The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa says the complexities in the management of Nigeria’s borders have a great challenge to the nation Security.
He stated this while delivering a lecture on Assessing the present security situation in Northern Nigeria organised by the Institute for Development Research and Training, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, in Kaduna.
General Musa explained that, Nigeria had 364 approved international border points and 1,497 other illegal migration points into the Country.
According to him, Nigeria is a signatory to the ECOWAS Protocol on the free movement of persons, goods, and services within the West African sub-region, and that the obligation to abide by this protocol has further exacerbated the nation’s security challenges.
“This has manifested in increased insurgency, terrorism and religious extremism, as well as the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, human and drug trafficking amongst others”
General Musa maintained that, the underlying causes of the complexities could be attributed to the inadequacies in the implementation of frameworks for the nation border management systems as well as structures to adapt to systemic changes.
“We need to continue our collaboration with political leaders and relevant stakeholders in the implementation of essential protocols and action plans towards strengthening our border management systems for improved national security.
The Chief of Defence Staff, also attributed Slow Judicial process and a perception of lack of justice, fairness and equity amongst citizens within the country is also a major challenge to the nation security.
He emphasized that, Judicial reforms were crucial aspect of ensuring a fair and efficient legal system, saying that, the perceived lack of justice could be addressed by using a multifaceted approach including judicial reforms and public engagement.
“For example, the political crisis in Libya and other sub-Saharan countries aggravated the security situation in Nigeria through the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons into the country through Chad and Niger”
Also, a lot of Citizens in Northern Nigeria share cultural and tribal ties with these countries which makes restriction of unauthorised cross-border movement very difficult to enforce or control”
The Chief of Defence Staff further revealed that, another factor of insecurity in the north is the effect of climate change which has resulted to increased desertification and the shrinking of the Lake Chad.
“Some factors aggravating the security situation in the north include; political factors, poor governance, infrastructural decay, indigene and settlers rift and other socio-economic factors. On the economic front, issues of extreme poverty and wealth as well as corruption among others.
General Musa while highlighting some of the efforts of the Armed Forces of Nigeria in response to the various contemporary security challenges in the country both kinetic and non-kinetic efforts.
He said Several approaches have been adopted to address the issues of insecurity in the north, stressing that, the approaches were not only restricted to the traditional military action but encompass all strata of the society.
Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa
According to him, Federal Government of Nigeria in recent past emplaced certain strategic responses to combat threats to Nigeria and ensure the country’s national security.
“Some of these include the development of the National Counter Terrorism Strategy 2016, establishing the National Counter Terrorism Centre and enacting the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022, to coordinate our national counter-terrorism efforts among others.
General Christopher Musa while highlighting the Kinetic efforts of the Armed forces of Nigeria, said the military had engaged in various Kinetic operations all over the north and the nation by way of its Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency Operations, Internal Security Operations and combined operations.
“Some of these Operations include Operation HADIN KAI covering 3 states in the North East Zone, Operation HADARIN DAJI in the North West and Operation WHIRL PUNCH covering Kaduna and Niger States”
“Others are Operation SAFE HAVEN covering Plateau, parts of Southern Kaduna and Bauchi States and Operation WHIRL STROKE covering Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba States as well as operation ACCORD II, covering Kogi, and parts of Nasarawa state. Besides the mentioned joint operations, other subsidiary operations such as Operation HAKORI DAMISA in 3 Division Area of Responsibility are ongoing”
According to General Musa, the kinetic efforts of troops in various joint and subsidiary operations have yielded positive results across the country.
He added that efforts by troops of Operation HADIN KAI have resulted in the mass surrender of over 115,687 terrorists and their families since July 2021 to date.
He further noted that, Building the capacity of other security agencies to effectively carry out their tasks as important in curbing the insecurity in the north, stressing that, it is imperative that all state security agencies to improve the capacity for their men to take over duties from the military after normalcy is restored.
In a remark, the Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Professor Kabiru Bala, said that in recent years, Northern Nigeria has faced various security challenges, including insurgency, banditry, and communal clashes.
He noted that the issue was not only threatening the safety of citizens but also hindering development and increasing poverty.
Professor Bala revealed that as an academic institution, Ahmadu Bello University is committed to contributing to the resolution of these challenges through research, education, and community engagement.
According to him, together with academics, security experts, policymakers, and community leaders, Ahmadu Bello University is at the forefront of helping Nigeria achieve its goal of building a safer and more prosperous country.
Earlier, the Director of the Institute for Development Research and Training, ABU Zaria, said that the recognition and urgency of the issue of insecurity in Northern Nigeria necessitated the open dialogue.
He said this dialogue would highlight the complexity of the situation, the strategies being employed, and the progress made so far.
According to him, the dialogue will serve as a point toward a sustain and collaborative partnership between Defence headquarters and Ahmadu Bello University Zaria.
REPORT BY AMINU DALHATU
