratic imperatives of accountability and transparency, respect the laws of the land and respect the rights and liberties of citizens.
The book presentation, which had in attendance a retinue of serving and former governors, ministers, party leaders, federal lawmakers, across political divides, was chaired by former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (Rtd), while President Muhammadu Buhari, was represented by the the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed was the Special Guest of Honour.
It also recorded a high turn out of members of the academia, diplomatic corps, and the civil society, according to a statement by Ekweremadu’s media aide, Uche Anichukwu. ORDERPAPER
