The Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has observed that the current security challenges bedevilling Nigeria can be addressed with economic solution and not with the use of force.
Speaking in Kaduna on Saturday at the 11th Annual Arewa House Lecture in Honour of the Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the former governor said that the present problems are essentially of an economic origin and must also have an economic solution.
He submitted that enhanced security may be the necessary first step, but arguing that it cannot be the only step, saying that Nigeria cannot resolve the problem by holding on to one-dimensional answers.
He noted, “Urban populations are growing but urban jobs are not. Here, government must implement a national industrial policy to encourage key industries that will begin to employ this growing urban work force.
“Like I said in my recent statement on the pressing issue of the herder and farmer dispute, we must appreciate that martial security measures alone will not suffice. Problems that are essentially of an economic origin must also have an economic solution. Enhanced security may be the necessary first step, but it cannot be the only step.”
The APC leader explained that the issue of insecurity, poverty, unemployment and extremism have many things to do with governance over the years.
He added, “We would do well to more critically study how other populous nations such as the UK, US, Germany and China charted their course during their formative years. You will see that they did not adhere to small government or the purportedly free market. Government engaged in massive spending on infrastructure and education while also engaging in policies that protected industrial development and key aspects of the agricultural sector. Only when they mature and held advantages over other nations, did the UK and US begin to champion free markets and small government. We would do well to understand this history and learn what it means for our own pursuit of development.”
