An All Progressives Congress chieftain in Taraba, David Kente, has blamed Nigerian elites for the country’s insecurity and tension.

Mr. Kente, a commissioner on the North-East Development Commission’s board, made the charge while interacting with journalists.

“Leaders of thought and opinion moulders in positions of authority have sacrificed national interests to promote selfish interests.

“They promote religious, ethnic, regional and political divisions to suit their purposes,” he said.

Mr. Kente added, “Over the years, our leaders chose to promote selfish interests over national interests. They chose to achieve their political ambitions at all costs, not to serve but to amass wealth for themselves and their families.

“In the course of this, they have exploited religious, ethnic, political, and all kinds of sentiments.”

He added, “They created, and are still creating the kind of disunity that now threatens our very existence as a nation.

“In the next dispensation, the people must rise to choose leaders with national outlook and interests; leaders, who would promote national interests and uphold justice, equity and fairness.”

Continuing, he stated, “Education is the bedrock of every nation, and the threat to our education system by this continued abduction of school children is a threat to national sustainability.

“We have foreigners who are into organised crimes. This is one of the worst things that have happened to Nigeria.”

Mr. Kente, who was in the Taraba gubernatorial race in 2015 and 2019, noted that “community policing is a good idea for tackling insecurity.”

He also suggested that traditional institutions should be given defined roles, adding that the constitution should back this.

(NAN)