Insecurity: NDA organises stakeholders summit

The Nigerian Defence Academy(NDA) has organised a discourse on national security and modalities for tackling current insecurity challenges facing the country.

The conference which was organised by NDA’s Centre for Critical Thinking, Teaching and Learning (CCTTL) , on Monday, drew together experts, government functionaries and dignitaries, including the Wife of the President, Her Excellency Dr Aisha Buhari as well as the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tellen.

The Commandant NDA, Major General Jamil Sarham, who was represented at the conference by the Deputy Commandant, AVM IT Ali, expressed hope that the conference will inspire ideas that resolve current security challenges.

He disclosed that the current insecurity can only be defeated by knowledge sharing, synergy and the exploration of new approaches to national defence.

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He promised that NDA will continue to up the ante in the discourse of national security even as it works to positions itself as the premier military university in Africa.

Delivering the Keynote Address at the conference, Major General AM Jibril (rtd), said that in the last two decades the world has faced more security threats like terrorism, insurgency, banditry, and kidnapping among others.

He noted that addressing the root causes of these threats is the only sustainable path towards completely eradicating these security challenges.

He listed poverty, illiteracy and weak national security system as some of the root causes of insecurity in Nigeria and called for active government involvement in tackling these conditions.

Two former Commandants of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Major General Muhammed Inuwa Idris (rtd) and Major General Adeniyi Oyebade (rtd) both called for transparency and sincerity on the part of all stakeholders in the fight against insurgency and other security challenges facing the nation.

Speaking at the occasion, Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, disclosed that without security, there will be no peace and that without peace there will definitely be no development.

The first lady, whose speech focused on security, peace and development, noted that these three will be in jeopardy if urgent steps are not taken to address the menace of insecurity in Nigeria.

She argued that it is high time the nation explored new approaches in dealing with insecurity. She, however, commended the efforts of NDA organising the international conference to proffer solutions to the security challenges plaguing the country.