Traditional Rulers And The Fight Against Insecurity In Nigeria: A Call For Adequate Engagement And The Salvaging Of A Dilemma Of Brokering For Relevance
EMEH Ikechukwu Eke
Department Of Public Administration and Local Government (Palg), University of Nigeria Nsukka
IDAM MacBen Otu
Department Of Public Administration and Local Government (Palg), University of Nigeria Nsukka
OLISE Charles Nnamdi
Department of Public Administration and Local Government, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Traditional rulers in Nigeria have been boxed into the corner by their political counterparts. The local government reforms and the 1991 constitution as amended drove the last nail into their coffin. Today, due to the insecurity that has eviscerated the entire polity which has also overwhelmed the political leaders, scholars, pubic commentators and even the leaders of state security apparatus have called on the traditional rulers to assist in the fight against insecurity. Unfortunately, many factors have led to the situation where the traditional rulers can no longer perform their roles to their communities and people. While this paper calls for the adequate engagement of the traditional ruler in the fight against insecurity in Nigeria, this call however calls to mind the dilemma the traditional rulers are entangled with in their efforts to reclaim their relevance in the leadership scheme of things in Nigeria. The conferring of a chieftaincy title on a banditry kingpin – Ado-Alero, by the Emir of Birnin Yandoto of Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State (Alhaji Aliyu Marafa) on the basis of his (Ado-Alero’s) major role in a peace process locally arranged between the emirate and the bandits terrorizing Tsafe Local Government Area of the state, is a clear instance of the traditional leaders’ dilemma of securing the peace and safety of his people/community and doing what the public will consider “the right thing”. This scenario applies to every part of Nigeria. Thus, in discussing the dilemma of the traditional rulers in the fight against insecurity the secondarily sourced data especially from the national dailies and the internet were utilized and the descriptive approach was used for the analysis of such data. It was found that the traditional rulers are saddled with the responsibility of securing the peace and safety of their various communities which when extrapolated translates into national security; however, the traditional rulers are not adequately engaged in the fight against insecurity in Nigeria and the reasons are rooted in the battle of supremacy between the traditional rulers and their political counterpart instead of collaboration and lastly, the traditional rulers are enmeshed in dilemma that could possible led to brokering for their relevance in the leadership scheme of things in Nigeria. Hence this paper recommends a reassignment of specific security and developmental roles to the traditional rulers in Nigeria; such roles should be re-entrenched into the constitutions of Nigeria, while the political leaders are to collaborate with the traditional rulers to achieve the security of the Nigerian society. Lastly, the suspended Emir has to be recalled and rewarded for his act of bravery in the face of impending doom that forced him to broker for his relevance as the leaders of the people.