*Insecurity reduced by over 60% in North West —Gov Radda
*Abdulsalami links Nigeria’s insecurity to Sahel
By Mohammed Danlami
Several speakers took turns on Thursday to dissect insecurity in the Sahelian region and how it affects local insecurity in Nigeria, with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reading the riot act to terrorists operating in parts of Nigeria.
This was at the 1st News Agency of Nigeria’s, NAN, Annual International Lecture held in Abuja yesterday.
The lecture was titled, “Insecurity in the Sahel (2008-2024): Dissecting Nigeria’s Challenges – Genesis, Impacts and Options.
In a keynote address as the special guest of honour, President Bola Tinubu, represented by the National Security Adviser, Mal Nuhu Ribadu warned all terrorists taking advantage of vulnerable civilians to stop their acts and embrace peace.
“Enough enough for Boko Haram….We can’t stand to tolerate them anymore,” the President said.
He acknowledged that several bandits and Boko Haram leaders have already been killed by the sustained operations of the armed forces, and commended the military high command on the successes.
He said that the feat has sent warnings to bandits and terrorists he described as ‘bad people’’ that if they want to live their lives, they must abandon insurgency and embrace peace.
“We have defeated armed robbery, we will also defeat Boko Haram,” the President said.
He also sent a note of warning to the corrupt individuals and groups, calling on them to be careful.
He said the fight is coming to the doorstep of the corrupt soon.
He promised that Nigeria will be better and the government will make that happen. “We are going to do it,” he said, adding that every Nigerian has a role to play to bring the country back to greatness.
He recalled that unlike in 2022 and 2023 when terrorists held sway and attacked soldiers and civilians even in Abuja, that as of today, Nigeria is safe and all the police stations are back on track, bandits and Boko Haram are on the run, the universities are on track, a Ministry of Livestock has been created for the first time to reduce herders/farmers clashes, and Local Governments are now autonomous among others.
He said the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, is on the right track of restoring peace to Nigeria, and that the country will continue to be grateful to its armed forces.
In an earlier remark, the Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda said the Federal Government and states will have to address the root causes of insecurity in Nigeria which he traced to poverty and illiteracy.
“Poverty is the root cause which must be addressed
We have to alleviate poverty and illiteracy,” he said.
Radda commended the armed forces who have reduced insecurity in the country by over 60%, especially in the North West region.
In his opening remark, the chairman of the occasion and former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar said insecurity in Nigeria cannot be divorced from insecurity in the Sahel which includes vast landmass cutting across “troubled countries of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Cameroon.”
Abdulsalami questioned: “What are the causal factors responsible for driving violence in this benighted region? How is it impacting on Nigeria? How do we as a nation contend with this present and clear danger? What prognosis can we make going forward?”
He challenged the lecture to proffer answers to the posers.
According to Abdulsalami, the lecture will also “interrogate the root causes of the violence troubling the Sahel, examine its impact on Nigeria’s territorial integrity, and the options available to policymakers.
The guest lecturer was Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambers, the African Union Chief Mediator on Sudan.
