Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of Osun State on Friday called for innovative governance at the federal, state and local levels in a collaborative way for optimum results against insecurity in Nigeria.
Oyetola made the call at the 17th All Nigerian Editors Conference (ANEC) organised by the Guild of Editors (NGE) with the theme:“Media in Times of Crises: Resolving Conflict ,Achieving Consensus’’in Abuja.
Represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the state, Mr Adeyanju Binuyo, he commended the editors for beaming the searchlight on the challenges of insecurity facing the nation.
`There is no gainsaying the fact that we need great wisdom and collective will at this moment to ensure that as we respond to the challenges, and we do not end up taking the wrong steps that could further compound them.
“Not taking the wrong steps requires innovative governance styles at the federal, state and local levels. We must all collaborate for optimum results.
“This is so because security is a crucial factor in governance.
“Security makes governance, business, development, trade, commerce, and every ingredient associated with governance possible and predictable,’’he said.
According to Oyetola, conversely, insecurity hampers sustained economic policies and strategy.
He said that banditry, for instance had badly affected farming activites in many parts of the country, thus challenging the economy and bringing about famine, hunger and low GDP.
He said that it was therefore incumbent on the nation to work harder to find lasting solutions to the current situation.
Oyetola said that although Osun had its own share of insecurity ranging from farmers and herdsmen crises, to banditry among others, it however took some steps to address it by re-jigging its security architecture.
Oyetola said that Osun administration organised a security summit and introduced a civic engagement framework that focused on bridging the gap between the leadership of the state and the nation’s citizens.
He said that the framework was essentially a town hall model, where key functionaries of government sat with representatives of the people at strategic locations within the nine federal constituencies of the state to dialogue and receive feedback on the activities of government.
Oyetola said that for proper security of lives and property of Osun people and the prompt containment of growing challenges, the government engaged traditional institutions.
He said this was because governors particularly could not afford not to look in the direction of the traditional institution.
“This is because every conflict is local and as such, traditional institutions cannot be left out of the scheme.
“Traditional rulers know their people and also have better strategies for engaging them.
“Therefore, we must ride on this to be able to protect our nation better.’’
Oyetola said that even though Osun had the lowest youth unemployment rate in the country at 11.65 per cent, it had continued to work at ways of engaging them as “unemployment is a major catalyst for insecurity”.
He said so far, about 18,000 Osun youths had been empowered through various schemes, including loan disbursement to enable them to start new businesses and boost existing ones.
He added that youths were also being integrated in politics and governance as part of efforts to achieve the sustainable development.
Oyetola said that maintaining and sustaining security was the answer to ensuring justice, fairness and equity for all communities in all sectors and that was the way to go.
He said that no society would move forward without adequate security of lives and property.
He said that without security, no effective planning would take place and there would be little or no development.
“As a people, we must realise that it is only in a safe and secure environment that optimal local commercial activities can take place.
“Foreign investors can be attracted; goods and services can be provided; infrastructure can be built and maintained; public service can be delivered, and social and political activities can take place peacefully.
“Therefore, the quest for a sustainable and peaceful society must be prioritised as the collective responsibility of all citizens,’’ he said.
(NAN)
