William Stuart Symington, the
United States ambassador to Nigeria, says injustice and disregard for rule of
law is worse than the stealing of public funds.
Symington said this on Monday at
the convocation lecture of the University of Ilorin, Kwara state, where he
delivered a lecture on “Citizen Leadership and the Link between Economic
Diversity and Democratic Good Governance”.
The ambassador described
disregard for justice and rule of law as “more damning a corruption than
stealing of public funds”.
“What many consider as the great
corruption is stealing of money but what to me is the great corruption is when
people are deprived justice, when you do things without regard to the rule of
law,” Symington said.
Speaking on the security crisis
in Nigeria, Symington said it is the responsibility of both the government and
citizens to secure the country.
He said there is no clime in the
world where the police alone can ensure safety, while urging Nigerians to
support the security operatives.
“One of the most important things
that I want you to leave today with is the idea that good governance can only
come from Strong independent citizens,” he said.
“So, I think the right answer is
there is no person who can make Nigeria more secure.
“There was that time in Nigeria
when security was not the job of only the soldier and the police, but every
village chief and every person who lived in the town was involved.
“There is no police force in the
whole world that keep the neighbourhood safe all by itself. If you have such a
police force, I would not want to live in that neighbourhood. Every security in
the world derives from the support of the people in the place that is insecure.
“If you will have the tenacity to
change Nigeria, look around you right now and change the life of one person
today.”
In August, President Muhammadu
Buhari was severely criticised for saying his administration would not
sacrifice issues of national security for the rule of law.
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