Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has called for community participation in the fight against insecurity, saying that the government should not be left alone in the task of providing security in the country.
Aregbesola said Nigerians, individually and collectively, should be involved in providing adequate security for lives and property.
The Minister stated this while receiving an Award of Excellence from the first indigenous group in Ijesaland, Egbe Atunluse Ile-Ijesa, on Saturday, in Ilesa, Osun State.
Aregbesola who was represented by his Media Adviser, Mr Sola Fasure, noted that Nigeria is winning the war against insurgency and other security threats.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration will leave behind a secure and prosperous country, urging the citizens to support the government in the fight against insecurity.
The former governor of Osun commeded Egbe Atunluse Ile-Ijesa for its remarkable contributions to the development of Ijesaland in the past century, saying no nation can grow without the support of her citizens.
He said: “Security is our collective effort. We should not leave security matter to security agencies alone. We need community participation in the fight against insecurity. Everybody, irrespective of your status or area of residency must be active and supportive in safeguarding our nation.
“Our security agents need to be supported. If we leave security agencies to handle security issue alone, there will not be adequate security.
“We are collectively responsible for provision of security. The government will do its own while the people should also support the security agencies. We should report any suspicious move or person in our environment to the security agents.”
Speaking at the event, the Chairman, Egbe Atunluse Ile-Ijesa, Prof Olubunmi Adeniyi Obe, commeded Aregbesola for his contributions to the development of Ijesaland, saying the Minister deserved to be honoured.
Obe said: “We are honouring Aregbesola today because of his immense contribution to the development of Ijesaland. He has been supporting us in every possible way.
“We appreciate him specially for his support on the establishment of a university in Ilesa. He resolved all the land disputes on the university. He has also brought several federal agencies to Ijesaland. We thank him and that is why we are honouring him.”
