Two serving governors and former Chief of Army Staff, General Abdulrahman Dambazau (Rtd), on Tuesday, expressed concern over the scary security situation in the country ahead next general elections.
The occasion was the 11th Edition of Blueprint Newspapers’ Annual Public Lectures and Impact Series/Award ceremonies held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
The former Chief of Army Staff who presented the paper: “2023 Politics, National Security and Nigeria’s Stability,” called for urgent security reforms to achieve the desired results in tackling the spate of terrorism.
He noted that the needed security reforms must be specifically centred on security governance driven by the emergency response, planning and an effective integrated system that can effectively curb the activities of bandits and insurgents in the country.
General Dambazau identified a lack of coordination amongst the security agencies and unnecessary competition which he noted were inimical to the overall goal of national security
He said: “The reforms of the security sector in line with the current and future security challenges are inevitable, and there are no options other than to carry them out. And the sooner we commence the process, the better.
“I believe that this should be the very first item on the agenda of the government coming in May 2023. Aside from the issues or factors earlier mentioned, the reasons why these reforms are necessary are that firstly, there appears to be no synergy among the security agencies in terms of cooperation, coordination, and collaboration while carrying out their activities, rather they operate in silos with no role convergence; they hoard information; and are reluctant to share intelligence, as if they are in competition.
“Secondly, there is poor security governance, making accountability and transparency almost impossible; and thirdly, there are duplication of efforts, leading to wastages of resources.
“Unsuccessful attempts at reforms have been made in the past, but using a stove-pipe approach, rather than looking at the sector holistically.
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“There have been several committees of police reforms that ended with reports that were left on the shelves. Today it is the military that performs most routine policing duties, and in fact, this is another cogent reason why security sector reforms are necessary.
“A significant part of security sector reforms in security governance, centred on strengthening the effectiveness of security institutions.
“One of the areas we need to focus our attention on is emergency response planning and coordination.
“National response to emergencies must be robust and people-centric, taking advantage of the unique competencies and resources of each entity at all levels. If we had an effective and integrated system that responds to national emergencies, the terrorists would not have had the audacity to conduct their Abuja-Kaduna train and Kuje prisons attacks, and even left the scenes without trace after spending hours conducting their operations.
“The second area of focus, also relating to our experience, is defence materiel needs identification, procurement, and acquisition procedures and processes.”
Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, said that given sincerity of purpose insurgency could be surmounted in six months.
While commending the Service Chiefs he maintained that it was the responsibility of all Nigerians to work towards securing lives and property.
“Six months is just too much to eliminate the terrorists and bandits. I continue to tell those who care to listen to me that we shouldn’t expect Buhari to secure my roads and the state. I shouldn’t even expect the Service Chiefs. It is we the elite, the leaders that should decide what Nigeria will be.
“We are pointing accusing fingers at ourselves. I want to appeal to Nigerians to calm down. If you think you can overheat the polity to cut short the tenure of Buhari, you are only wasting your time. He will finish his tenure and go back home.”
Earlier in his opening remarks as Chairman of the event, Yobe State Governor, Mallam Mai Mala Buni, appealed to all politicians to avoid comments, inciting remarks, inimical to peaceful coexistence in the course of their campaigns.
He said: “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.
“Nigeria has had many tastes of very unfortunate events from birth to date, under various regimes, from the very sad civil war to ethnoreligious conflicts, bloody border clashes, and lately, the Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, and secession among others. These conflicts had robbed the country of rich and valuable human and material resources. Nigeria cannot afford to have any more.
“Therefore, for us to succeed, we must as a deliberate policy, avoid politics of hate, and the promotion of religious and ethnic sentiments that are gradually eating deep into the fabric of our nationhood. The government with the collaboration of stakeholders should create the required awareness among our supporters and the people of Nigeria generally to condemn and discourage inciting propaganda for a peaceful and successful election in 2023.”
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Insurgency: Our security agencies need attitudinal change ― General Dambazau
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