2023 election: Dambazau tasks government to address insecurity

A former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd) has called on the Federal Government to tackle the security challenges bedevilling the country headlong, saying addressing the security issues must be the top priority of the political class and other critical and major stakeholders.

The former army chief was the guest lecturer at the 11th Blueprint newspaper annual public lectures and impact series and awards where he delivered a lecture titled, “2023 Politics, National Security and Nigeria’s Stability.

Dambazau highlighted the challenges in Nigeria’s security sector and proffered solutions on how to deal with the existential and contemporary challenges the nation is passing through.

Dambazau said rather than resorting to the politicisation of religion, ethnicisation of politics and politics of zoning which has divided and threatened the unity of the country, the political class he said should concentrate on quality and affordable medicare, poverty reduction, human capital development and most importantly youth employment in order not to make them available and willing tools in the hands of the terrorists.

He said the lack of synergy and duplication of duties among the nation’s security agencies has given the terrorists the leverage to threaten the corporate existence of the country.

He, nonetheless, called for the review of the counter-terrorism strategy, reforms of the nation’s security sector, domestication of administration of the criminal justice system and promotion of military-civil relations to win the war against the terrorists.

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”Proactive measures must be taken against the terrorists who are threatening the corporate existence of our dear nation. Security must be on the top agenda as we are approaching the 2023 elections. The Abuja-Lokoja, Abuja-Kaduna and the Birnin Gwari roads must be taken back from the grip of the terrorists.

Pressure must be put on the terrorists in order to eliminate them to allow Nigerians to live the life they want. We should do away with the politicisation of religion, ethnicisation of politics and politics of zoning which will take us nowhere.

“The army forces with a population of about 200,000 have the deficit to confront the terrorists as they have been overstretched. It is to review our counter-terrorism strategy to eliminate these state actors as security should be the top agenda as we gradually approach the 2023 general elections.

Just like the clerics mobilised their followers to register and collect their personal voter cards, they should as well advise them to report any suspicious movement to the security agencies for the safety of all.

“The Nigerian security sector must be strengthened for effective and efficient performance to tackle any form of security threats against the country. Security reforms should be the first agenda for the new government in 2023. The lack of synergy and duplication of duties among the nation’s security agencies has given the terrorists the leverage to threaten the corporate existence of the country. It is time to tackle,” the former COAS said.

Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State who described Nigeria’s security challenges as man-made said they could be tackled in six months if the Federal Government is ready. He said Nigeria’s political elites have big roles to play in restoring peace to the country while he also called on Nigerians to work for the peaceful coexistence of the country and not to overheat the polity ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Also, the chairman of the occasion and Yobe State governor, Alhaji Mai Mala Buni, said the lecture could not have come at a better time with the attendant security challenges confronting the nation. He however stated that “the success or otherwise of the 2023 elections hugely depends on us the politicians, the political parties, candidates and their supporters, and of course, the political umpire the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”

He added, “The need for peace to conduct the elections and to have good governance and development cannot be overemphasized. It, therefore, becomes obvious for all of us to make sacrifices and consider national interests above personal interests for a free and peaceful election in 2023. As patriots, with the zeal to ensure the unity of Nigeria, there is no election or interest of any single individual that is worth sending Nigeria to war.”

In their interventions, the discussants of the paper underscore the imperatives of addressing the bottleneck in implementing the necessary strategies aimed at dealing with the security situation.

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