Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi has blamed Nigerians for the worsening insecurity in Nigeria, insisting that he will not blame President Muhammadu Buhari for the protracted crisis.

“Who are we ready to do political hallelujah boys for? Take the facts and tell ourselves the truth that the situation that we find ourselves in today, we exactly called for it,” said Mr Bello.

He added, “Security is the business of each and every one of us. I want to use myself as an example, and as I always say, I will never fail in my responsibilities and blame it on President Muhammadu Buhari.”

According to the governor, the security managers are the politicians, urging Nigerian youths to choose the country’s next president carefully.

“Take your minds a little off the service chiefs. The top-level management of security in Nigeria are the politicians, the political class who are those that are in charge of our political decisions. The question now is, who are we projecting?” the Kogi governor reasoned. “Show me his records. All of us have our history from the inception of democracy in this country; that is the responsibility that rests on our shoulders.”

Mr Bello stated this while delivering a keynote address at the National Security Summit organised by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Thursday in Abuja.

The summit was themed ‘National Security through Youth Engagement’.

According to the Kogi governor, inasmuch as the political class are the first managers of security, it is the collective responsibility of every citizen to contribute to the security architecture of the county, urging Nigerians to consolidate the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari to tackle the security challenges in the country effectively.

He further stressed, “The responsibilities that are lying on our shoulders, myself and you, have to do with the first level of security management, which is, management security and who are the managers of this security?”

The governor added that Kogi had become one of the safest states in the country because his administration put the right policies in place with citizens sensitised on their role in securing their environs.

He said the summit was timely as he urged NANS to develop a strong communique that would be a guiding path to advancing good governance and enhancing the country’s security.

(NAN)