Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said the present federal security architecture does not give any hope let alone assurance of security.
Obasanjo said this on Friday at the 2020 edition of the Sobo Sowemimo Annual Lecture organised by Abeokuta Club, in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
He said it now boils down to every Nigerian taking his destiny in his or her hands when it comes to security.
He said: “Federal security architecture as organised and operated by the present government cannot give any individual or group hope, let alone assurance of security within Nigeria.
“Our destiny is in our own hands.
“In reform and restructuring, security architecture, structure and arrangement must devolve more security responsibility on the community, local and state authorities.”
Obasanjo said there is no state or region that is safe any more, as such no one should gloat over insecurity in any one part of the country at any point.
He said: “There was a time when armed robbers prowled the West and the Mid-West in Nigeria and the arrested ones were tied to stakes and publicly executed.
“At the time, the North was comparatively unaffected.
“There was also a time when kidnappers, militants, and human traffickers ravaged the East and the South-South, again the North was relatively unaffected; there was a time when terrorists, bandits, girls kidnappers, herders/farmers conflict, and cattle rustlers invaded the North-East and North-Central, and core North was relatively safe.
“Now, no part of the country can claim to be safe from the menace and insecurity caused by terrorists, armed robbers, human traffickers, kidnappers of all sorts, cattle rustlers, insurgents, bandits and herders/farmers conflicts.
“We are all challenged to put our thinking caps on, join hands and seek solution together, otherwise we will be destroyed piecemeal.
“There is no time to stand and stare or just to continue to call on governments that are ineffective.
“Let us take initiative and spearhead actions that will involve governments and the governed and will devolve security architecture, apparatus, arrangement and responsibility in subsidiarity.”