From Molly Kilete, Abuja
Minister Of Defence, Major Gen. Bashir Magashi (retd) has said insecurity and recent floodings that ravaged parts of the country posed threats to the nations economic growth and food security.
The minister stated this at the opening of the Defence Advisers/Attachés’ Annual Conference 2022 organised by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Abuja. The week long conference has as its theme: “Sustaining Nigeria’s Defence and Security: Role of the Defence Attache’ System.”
The minister said the threat to economic growth from insecurity and flooding made it imperative for various security agencies to continue to collaborate to tackle the menace and create an enabling environment for economic activities to thrive and attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
He urged security agencies to explore all avenues within their respective systems and come up with innovative ways of identifying and confronting the challenges facing the country.
He said the Defence Attachés System had crucial roles to play in forging understanding and cooperation with the security and defence architectures in their respective countries of accreditation.
He said the conference was a vital mechanism through which the agency could evaluate, formulate and review strategic policies in line with evolving global and domestic security challenges.
Magashi said combating insecurity through kinetic and non-kinetic approaches was yielding positive results in the fight against terrorism and banditry in the North-West and North-Central zones.
The minister, however, lamented that the coastal states in the South-South region were still plagued with illegal oil bunkering, piracy and militancy, while the South-East is challenged with secessionist activities of Indigenous People of Biafra and the Eastern Security Network.
“The South-West region is equally faced with secessionist inclination driven by ethnic agitators as well as occasional tension between herders and farmers. Distinguishing the threats Nigeria is currently facing and understanding their socio-geographic context is pivotal for adapting appropriate and lasting counter-measures. Regrettably, the prevalence of these threats has continued to endanger our economic growth and food security which has been exacerbated by the recent flooding across the country exacerbated by the recent flooding across the country,” he said.