In the aftermath of the EndSars protests across the country, President Muhammadu Buhari empanelled a high-powered Committee led by his Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari to travel across the six geo-political zones to consult and feel the pulse of the people, and feed back the administration on the realistic solutions to the myriad of complaints by the Nigerian youths and indeed the cross section of Nigerians.
As the Committee comprising leading members of the Buhari cabinet apart from the Chief of Staff, namely the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu and the Director General of the Department of State services, Yusuf Bichi embark on the trouble- shooting mission, it is expected that the end result will assuage the ill-feelings of the aggrieved protesters in the country.
This team has been on a shuttle diplomacy at the behest of the President to engage the leaders of thought in the six geo-political zones, including Governors, members of the National Assembly, traditional rulers, socio-political organisations, women and youth leaders.
Now within the context of analysing the causative factors of the nationwide EndSars protests, the major grievance of the youths was the reckless killing of people by an arm of the police force popularly referred to as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in the country; as has been acknowledged by all and sundry, the President Buhari administration was able to handle the issue with maturity, even when misguided individuals, hoodlums, hijacked the protests and unleashed violence on the polity which snowballed into the destruction of public and private property and loss of innocent lives.
As Sir Winston Churchill posited ‘’jaw-jaw is better than war-war’’ and this will support the wise decision of President Buhari to use the instrumentality of his exalted office to engage the people from across the country for the maintenance of peace and order in the country. Definitely this approach will augur well for the country and usher in an era of bottom-top approach in consultations between the government and the people. It is not only timely and desirable, but programmed to address the different needs and aspirations of the various sections of the country.
It is therefore not surprising that the visits to the geo-political zones have elicited different demands and clamour such as devolution of powers to the sub-national units, restructuring of the country, implementation of the resolutions of the 2014 National Conference report, more funding for the police, reopening of the country’s borders, as well as the repair of damaged infrastructure and facilities across the country.
It is gratifying that the outcome of the consultations will be treated with dispatch by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration with a view to finding lasting solutions to the perennial problems of insecurity, youth restiveness and criminality in the country. By constituting such high-powered delegation led by Professor Gambari, a diplomat of international repute and recognition, the President was confident that his expertise will come into play in calming frayed nerves in the country and ultimately restore peace.
Meanwhile time has come for the Nigerian youth and other aggrieved groups to tap into the several programmes and initiatives of the Federal Government such as anchor borrowers’ programme, agricultural programmes, N75 Billion Economic Sustainability Plan, trader money and others targeted at creating employment for youths in the country. The Federal Government on its part has demonstrated good faith by providing an avenue through which people can ventilate their grievances and seek for amicable resolutions of issues.
This is the hallmark of representative democracy and it usually keeps society on the charted path of socio-economic development, reduce tension and acrimony among people, and reposition the society for accelerated development and growth.
Already the Professor Ibrahim Gambari’s team has started reaching out to the leaders of various geo-political zones with a view to arriving at a consensus on the numerous issues confronting the administration.
There is no doubt that this bottom-top approach will give a sense of belonging to the people at the grassroots and restore their confidence in the government. Similarly, the committee is expected to use the privilege of their appointment to recommend workable solutions to the myriad of developmental challenges facing the country and this golden opportunity must never be lost.
With the resultant effect of the EndSars protests and the carnage that followed, youths across the country must learn to conduct themselves with decorum and discipline, bearing in mind that any property destroyed in the course of the protests may never be repaired due to the economic downturn in the country. Besides, the recourse to burning of police stations and killing of their personnel will have the negative impact of scaring them from their legitimate duties thereby worsening insecurity in the land.
By Chukwudi Enekwechi, JP an Abuja-based Journalist
