Abdulsalami Warns Politicians, Says Defections Inducing Violence, Crisis

*Rising conflict may truncate Nigeria’s democracy in 2023,
says UK
*Seeks urgent reforms in army, police

A former military Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar
(rtd), yesterday cautioned against the frequent defections by
politicians, saying it is causing violence, crisis that overheat
the polity.

Abdulsalami, at the launch of the Peace and Inclusive Security
Initiative by the 36 states governors yesterday in Abuja, warned
against the frequent defections by politicians from one political
party to another.

He spoke against the backdrop of political realignment by
politicians ahead of the 2023 general election that has seen some
of them, especially governors and lawmakers, change parties.

No fewer than three governors have dumped the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) since
last November when Ebonyi State Governor, Chief Dave Umahi, left
the opposition party.

Others that have defected are Cross River State Governor, Prof.
Ben Ayade, and Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Bello Matawalle.

Also, at the launch of the initiative, the British High
Commission in Nigeria, warned that the crisis facing Nigeria, if
not quickly resolved, could destabilise the democratic process and
the 2023 general election.

It also called for urgent reforms in the Nigerian Army and the
Nigeria Police Force, explaining that the use of the army and the
police cannot resolve the security challenges facing Nigeria.

It said the way forward is reconciliation, mediation,
arbitration, and access to justice.
Abdulsalami, represented by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese,
Bishop Matthew Kukah, warned politicians against the frequent
change of parties as it could destabilise the country.
He said: “These acts of defections cause violence and overheat the
polity because of a simple act of one politician. These decisions
spur violence and crisis.”

He also called for more cooperation among the security agencies
in tackling crimes and criminalities. He queried the
deradicalisation of repentant insurgents, saying that the federal
government should make open the content of deradicalisation that is
given to them.

In his speech, the Development Director, Foreign and
Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), British High Commission in
Nigeria, Mr. Chris Pycroft, warned that Nigeria faces significant
security challenges that could endanger the 2023 general
election.

He said: “There is an active insurgency in the North-east;
farmer-herder conflicts are extending across the country; resource
conflicts in the Delta; tension in the South-east; and banditry in
the North-west. The rise in conflict risks destabilising Nigeria’s
democracy in the run-up to 2023 elections.

“Conflict destroys lives, destroys livelihoods, destroys hope
and ambition for the future. Conflict represents an existential
threat to Nigeria’s unity and its development.”

The envoy called for reforms in the police and the army, saying:
“The police and army are in urgent need of reform but the solution
to Nigeria’s instability does not lie in simply strengthening the
police and army but rather in building an effective social
contract, building federal, state, local and community-level
infrastructure to manage conflict; and in giving young people jobs
and opportunities so that they have a stake in a prosperous and
peaceful Nigeria.”

He added: “The proliferation of small arms and weapons, and the
weaponisation of social media are drivers of conflict and
instability. But with the right commitment, dedications and
support-there are solutions.”

Pycroft stated that the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development
Office (FCDO) recognises the important role the Nigerian Governors’
Forum (NGF) plays in setting the peace and security agenda,
building state-level, and community-level structures and
institutions to reduce violence and to respond to conflict and
insecurity across Nigeria.
He said the FCDO was keen on continuing its collaboration with and
support for Nigeria in its efforts to deal with the mounting
insecurity.

Pycroft stated that the UK is pleased to support the governors’
initiative and is committed to continue working with them in
advancing their peace and security agenda.
According to him, peace and stability will be achieved when the
causes of conflict in society are managed through strong, fair, and
responsive governance mechanisms – whether at community, state, or
federal level.

“The use of the police and army will always be only part of the
solution. Greater emphasis needs to be placed on reconciliation,
mediation, arbitration, and access to justice – all vital
components of a vibrant, resilient, and effective social contract,”
he said.

Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Ekiti State Governor, Dr.
Kayode Fayemi, said Nigeria is still at the crossroads, adding that
one of the key areas where there is an urgent need for consensual
action is security governance.

He said the escalation of violence and coordinated criminal
activities had undermined the government’s authority and waned
public trust in recent times.
According to him, the worsening insecurity in the country is not
only eroding citizens’ safety and people’s means of livelihoods,
but threatening the expression of the rights of all Nigerians.

“The security crisis has been attributed to several factors –
including an oversized population that the government is unable to
cope with, a large number of poor people estimated at over 40 per
cent of the population who are living below $1 per day, and indeed,
desertification which has affected over 60 per cent of Nigeria’s
land, as drought and climate change has continued to aggravate land
deterioration in the country.

“While the Sahara Desert is expanding southwards, a rising Gulf
of Guinea, coupled with a sinking continental shelf, threatens
coastal areas. This trend has greatly impacted the source of
livelihood for many Nigerians.

“The proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the
country has also made the situation worse and exacerbated the level
of violence and fatalities from crime,” he stated.

Fayemi said between May 2011 and February 2021, over 76,000
deaths were reported by the press and tracked by the Nigeria
Security Tracker (NST) – a project of the Council on Foreign
Relations’ Africa programme, which documents and maps violence in
Nigeria that is motivated by political, economic, or social
grievances.

“This number also includes persons who have been killed by a
state actor. In addition to the proliferation of arms is an
undertone of rising ethnic conflict, with different ethnic groups
subsumed in conflicts and pitched against one another,” he
added.
He stated that the challenge is also not just an internal security
problem, but on regional and continental peace and stability.

According to him, mass displacement of persons from their areas
of residence remains a challenge, adding that “at the end of 2019,
the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) reported a total
number of 2,583,000 internally displaced persons who have been
affected by conflict and violence in the country.”

He acknowledged that the federal government has intensified
efforts to tackle the insecurity and humanitarian crisis, but the
serious underlying socio-economic issues meant that the solution to
the problem required more than a security action.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic was also changing the security
landscape, adding that existing risks have been intensified while
new risks have emerged, including rising social tensions, as
witnessed in the #ENDSARS protests.

“The new reality has seen the rise of non-state actors such as
the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the Western Nigeria Security
Network—also known as Amotekun—in the South-west, and several
groups in the South-south region and other parts of “Ultimately,
how well we respond to the security challenge depends on the level
of collaboration between state and non-state actors. I believe this
dialogue will help to significantly contribute to a country-wide
response to the security challenge in the country among other
developmental issues,” he said.

He explained that to consolidate on the measures taken by
individual state governments and regional bodies of governors, the
peace and inclusive security initiative will help establish
strategic dialogues and a mechanism to stimulate collaborative
responses among stakeholders on conflict and security at the
federal, state and civil society level.

“It is a positive initiative which I am confident will
strengthen the governance arrangement for security in the country.
State governments are committed to the ideals of this initiative.
Many have already begun different levels of collaborative
arrangements on these concerns,” he said.

*Rising conflict may truncate Nigeria’s democracy in 2023,
says UK
*Seeks urgent reforms in army, police

A former military Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar
(rtd), yesterday cautioned against the frequent defections by
politicians, saying it is causing violence, crisis that overheat
the polity.

Abdulsalami, at the launch of the Peace and Inclusive Security
Initiative by the 36 states governors yesterday in Abuja, warned
against the frequent defections by politicians from one political
party to another.

He spoke against the backdrop of political realignment by
politicians ahead of the 2023 general election that has seen some
of them, especially governors and lawmakers, change parties.

No fewer than three governors have dumped the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) since
last November when Ebonyi State Governor, Chief Dave Umahi, left
the opposition party.

Others that have defected are Cross River State Governor, Prof.
Ben Ayade, and Zamfara State Governor, Alhaji Bello Matawalle.

Also, at the launch of the initiative, the British High
Commission in Nigeria, warned that the crisis facing Nigeria, if
not quickly resolved, could destabilise the democratic process and
the 2023 general election.

It also called for urgent reforms in the Nigerian Army and the
Nigeria Police Force, explaining that the use of the army and the
police cannot resolve the security challenges facing Nigeria.

It said the way forward is reconciliation, mediation,
arbitration, and access to justice.
Abdulsalami, represented by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese,
Bishop Matthew Kukah, warned politicians against the frequent
change of parties as it could destabilise the country.
He said: “These acts of defections cause violence and overheat the
polity because of a simple act of one politician. These decisions
spur violence and crisis.”

He also called for more cooperation among the security agencies
in tackling crimes and criminalities. He queried the
deradicalisation of repentant insurgents, saying that the federal
government should make open the content of deradicalisation that is
given to them.

In his speech, the Development Director, Foreign and
Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), British High Commission in
Nigeria, Mr. Chris Pycroft, warned that Nigeria faces significant
security challenges that could endanger the 2023 general
election.

He said: “There is an active insurgency in the North-east;
farmer-herder conflicts are extending across the country; resource
conflicts in the Delta; tension in the South-east; and banditry in
the North-west. The rise in conflict risks destabilising Nigeria’s
democracy in the run-up to 2023 elections.

“Conflict destroys lives, destroys livelihoods, destroys hope
and ambition for the future. Conflict represents an existential
threat to Nigeria’s unity and its development.”

The envoy called for reforms in the police and the army, saying:
“The police and army are in urgent need of reform but the solution
to Nigeria’s instability does not lie in simply strengthening the
police and army but rather in building an effective social
contract, building federal, state, local and community-level
infrastructure to manage conflict; and in giving young people jobs
and opportunities so that they have a stake in a prosperous and
peaceful Nigeria.”

He added: “The proliferation of small arms and weapons, and the
weaponisation of social media are drivers of conflict and
instability. But with the right commitment, dedications and
support-there are solutions.”

Pycroft stated that the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development
Office (FCDO) recognises the important role the Nigerian Governors’
Forum (NGF) plays in setting the peace and security agenda,
building state-level, and community-level structures and
institutions to reduce violence and to respond to conflict and
insecurity across Nigeria.
He said the FCDO was keen on continuing its collaboration with and
support for Nigeria in its efforts to deal with the mounting
insecurity.

Pycroft stated that the UK is pleased to support the governors’
initiative and is committed to continue working with them in
advancing their peace and security agenda.
According to him, peace and stability will be achieved when the
causes of conflict in society are managed through strong, fair, and
responsive governance mechanisms – whether at community, state, or
federal level.

“The use of the police and army will always be only part of the
solution. Greater emphasis needs to be placed on reconciliation,
mediation, arbitration, and access to justice – all vital
components of a vibrant, resilient, and effective social contract,”
he said.

Chairman, Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Ekiti State Governor, Dr.
Kayode Fayemi, said Nigeria is still at the crossroads, adding that
one of the key areas where there is an urgent need for consensual
action is security governance.

He said the escalation of violence and coordinated criminal
activities had undermined the government’s authority and waned
public trust in recent times.
According to him, the worsening insecurity in the country is not
only eroding citizens’ safety and people’s means of livelihoods,
but threatening the expression of the rights of all Nigerians.

“The security crisis has been attributed to several factors –
including an oversized population that the government is unable to
cope with, a large number of poor people estimated at over 40 per
cent of the population who are living below $1 per day, and indeed,
desertification which has affected over 60 per cent of Nigeria’s
land, as drought and climate change has continued to aggravate land
deterioration in the country.

“While the Sahara Desert is expanding southwards, a rising Gulf
of Guinea, coupled with a sinking continental shelf, threatens
coastal areas. This trend has greatly impacted the source of
livelihood for many Nigerians.

“The proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the
country has also made the situation worse and exacerbated the level
of violence and fatalities from crime,” he stated.

Fayemi said between May 2011 and February 2021, over 76,000
deaths were reported by the press and tracked by the Nigeria
Security Tracker (NST) – a project of the Council on Foreign
Relations’ Africa programme, which documents and maps violence in
Nigeria that is motivated by political, economic, or social
grievances.

“This number also includes persons who have been killed by a
state actor. In addition to the proliferation of arms is an
undertone of rising ethnic conflict, with different ethnic groups
subsumed in conflicts and pitched against one another,” he
added.
He stated that the challenge is also not just an internal security
problem, but on regional and continental peace and stability.

According to him, mass displacement of persons from their areas
of residence remains a challenge, adding that “at the end of 2019,
the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) reported a total
number of 2,583,000 internally displaced persons who have been
affected by conflict and violence in the country.”

He acknowledged that the federal government has intensified
efforts to tackle the insecurity and humanitarian crisis, but the
serious underlying socio-economic issues meant that the solution to
the problem required more than a security action.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic was also changing the security
landscape, adding that existing risks have been intensified while
new risks have emerged, including rising social tensions, as
witnessed in the #ENDSARS protests.

“The new reality has seen the rise of non-state actors such as
the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the Western Nigeria Security
Network—also known as Amotekun—in the South-west, and several
groups in the South-south region and other parts of “Ultimately,
how well we respond to the security challenge depends on the level
of collaboration between state and non-state actors. I believe this
dialogue will help to significantly contribute to a country-wide
response to the security challenge in the country among other
developmental issues,” he said.

He explained that to consolidate on the measures taken by
individual state governments and regional bodies of governors, the
peace and inclusive security initiative will help establish
strategic dialogues and a mechanism to stimulate collaborative
responses among stakeholders on conflict and security at the
federal, state and civil society level.

“It is a positive initiative which I am confident will
strengthen the governance arrangement for security in the country.
State governments are committed to the ideals of this initiative.
Many have already begun different levels of collaborative
arrangements on these concerns,” he said.