In the quest to further sustain the recent gains made within the security sector, the federal govt has engaged stakeholders for more strategies to tackle insecurity in the country.
Minister of Defence General Christopher Musa, rtd. who chaired a session on the sidelines of the ongoing 81st United Nation’s General Assembly, called on international partners to collaborate with Nigeria in confronting terrorism, banditry, oil theft, cybercrime and other threats through a broader security strategy that extends beyond military operations.
General Musa said the country’s security pressures have become too interconnected for any single institution—or nation, to resolve alone.
Speaking on the theme of the event “Confronting Nigeria’s Multidimensional Security Challenges: A Whole-of-Society and Partnership-Based Approach”the minister said Nigeria’s security challenges are national in their impact, regional in their consequences, and increasingly international in their implications.
The Defence Minister said Nigeria’s role as a major security actor in West Africa and the wider Sahel carries responsibilities that require closer collaboration with the United Nations, African Union, Economic Community of West African States, bilateral allies, researchers, civil-society groups and private-sector actors.
His position comes in the wake of the nigeria’s quest to contain persistent insurgent violence in the North-East, criminal armed groups in the North-West, and the North-Central north-central, maritime and petroleum-related crime, as well as emerging cyber threats.
He said the threats are reinforced by porous borders, governance weaknesses, economic hardship, communal tensions and political divisions.
He noted that durable security depends on stronger institutions, resilient communities, inclusive economic development and more effective governance.
Also speaking at the event, the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (Rtd.) said the event was to further synergize, especially on policy, planning and strategy towards confronting the endemic security situation in Nigeria.
Other speakers at the event, agreed that the fight against insecurity in the country requires closer coordination among federal, state and local authorities, alongside traditional rulers, religious leaders, community organizations, civil society and businesses.
They also want shift from Response to Prevention.
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