Speakers at the Nigeria Info’s 2021 Security Summit have stressed the need for Nigeria to go beyond just military intervention to solve the country’s myriad of security challenges.
The speakers, including the 2015 presidential candidate of KOWA Party, Professor Remi Sonaiya; United States’ Consulate representative, Stephen Ibelli; former military officer, Captain Umar Babangida Aliyu; and development expert and journalist, Rotimi Sankore, unanimously agreed in their presentations that there was dire need for Nigeria to address its security challenges in a less military-offensive approach.
The Summit, organised by Nigeria Info to commemorate its 10th Anniversary, was graced by a cross-section of the station’s audience.
In her presentation, former Presidential Candidate of KOWA Party, Prof. Remi Sonaiya, spoke on how politics undermined the nation’s security architecture.
She said Nigerians should be mindful of the kind of leaders they elected,saying the greatest threat to security were terrible leaders who had no compassion for the people.
Emphasising the role politics play on national development, she said: “Politics, as we all know, determines the overall quality of life of the citizens of any country.
“There is need for Nigerians to elect leaders that are passionate about the development of the country.
“We should ensure we elect people of integrity and sound moral character who, by their speech and example of their sound moral lives, will inspire us all to greatness and ensure prosperity for all.”
On the role security plays in championing economic development, the Public Affairs Officer of the US Consulate in Lagos, Stephen Ibelli, reiterated the US government’s continuous support to Nigeria in the fight against insecurity.
He said: “The security issues in north-east Nigeria has become one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crises due to the fact that more than 350,000 people have been killed since 2009, while about three million people have been displaced across the Lake Chad Basin.”
Ibelli further pledged the US government’s continued financial support in resolving the security crisis ravaging the country.
“The core of the US Mission’s partnership with the Nigerian government is to counter the security threats.
“The United States Agency for International Development, USAID, has been coordinating the US humanitarian response as well as helping to rebuild basic civic institutions essential to re-establishing civil and social life in the hardest-hit states within northern Nigeria.
“The US is the largest humanitarian donor in response to the north-east crisis, providing $1.45billion since 2015 and supporting almost two million conflict-affected households,” he said.
Corroborating their views, a development expert/Media Practitioner, Mr Rotimi Sankore, noted that the state of insecurity nationwide was a true reflection of the country’s under-development.
He said: “The major cause of insecurity is hinged on the underdevelopment of the nation.
“This is because just twelve years ago, research estimated that there were 4.4 million out of school children in northwest Nigerian, while northeast Nigeria had about three million out of school children.
“However, with the population growth nationwide, we are most likely to have 20 million out-of-school children in ten years’ time.”
Nigeria Info FM is the country’s foremost news and talk station with stations in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt and the Summit is an annual interactive platform established to champion worthy discussions around Nigeria’s socio-political and economic growth while proffering solutions to the long-standing challenges mitigating against the development of the country.