Date: 2021-05-14

Vice president of Global Industrial Union, Comrade Issa Aremu, has applauded the recent decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to adopt an inclusive "bottom-up approach" through community policing and enactment of Police Trust Fund to prevent and curtail violent crimes in the country.

Aremu gave the commendation in Ilorin, Kwara State, while speaking at the annual Ramadan lecture in honour of his late wife, Hajiya Hamdalat Aremu, at the Press Centre of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kwara State chapter.

Aremu had erected a Mosque at the NUJ press centre to immortalise the deceased.

The renowned labour leader said, "Having seen the limitation of top- down shoot-at sight-order, I agree with President Muhammadu Buhari that all of us stakeholders must "go back to the basics, from ward, to local council, states and federal" to eradicate the cancer of age-long underdevelopment, unemployment and poverty, fueling youth indulgence in violence".

He, however, posited that physical measures must go hand in hand with socio- economic measures to create jobs and eradicate extreme poverty which he said fuels extremism.

Noting that every crime is local, Aremu urged state governors, local government chairmen and traditional rulers to assume greater feasibility in apprehending crimes in collaboration with federal security agencies across the country.

Aremu observed that what Nigeria has at hand is "a legacy problem of non-inclusive governance, underfunded police force by past military regimes, adding that, it was time for all inclusive collaboration among all stakeholders."

Reacting to the southern governors' call for the convocation of a national dialogue, Aremu noted that while Nigerians can make do with "more discussions", the country should not be turned into "a debating society" but "a performing Republic" that guarantees sustainable peace and development.

"If you ask me, many conferences have interpreted Nigeria's problems, additional summit is one too many, too wasteful, too diversionary. It's time to walk all the talks. Governors should collaborate across regions, across parties, not divisive regional platforms initiate marshal plan of economic renaissance to lift 100 million out of poverty as envisaged by President Buhari. Get youths off crimes," he posited.

Aremu said the call by southern governors for restructuring amounts to "hypocrisy and double standard when on the one hand some of the governors unacceptably resisted simple autonomy for the state assemblies, judiciary and local government which the President commendably championed.

The guest lecturer at the occasion, Sheik Suleiman Olodan of the University of Ilorin expressed optimism that Nigerians would overcome the prevailing security problems if the leaders uphold the doctrine of justice, inclusiveness and honesty in governance as enjoined in the Holy Qur'an.