“I was there as a president for some time, security challenges were there with me. I also inherited some. But it is getting worse every day. And we cannot continue to use the same old method.”
Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday said the issue of insecurity in Nigeria was getting worse under President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.
Jonathan noted that the security challenges such as terror attacks, kidnapping, banditry and killings are now major problems in the country.
He spoke to journalists on Tuesday when he visited Reuben Fasoranti in Akure, Ondo State, to condole with the Afenifere leader over the death of his daughter, Funke Olakunrin.
Mrs. Olakunrin was murdered along Benin-Ore highway by suspected herdmens while returning to Lagos after visiting her father in Akure last Friday.
The ex-President explained that every government has its own challenges of security but there must be a solution to solve them.
Jonathan, who was in company of Sunday Abegunde, Secretary to the Ondo State Government, said the Federal Government must design a new approach to tackle the issue of insecurity in Nigeria.
According to him, the armed forces can deploy the use of technology to combat the security challenges in the country.
He said “It (insecurity) is now a major problem in the country and my belief is that the Federal Government with the state governments must design a different approach.
“I was there as a president for some time, security challenges were there with me. I also inherited some. But it is getting worse everyday. And we cannot continue to use the same old method.
“As security operatives, the police, DSS, and other armed forces must deploy technology. I believe the Federal Government will need to set up a special unit, just like we set up EFCC and ICPC to handle specific issues of corruption.
“They would know that their total responsibility is to manage this issue of kidnapping and attacks on people going on the road or going to the farm.
“We can’t continue that way, it is not just possible, because we can’t talk about managing the economy of this country if people are not safe.
“Economy is for the people, they must be alive to enjoy infrastructure. Even if you construct all the roads in the country and people cannot move around, then the road become meaningless.
“The issue of security must be approached from a different dimension, we cannot continue the old way because it is getting out of hand. We hope the federal and state governments will do something about it.”
He also advised the Buhari-led government to take a second look into the reports of the 2014 national confab to proffer solution to the insecurity challenges in the nation.