A former Governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar has urged Nigerians to continue to support the military in its quest to address the security challenge in the country.
Abubakar made the call at the opening of a three-day Civil-Military Conference organised by the Conference of Civil Society of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja.
The theme of the conference is, “Maximum Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMICO) for Maximum Security in Nigeria”.
He said that security of a nation was the responsibility of every citizen as encapsulated in the theme of the conference, adding that the civil segment of the society seemed to be failing in its responsibility.
The former governor said that Nigeria had one of the best armed forces in Africa based on their record of achievements in the various peace operation missions in different parts of the world.
He said it was important to understand why efficient armed forces would find it difficult to win the fight against insurgency and banditry.
According to him, it is for the fact that the civil society has not been doing enough to support the military in their bid to end insecurity in Nigeria.
“It is for this reason that I must commend the conference of civil society group for bringing the stakeholders together to deliberate on this aspect over a period of three days.
“I believe wholeheartedly too that if at the end of the three days we are able to achieve the following, then I am certain that there will be improvement in the bid to engender security in this country.
“And these are; if we are able to bolster the capabilities and improve engagements as well as non-adversarial resolutions of conflict, deconstruct the dynamics and culture of several narratives of insecurity and issues of human rights.
“Foster balanced and unbiased media reportage of the war against insecurity in Nigeria and galvanise greater citizens, national and international support for the military and intelligence community in the fight against insecurity.
“We will count ourselves as having a successful conference,” he said.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs Pauline Tallen, called for citizens’ participation in the fight against insecurity in Nigeria in support of the efforts of the government and the security agencies.
Tallen urged Nigerians to be the eye and ear of the security agencies in their localities by saying something and do something whenever they see something wrong.
She said that if all hand were on deck and everyone was sincere about fighting insecurity, the challenges could be addressed faster.
The minister also called for involvement of more women in the security architecture of the country, saying that women had the ability to address issues of security properly if given the opportunity.
She urged all security agencies to do more in implementing the United Nations Resolution 1325 which called for increased participation of women as well as incorporate gender perspectives in peace and security.
The Chairman, Conference of Civil Societies of Nigeria, Mr Adams Otakwu, said the conference was organised to discuss issues of insecurity that had taken a toll on the nation’s development.
Otakwu said the issue of insecurity had also stretched the military into internal security operations, adding that there was the need for maximum cooperation between the civil society, the military and security community.
“This consciousness will be drilled down the fabric of the society. National interest should be put above every other consideration, and all citizens will be brought onboard this social reengineering,” he said.
Otakwu called on civil society and well-meaning citizens to join the renewed Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMICO) advocacy to stamp out insecurity in the country.
He challenged religious and political leaders to use their position to solve the nation’s security challenges by playing the constitutional and leadership roles effectively.
He also commended the leadership of the armed forces for their commitment toward engaging to civil societies in addressing the national security challenges.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor and other service chiefs and Inspector-General of Police as well as members of intelligence community were represented at the event.
