President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed the government’s determination to continue tackling all the security challenges in Nigeria.
Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Defence, Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi (rtd), stated this at the graduation of Course 29 participants of the National Defence College, on Friday in Abuja.
He said that the government had embarked on a comprehensive multisectoral and cross thematic approach, by strengthening existing structures and initiating new security outfits.
Buhari added that the focus of the government was to promote multi-national, combined, joint and special inter-agency collaborations in their operations.
He said the government also focused on non-kinetic actions centred on humanitarian efforts to reduce the distress of the people and improve human conditions.
According to him, some of the measures include disarmament, demobilisation and rehabilitation as well as deradicalisation programmes, political reconciliation measures and instruments of development intervention.
“Although the nation is still grappling with the challenges of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, farmers and herder clashes and militancy.
“The responses by my government and security agencies in tackling these threats have been strong, determined and robust in order to enhance security of lives and property of Nigerians.
“We consolidated the peace in the Niger Delta and recovered vast territories overtaken by terrorists in the North East.
“We are making continuous efforts at consolidating the progress made in improving the enabling security environment for peace and development,” he said.
The president, however, saluted the gallant men and women of the Armed Forces of Nigeria who daily risk their lives to make the nation safe.
He assured the troops that their sacrifices would not be in vain.
He commended the personnel of the Nigeria police, intelligence and security agencies as well as local vigilante and community groups for their patriotic and humanitarian sacrifices.
The president said that recent events have shown that the country was yet to be where it should be.
He said that all hands would continue to be on deck to make Nigeria a safer place to live.
“In spite of all of these challenges, our faith in the nation is unshaken.
“Our resolve and will to take the nation to greater heights remains strong.
“My government’s collective effort is to leverage technological innovations to deliver the dividends of democracy for national development,” he said.
On his part, the Minister of Defence, Magashi, urged the participants of the course 29 to deploy the knowledge they had acquired in the last 11 months to solving the nation’s security challenge.
He added that the strategic leadership and policy management knowledge they had acquired had positioned them better to proffer solutions to the various challenges confronting the nation.
The Commandant of NDC, Rear Adm. Oladele Daji, said that the broad study theme for Course 29 was the “4th Industrial Revolution and National Development in Nigeria”.
Daji said the course curriculum was reviewed to make it more relevant to the demands of contemporary and emerging security and geo-strategic imperatives in line with best practices.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the course, which commenced in September 2020, had 22 participants from the Nigerian Army, 25, from Nigerian Navy and 11 from Nigerian Air Force.
There were 24 participants from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) comprising six from Nigeria Police, three each from Department of State Service (DSS), National intelligence Agency (NIA) and Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) among others.
There were 14 international participants from 10 African countries Niger, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Republic of Congo and Chad as well as allied counties of Bangladesh, Nepal and Germany. (NAN)
