INSECURITY: Provide Economic Base for The People, Abdulsalami Abubakar urges Makinde.

Oyo State Governor, Mr Seyi Makinde (middle) presenting artwork frame to Former Head of State, Alhaji Abdulsalam Abubakar  while the Speaker Oyo State House Assembly, Hon Debo Ogundoyin look on during a courtesy visit to Governor's office, Ibadan. PHOTO: DARE ALESINLOYE

Former Military Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar has called on all Nigerians to as a matter of responsible citizenship support the government in tackling the security challenges facing the country by being conscious to happenings around them and making information available to security agencies.

This is as he also called on the government to provide sound economic base for the citizens so that people can be gainfully engaged without having to recourse to crime and criminality.

He spoke on Thursday while fielding questions from reporters after been hosted at the Executive Chamber of the Oyo State Governor’s office by Governor Seyi Makinde.

Abubakar who said he was in the state to attend an inaugural lecture at the University of Ibadan said he thought it wise to pay a courtesy call on the Governor as a sign of respect for his office.

He said “We cannot leave the issue of security to the government alone. Each and every one of us has a role to play in trying to ensure that you pass any information that you think will help and strengthen security in your area.

“And also if you see someone trying to make troubles, it is your responsibility as a citizen to do what is right and go and report such suspicious individuals to security agencies.

“In the issue of what the government can do, the government can try to provide economic base and activities for the individuals so that the individuals can be involved in making lives more comfortable for themselves so they wouldn’t have any moment or time to go and cause trouble.”

Speaking on his efforts been made at ensuring that safety of lives and property is not negotiable in the state, Governor Makinde said he had visited the State Security Trust Fund to gather data and know where the lapses are assuring that plans are underway to correct same to better the security of the state.

Makinde said “Yesterday (Wednesday), I visited the Oyo State Security Trust Fund office to have a deep appreciation of what we have on ground.

“We know precisely where we want to go and so, we are in a phase where we are getting to know all the data and where the gaps reside and in a very short time you will start seeing changes and improvement in the security architecture of the state.”