Northern Governors’ US Trip a ‘Shocking Display of Ignorance’, Says Lamido

A former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, says the Northern governors’ recent United States trip to discuss insecurity in the region exposed their ignorance of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Lamido stated that embarking on such a journey to discuss insecurity, which he said is a matter on the exclusive legislative list, showed the substance of the governor.

“But to engage on issues which are on the Exclusive Legislative List such as security says a lot about the substance they are made of.

“Security is a very wide subject which their excellencies must have the capacity to grasp. Most urban towns in their states lack portable drinking water, and refuse dumps have taken over some streets,” the former governor said in a statement he posted on his official Facebook on Sunday.

The United States Institute of Peace had invited ten governors from Northwest and Northcentral regions to a two-day symposium on Peace and Security in Northern Nigeria, which took place between April 23 – April 25, 2024, in the United States.

Defending the trip, Katsina State Governor, Mallam Dikko Umaru Radda, emphasised that the meeting was part of efforts to find a lasting solution to Nigeria’s security challenges through international collaborations.

However, Lamido disagreed saying having a summit on an issue the governors have not fully grasped while many of their citizens still lack basic amenities, is a wastage.

He opined that even if the governors were so serious about having a lecture on security, they could have approached the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru or the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria in Badagry to get more insight.

“Security is a very wide subject which their Excellencies must have the capacity to grasp. Most urban towns in their states lack portable drinking water, and refuse dumps have taken over some streets.

“Our children attend primary schools under the trees and where there are classes, they take their lessons sitting on the floor, yet the security implications of this cannot be discerned by their Excellencies…

“If the governors were serious and wanted to have a lecture on security, they need not have embarked on such a wasteful journey with the accompanying expenditure of flight tickets, hotels with all their aides, and above all the valuable time wasted at the expense of running their states.

“Certainly, they could have gotten more than they wanted from our resourceful institutions such as NIPSS in Kuru Jos or ASCON in Badagry or even NIA,” Lamido said.

The former governor, however, blamed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Intelligence Agency for failing to properly guide the governors.

“I blame the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the NIA for failing to properly guide the governors for this folly.

“The governors could not have traveled without the facilitation of the Ministry or our Embassy in Washington.

“Nigeria and Nigerians now carry the image of ‘advancing our shame and embarrassment beyond our frontiers’ caused by their Excellencies,” he added.