Open letter to Ex-Governor/Ex Senator Saraki of Kwara State - on Nigeria insecurity

Dear Ex-Governor/Ex-Senator, thank you for your suggestions for Buhari. I am happy to note that the level of insecurity in the nation disturbs your sleep, especially as it affects your fellow citizens.

The shallowness of the rich when it comes to addressing a problem of insecurity is always centred on the relieving of the inconveniences it exerts on their persons or freedom of movement or the threat to their families, property or business in general.

The well-meaning suggestions are good, especially coming from a past Governor/Senator who had a chance to improve the inequality in his adopted State of Harmony. But you said nothing about what to bring together to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, which I believe is the root of the insecurity problem. Except that your suggestions seem directed towards strengthening security apparatus and tools of force to address the insecurity.

As long as leadership fails to address inequality from its root, all that is set up through security apparatus will only be enforcing violent suppression against the “crime of fight for survival” unleashed on the nation by their leaders’ mismanagement of treasury, looting and stealing of fund and the unconscientious allocation of better salary to these leaders, that does not reflect the state of the economy.

They approve unsustainable income to the lower cadre of public servants in the society, as the leaders took care of their comfort and opulence at the expense of State resources.

So Saraki, you may be genuine in your concern for the country insecurity, but the solutions proferred is understandably less likely to work for all. Though it may temporarily work for the class you belong in the society. The society shielded with State security apparatus or the one they can afford for themselves.

A nation creates its criminals through the application of governance success or failure that reduces inequality to a bearable tolerable level which allows people to live in peace together and not turn against each other in criminality and violent agitation, in an attempt to survive.

Thanks Gov/Sen Saraki, but no thanks for the impoverished legacy that you and your colleagues at National or State level or both, added to make worse the insecurity Nigeria still struggles with and its straddle with today.

We are happy your sleep is disturbed by the insecurity. I am sure the other class of leaders are also concerned and willing to pay lip service of concern to remind us of the need to be relevant in Nigeria challenges. One can only hope you will think of your contribution to it, directly or indirectly, when you had the chance to mitigate it.

Please, help the government to look at other additional measures that reduce inequality to address this current State of insecurity. Allow me to suggest some ways to address what I consider as the fundamental root cause of insecurity in Nigeria today:

1. Campaigning against and Reviewing the high gap disparity between the salary of the executive and legislatures and the ordinary public servants of Nigeria.

2. Supporting the rehabilitation of our elementary and middle schools. So that children of average citizens are attracted to going to schools that have a proper desk, a blackboard, chalk, books to read on subjects taught and share, a monitored teacher/pupil ratio that yields quality and impactful teaching, including a well-trained teacher who has an understanding on the curriculum to be taught.

3. Advising Government to pay attention to health infrastructures that give hope to the citizens that when they try to access prevention or emergency help they will not end up becoming very poor or die in the process.

4. Assisting the people to really get help to support small and medium businesses to support the economy and orient them to return to the farmland with appropriate tools to work on the land, in order to yield its goodness for everyone.

These are some of the things to be considered and given adequate priority, which will, in the long run, reduce insecurity in the country.

Dear Ex Gov/Ex-Senator, I am not sure you will get this open letter. But if you do, I hope you will share it with the people you listed in your advise that Buhari should gather up to address the current insecurity in our beloved Nigeria.

I’m hoping you will not sleep until the insecurity is reduced significantly. There are many others in your class and the poor in our cities and rural areas who have also lost quality sleep as well.

So dear Ex Gov/Ex-Senator, I am very thankful for reading it (if you ever read this).

Like Tai Solarin, of blessed memory from Ikenne once told his students in their effort to “learn and make an impact” to the society, “May your road be rough”, to make the roads to the future of Nigeria, be smooth.

I remain a humble Kwara citizen, Lolabee.