As the Nigerian Guild of Editors convoked in Abuja to discuss the nation’s insecurity challenges at its 17th All Nigerian Editors’ Conference, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has described inclusive governance and collaboration with security partners as models for addressing security issues in the nation.
Oyetola, who spoke at the executive session of the All Nigerian Editors’ Conference, on Friday, described his recommendations as the model Osun has deployed in the last three years of his administration that has accounted for its enviable peace profile as one of the most peaceful states in the country.
He harped on innovative governance style at the federal, state and local levels, saying security is crucial to governance because security makes governance, business, development, trade, commerce, and every ingredient associated with governance possible and predictable.
Oyetola, who was represented by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Prince Abdullah Adeyanju Binuyo, bemoaned the issue of insecurity in the nation, saying that it has assumed a dizzying height and justifiably invites the attention of all critical stakeholders.
While highlighting Osun’s multimodal approach to combating insecurity over the last three years, Oyetola said: “Our first approach was to acknowledge and not pretend about the magnitude of the crises at hand. Again, knowing that all security is local, just as all politics is local, we convoked a Security Summit that brought together all the security agencies, traditional rulers, and the various critical stakeholders whose roles directly or indirectly impact on the security situation.
“At this conference, we ensured that all stakeholders expressed their ideas in an open, unpretentious, and non-threatening manner. The ideas harvested from this meeting and, indeed, the emotional buy-in and resolve generated from this meeting, formed the inclusive and integrative approach that has constantly underlined our Administration’s security architecture.
“In the same vein, our administration introduced a civic engagement framework focused on bridging the gap between the leadership of the state and our teeming citizens. This framework is essentially a town hall model, where key functionaries of government sit with representatives of the people at strategic locations within the nine federal constituencies of the State to dialogue and receive feedback on the activities of government.
“Let me hasten to add that this model intently follows the already-established inclusive governance framework of our Administration. Hinged on the conviction that dialogue and informed policy decisions are crucial for sustainable economic development and security, on my assumption of office, I traversed the length and breadth of the State in a Thank You Tour, working with our royal fathers to aggregate the needs of our people. This was also followed up with a thorough Needs Assessment exercise supported by the Department for International Development. All these initiatives have guided our service delivery and judicious allocation of resources so far in a way that justice, fairness and equity are served and enthroned.”