Can a Decentralised Government Solve Nigeria’s Security Woes?
Olusola Samuel Owonikoko
At the Intersection of Business, Inclusion & Development
There can never be #sustainabledevelopment without the security of life and property.
Although the gory days of the Nigerian civil war are far behind us, the country is facing a new kind of war. This time it's the state against its citizens.
In the last 10 years, there is enough media and existential evidence that Nigeria has not guaranteed peace, stability and security for the bulk of her citizens. These fault lines continue to take us two steps forward and five steps backwards on our development journey.
When there is no sustainable peace and #security, no government can focus on meeting the real development needs of its people. This explains the perceived retrogression in many African states today.
In the case of Nigeria, our diversity, which is supposed to be our biggest strength has become our curse. In my opinion, the greatest cause of disaffection is the skewed balance of power and allocation of resources which fails to reflect the nuanced needs and demands of various interest groups.
Therefore, there are notions of exclusion; sinking cracks in our unity. These notions have graduated into armed conflict; giving rise to kidnapping, ethnic cleansing and genocide.
To fix this, power must be decentralised in a way that gives citizens a say in issues that concern them.
Educationist | Teach For Nigeria Alumna| Administrator | Founder - The Identity Movement (TIM) | Co Founder - Spark EdTech | Content Writer |
3 年Well delivered thoughts there, really. The state of unrest in the nation is stopping everything else from working. As much as Education have a vital role to play in the development of a nation, when security of life is not dealt with, quality education cannot be delivered because no one is willing to pay the price with their lives. Sustainable peace through power decentralization might really be helpful here.