... Act Now, Nigerians Urge President

THE rampant and consistent threat to national peace, through the activities of persons who seek to create a state of fear and an atmosphere of violence and disaffection, has become a source of serious concern to well-meaning Nigerians.Consequently, they have urged President Jonathan to act with reason, speed and precision, in order to arrest the descent to lawlessness.Having regard to the plethora of violent incidents recorded all over the country before the elections and the deadly post-election uprisings in many states in the North, Nigerians, who spoke in separate interviews with The Guardian, want the president to be decisive in tackling the security challenge.Nwemedimo Nwoko, an Akwa Ibom-based lawyer, wants the president to remain calm and levelheaded, but should not treat security issues with levity.He should act in the best interest of the nation. He must be firm to defend the Constitution. He must be firm in issues of security; he must be very firm in issues of maintaining law and order. He cannot shirk his duties, he said.But like the current situation in the North, it is time for him to rise as a President, as a Commander-in-Chief and make sure that the lives of Nigerians, wherever they live, and no matter where they come from, are secured.Lawrence Anyia, former chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Plateau State, said it was good that President Jonathan had sued for peace, but that he should not fold his hands when there were threats to security of life and property.Now, as President of Nigeria, he cannot fold his arms and watch life and property being destroyed. I think, rightly, too, that the Nigerian Constitution proclaims him as the Commander-in-Chief; he has given instructions to the security agencies to ensure that there is peace, he said.Former Executive Director of the Centre for Democratic Studies (CDS), Prof. Omo Omoruyi, warned that if proper steps were not taken to forestall the uprisings, they could grow into more deadly situations.The president must bring about a new political order; he must bring about a new moral order; he must bring about a new economic order; he must bring about a new social order. He cant look back; it is an opportunity he has and he must use it very well, he said.He recommends that political parties should be restructured and those found habouring sectarian tendencies should be proscribed.Former Deputy Governor of the Edo State, Rev. Peter Obadan, urged President Jonathan to be decisive on the issue of security because what is happening now is traceable to utterances (by some politicians) before the election.
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