Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has blamed the root cause of insecurity in parts of the country on the actions of alleged highly placed individuals.
He further stated that the federal government is to be blamed for the rate of insecurity in the country.
The governor said, “The problem of insecurity in Nigeria today is man-made. The present federal government is responsible because I took proactive steps right from 2016 when I came in and I saw this coming. And today I am warning Nigerians, those who are sitting in their comfort zones, I want them to understand.
“Last week, one of my colleagues in the northeast raised an alarm that ISWAP has taken over part of his state and they are gradually coming in. They are deadly and they can overrun this country based on what he saw. And I agree with him that if we don’t take time, it will happen.
“Like I raised alarm earlier about the challenges we have that if we don’t take time, one day, what happened in Afghanistan, God forbid, it will happen in Nigeria. And it will appear to me that this leadership wants to surrender Nigeria to the insurgents. Their action and inaction have proven to me that they are working with the insurgents. That’s the truth.”
Ortom stressed that the insecurity was man-made and if necessary steps to curb further spread are not taken, the country might likely be headed for ‘an Afghan experience’.
He made this statement on Wednesday when he received the team from the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) led by a representative of the Director-General, Mrs Cecilia Gayya at Government House in Makurdi.
The governor however posited that the people of Benue State have resolved to trust in God and committed to ensuring that they do the right thing in line with the provisions of the constitution of Nigeria as well as to fight for equity, fairness and justice.
