Kwara Leaders Recommend Yahaya Bello’s Security Template.

Olaoluwakitan Babatunde
Prominent clerics, religious leaders and eminent sons and daughters of Ilorin Emirate in Kwara State have asked Governors in Nigeria to adopt the strategy used by Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State in tackling insecurity in his state, for the country at large.

This call was made at a special prayer for the nation and symposium against insecurity, convened by religious leaders in the ancient town of Ilorin.
The conference was tagged “Rise Against Insecurity in Nigeria” (RAIN). …

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Yahaya Bello Can Fix Nigeria’s Security Challenges.

In recognition of his efforts in combating insecurity in Kogi State, the Congress of Yoruba Youth (CYY) has backed Governor Yahaya Bello to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
In a statement signed by its president, Aare Adeniyi Ibikunle, the youths from the South-West said the governor has shown capacity to end the tide of banditry, insurgency, insurrection and other vices bedevelling the nation.
This endorsement followed Governor Bello’s recipient of award as ‘Security Governor of the Year’ from UK-based media group, TheNigerian News at an event to mark its fifth anniversary in Abuja.
Represented by his deputy, Dr Edward Onoja, Governor Bello was bestowed the award by His Royal Highness, the emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bade (rtd).

Other award recipients included governors of Bauchi and Nasarawa states, former senate president, Anyim Pius Anyim as well as former chief of army staff and ambassador to the Benin Republic, Ambassador Tukur Buratai.
Congratulating the governor, the group said he has shown pragmatic and dynamic leadership since assuming office, adding that this is what the nation needs at this critical time.
“Despite its delicate nature, as the bridge between the north and south, Kogi is seemingly unaffected by the rising spate of crimes across the country,” Ibikunle said.

“With the knowledge that the state is central to the nation’s peace and development, Governor Bello set up a template, involving all indigenes in the fight, keeping them busy with worthy jobs and making the task of securing the state everybody’s business. Other states are beginning to borrow this blueprint.

“We therefore use this medium to endorse His Excellency Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello, the Executive Governor of Kogi State, to contest and run for the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023,’’ the group said.

Hunters Council confers Icon of Security award on Yahaya Bello

The Hunters Council of Nigeria on Saturday in Abuja conferred on  Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi `the Icon of Security award’ for tackling insecurity and crime in his state.
Amb. Joshua Osatimehin, Commander General, Nigeria Hunters Council, during the ceremony called on Bello to run for President in 2023 to effectively tackle the insecurity bedeviling Nigeria.

Osatimehin said the group was conferring the well-deserved Icon of Security award on Bello for being the most security conscious governor of the year in Nigeria.
“We are here to appreciate His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello, for what he has been doing in Kogi State and for the entire country at large.
“When he came into office in 2016, he made mention of security as one of the priorities of his government and he has achieved it.
“Immediately Gov. Yahaya Bello took over, he was able to sanitise the system, he was able to reposition the security structure of the state.
“And that is why we as the Nigeria Hunters Council have deemed it fit to call on him to go for President in 2023.
“What he has done in Kogi State, he should come and do it for all Nigerians because you will agree with me that insecurity has caused a lot of harm to our communities and nation,” Osatimehin, said.

Responding, Gov. Bello thanked the Hunters Council for recognising his efforts in tackling insecurity in Kogi State, and which had affected Nigeria as a whole.
Bello said that the role of hunters in the security architecture of the country could not be over emphasised because of their knowledge of the forests where bandits and criminal elements use as hideouts..

More than 90 per cent of the insecurity we are witnessing today in Nigeria is highly political; be it Boko Haram, be it banditry, be it farmers/ herders clashes, assassination, kidnapping.
“Let us appreciate the enormity of the challenge that Mr President is facing. I equally faced all of these challenges when I assumed office
“All these calls for me to run for President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not out of place, we are to execute the laws and to ensure that the citizens are secured and safe.
“The rate of insecurity in Kogi State has dropped drastically. We have been able to unite the people and by the grace of God I want to tell you that I will not disappoint you.

“Let us continue to support all the law enforcement agencies, they are doing their best within the circumstances they find themselves politically and I want to assure you that our security forces are not weak.
“Let us give all our support to all our leaders, from Mr President, to all the governors, Local government chairmen, traditional ruler, religious leaders.
“Whatever we want to achieve in 2023, let us start it right now. We should not postpone any solution,” Bello said. (NAN)

Gov. Yahaya Bello bags ‘icon on security’ award

The Association of Nigerians in Diaspora on Sunday bestowed its “Icon on Security” award on Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.

Speaking at the presentation of the award, the President of the association, Comrade Mathew Ochigbo, said that the governor was selected following his sterling performance on security in Kogi state.
He said “we picked Bello because, among all the northern states and the North Central, in particular, the governor dedicated his time to the issue of security in Kogi state.

“There is serious security challenge in the country, especially in the northern states, but when we look at Kogi state, the governor has done tremendously well.
“The state has done very well in all issues, particularly on security, so we have to single him out to recognise him internationally.”

He added that Bello’s stand on coronavirus in the state is extremely commendable and “we have asked him to continue to do the good work for the benefit of the state.”
According to Ochigbo, “in April 2020, we were supposed to invite the governor to the United States to present him this award, but for COVID-19, the association could not do that.”

He said instead, “we have delegated a group to present the award to the governor to spur him to continue the good work for the people of Kogi state.”
Ochigbo said that the association is planning a town hall meeting in New York at which the governor will come and address Nigerians living in the United States.

Responding, Gov. Bello appreciated the award, saying his performance on security in Kogi was part of the deal he signed and swore to protect lives and properties in the state.
He said that a responsible government must be committed to protecting its people, adding that no progress can be made in an environment where there is a security challenge.
According to him, every success, achievement and development in a state must centre on security, and that his government will not deviate from doing the right thing on security for the people.

“We inherited a state that is divided into religious, tribal, and class lines, thereby causing a lot of insecurity in the state. We inherited a state where division, oppression, deprivation, injustice and imbalance were the order of the day.
“Today, Kogi is largely united, not only secured, we look at ourselves like brothers and sisters, in the whole north, I am the only sitting governor that has built a chapel in government house for Christians.
“We are dealing with religious intolerance in the state, coupled with other achievements that are contained in the first, second and third phases of our programme for the people, and the fourth edition will be launched in a few days time.
“We are able to make all these modest achievements because we are fair, we are just, we are critical and we are open. The people must trust our government and key into our programmes and policies,” Bello said.
He said that there is no hiding place for criminal elements in the state, adding that, if caught, the full weight of the law would be applied to anyone found in that position.
He called on Nigerians in Diaspora to look backwards and come home to develop the country for the benefit of all, and support the governments of President Muhammadu Buhari and other governors.

He said that Nigeria is the only country Nigerians could claim as their fatherland, stressing that everybody must ensure that the country develops to a higher level.
Bello noted that Nigerians are doing well outside the country, especially in business, education and entrepreneurship, calling on them to bring such endowment back to the country.
He said, “diasporans must be interested in what is happening at home, especially on those who govern them either at the national, state or local levels.”
He noted that Nigeria’s problem was just a leadership problem, adding that diasporans must not fold their hands and watch things deteriorate. You must come back home to participate in the governing process.
The governor also noted that people from Kogi State are respectable members of the society, who should not let their people down.
The governor prayed that no indigene of the state should catch COVID-19 because “we are preserved and respected in the society”.
He also called on the Federal Government to develop the health sector for the good of Nigerians, instead of using the resources to purchase sanitisers.