A retired Assistant Inspector General of Police, Mr Chris Ezike, on Sunday charged Nigerians to put the interest of the country first before personal interests.
Ezike, who was in-charge of Zone 4 of Nigeria Police Force in Makurdi, made the call as the Chairman of the 2019 Harvest Committee of Cathedral Church of the Advent, Life Camp, Abuja.
The theme of the 2019 Harvest was ” Harvest of Divine Abundance”.
He said, “Nigeria was not created this way. We must do the right things hoping that tomorrow will be better.
”The duty of putting this country on the right trajectory is the duty of all of us, government, parents, faith-based organisations have roles to play.
”Problem of honesty and unity is the problem of all of us. Church as an institution must continue the advocacy and we must contribute our quota because there is hope in all ramifications.
”We are passing through turbulence but we will surely come to a point of stability.
“We all have a role to play in finding solution to poverty, unemployment good governance and followership,” Ezike said.
He said that the country was under-policed and added that community policing was the answer to insecurity.
”When you want to fashion out how you police a place, the people must contribute. They must be part of making the policies to secure them.
”We must take security down to the smallest unit, traditional rulers, community leaders have roles to play. We must carry out structural adjustment about our policing.
”The UN says 1 policeman to every 100 persons, we are grossly under-policed and equipped.
“Policing is now a matter of technology, intelligence. It has to be intelligence driven.
”We must pay attention to involving communities in securing themselves and generating enough intelligence to be able to secure the people,” he said.
The Anglican Bishop of Ugheli, the Rt. Rev. Cyril Odutemu, said that the mercies of God must be celebrated in Nigeria.
Odutemu noted that what the country had passed through in the recent past would have caused crisis but “God’s divine providence has given us so much grace that even in crisis we have tolerance.’’
He said that many countries suffered natural calamities but Nigeria had been spared of it all.
”No matter how difficult the country is, God has opened heaven for us to eat and survive.
”The only problem Nigeria has is human weakness, God has provided for us and we need to manage what is provided wisely.
”I advise government to look inwards. Government should employ the little resources wisely to reach the masses so that we can all celebrate the goodness of God,” he said.
According to Odutemu, the problem of insecurity is not that of President Muhammadu Buhari alone.
”We must wake up to defend ourselves, support government, not going outside the law because you are the first security officer of your life.
”If we wait for the police and army, they can be overwhelmed but we must keep an eye on our neighbour, society and do the right thing.
”Every human being must defend himself. I am not saying you should go and pick up arms but do not allow yourself to be killed.
”Protect yourselves in every way possible, you must be alive before you talk of governance and resources,” he said.
Odutemu stated that Nigeria required education to go into state policing.
The bishop said that state police would help the situation because the enemies invading the land were not known to the national security architecture.
The state police will work because the state people know their environment better but they must do it faithfully with one thing in mind – to protect Nigeria as one nation,” he added.
