The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), has linked the worsening security situation in parts of the country to weak local government administration and the distribution of motorcycles as palliatives and constituency projects.
Musa, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, urged state governors and lawmakers to review the practice of distributing motorcycles, warning that some of the motorcycles eventually find their way into the hands of bandits and terrorists.
“We try to appeal to even governors to stop giving motorcycles out as palliatives. Because these motorcycles are the same ones that still end up with these terrorists,” he said.
The minister said the motorcycles provide terrorists with the mobility to navigate difficult terrain, evade security forces and move quickly between locations.
He also cautioned lawmakers against distributing high-capacity motorcycles through constituency projects and other intervention programmes, saying such motorcycles could ultimately be diverted to criminal groups.
“Those bikes… before you know it, it’s already get back to the bandits and that’s what they’re using. So we must stop that, we must be able to identify markets,” Musa said.
Beyond the motorcycle distribution, the minister blamed weak local government administration for aggravating insecurity, arguing that local authorities were better positioned to identify criminals and monitor developments within their communities.
“Failure of local government is what is aggravating what we’re dealing with, and if we want better solution, quick fix, our local governments must work,” he said.
Musa urged local government chairmen to hold regular security meetings, identify criminal elements operating within their jurisdictions and provide security reports to the appropriate authorities.
“Because crime and development is local. If every local government chairman is dealing with criminals within his locality, it’s easier to manage them than leaving it to the state or to the federal,” he added.
The minister further called for stronger monitoring of markets and motor parks, which he said had been identified as channels for the movement of arms, ammunition and drugs to areas controlled by terrorists and bandits.
He said strengthening local government administration, monitoring markets and motor parks, and reviewing motorcycle distribution programmes would make it more difficult for criminal groups to operate.
