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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo
The former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that the country needs to do something urgently about the insecurity that has taken over some parts of the nation.
The call came as he narrated how he discovered that he was partially deaf when he was abroad.
Obasanjo stated this in Bauchi while on a working visit on Sunday where he commissioned road projects constructed by the administration of Governor Bala Mohammed.
He said he firmly believes that African countries were not created by God to be poor their poverty resulted from bad leadership in the country suffers.
Earlier, when the former Obasanjo visited the Bauchi State Council of Traditional Rulers at the Bauchi Emir’s Palace, he emphasised the importance of community policing in addressing the rising insecurity in the country.
He insisted that community policing, where members of communities know their neighbours, is crucial for easily identifying and addressing security threats within communities.
According to Obasanjo, the current state of insecurity in Nigeria needs immediate action to address the situation.
“The best form of security is community policing because everyone knows his/her neighbours within the community. With that, it is very easy to identify the bad eggs.
“The situation of insecurity in Nigeria today is so bad, unlike during our terms in office when we prioritize the security of lives and properties across the country. We need to do something urgently about this.”
He urged traditional rulers to encourage community policing in their communities to reduce the spate of crimes.
“During our service to the nation, we did everything collectively, our decisions were taken together to have a uniform focus. My brother, Ahmed Adamu Mu’azu, is seated here, and he will bear me witness. Whatever we achieved then, was a collective effort.
“We need peace, unity, and collective support in this country if we must move forward. Things can be right and good again in the country, all we need to do is to get united and do things collectively,” he noted.
The former President equally disclosed the donation of hearing aids to 2,000 people with hearing difficulties in Bauchi.
He explained that many people suffer deafness unknowingly until medical checks reveal to them their hearing capacity.
Obasanjo narrated how he discovered being partially deaf when he was abroad and couldn’t hear clearly while someone was talking to him and insisted nothing was wrong with his ears when the man asked for his permission to check on his ears.
He stated that after the result came out, it was revealed that he was 25 per cent deaf.
“After my result came out, I had to ask the man to also check on my Chief Security Officer then but shockingly enough, he was more deaf than I was,” he said.
According to him, his experience informed the beginning of his Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation where thousands of Nigerians had benefited from its ear treatments and provision of hearing aids.
He noted that he would be flagging off the distribution of hearing aids to over 10,000 indigent people in the Northeast, starting from Bauchi State where 2,000 people would benefit.
The former President who acknowledged that the security situation in the country has gotten worse over the years, said all hands must be on the deck to tackle the security threats headlong.
On his part, the governor of Bauchi state, Bala Mohammed, stated that his blueprint, which includes the roads commissioned, was designed even before he was returned elected as governor of Bauchi state.
“I instructed them to develop a roadmap for the project that will serve our people regardless of the outcome of the election.
“I believe that leadership is not about personal ambition but about collective progress and well-being of our people.
“The project we are commissioning today is part of our larger ambition for the state.”
The governor, who stated that his administration had prioritised the construction and rehabilitation of roads in the state, noted that roads are key to development.
“As of today, we have undertaken the construction of 116 road projects totalling 1482.25 km across Bauchi State.
“The road we are commissioning today has significant milestones in our journey to build a new Bauchi.
“They the 7 km dualization of Awala-Maiduguri road, dualisation of 17.7 km Kano road to Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport Bauchi, 30KM Gubi Gari, Ruda Bida, Siyi to Nasarawa road connecting two local Government areas of Bauchi and Ganjuwa.”
