Nigeria, July 31 -- Retired Lieutenant Colonel Lamidi Adeosun, a former Chief of Policy and Plans in the Nigerian Army, has blamed weak governance as the main cause of insecurity in Benue, Plateau, and other states in Nigeria's Middle Belt region.

Speaking on Wednesday at Lagos State University during a lecture organized by the Centre for Peace and Security Studies, Adeosun explained that poor leadership and government failure are responsible for the ongoing violence in the region. The lecture was titled, "Strategies for Tackling Insecurity in the Middle Belt: An Insider's Perspective."

Adeosun said the government has failed to manage ethnic and communal tensions, properly regulate land and resource use, and respond quickly and fairly t...