Minister of Defence Muhammed Abubakar Badaru has said he would demand timelines and targets from Service Chiefs on when to end insecurity in Nigeria.
He also promised to cooperate with all the security agencies in the country by holding monthly meetings with security chiefs and their ministers on how to solve the security challenges.
Badaru stated this Tuesday in his remarks shortly after stepping into office at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
“We know without security there will be no investment and without investment there will be no economic growth. Even our food security is threatened; farmers can’t go to their farms. The president is ready to give us all the support to do this.
“So, from now on, I want the service chiefs to give me a timeline and their requirements on how we will begin to solve these problems one by one. This timeline and target will be passed on to the President and trust me, he will be monitoring us and he doesn’t have the patience to work with lazy people. So, all our jobs are at stake if we don’t deliver, and indeed we have to deliver for our people, we have to deliver for the country,” he said.
Badaru, the former Jigawa state governor said from himself, minister of State for Defence, and to the Service Chiefs, they cannot afford to fail Mr. President and Nigerians for the trust they repose on them.
He said: “We have no reason to fail him, so I want to thank all that are here and assure them that we will do our best. We will do our best to make sure we get rid of security challenges.
“We owe it a duty to the President and the nation. As politicians, we cannot afford not to succeed. We hardly fail and we are not ready to fail this time and we will not fail.
“The President is a goal setter, he is an achiever and a thinker, so if you think we are going to joke with this, then we will all be deceiving ourselves. The President is a macro manager and he will be on our necks to deliver. I do the same.
“I think this is where the service chiefs will forgive me if I cross the command channel. I have to get things done. The trust that is reposed on the two of us by the President and indeed the service chiefs cannot be betrayed, we have to deliver and for the sake of our country.”
Matawalle
In his remarks, Minister of State Defence, Dr Bello Mohammed Matawalle said the ministry would
adopt a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to effectively tackle the prevailing security issues.
“At the same time, we recognise that Military Might alone cannot guarantee lasting security and stability.
“We must address the root causes of conflicts, promote social cohesion, and foster economic development. By investing in education, healthcare, job creation, and infrastructure development, we can create an environment where extremism finds no fertile ground to thrive.
“We will collaborate with relevant ministries and agencies to implement programs that address the socio-economic disparities that often fuel conflicts,” said the former Jigawa state governor.
FG to secure borders
In a related development, the federal government has said it would deploy more technology, as opposed to heavy reliance on the human element, in the protection of the country’s vast borders.
Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo disclosed this Tuesday at a news conference in Abuja.
The minister who had earlier assumed duties Monday said he would work with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to remove all passport processing-related bottlenecks.
The event had in attendance Commandant General Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, Controller General Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) Haliru Nababa, Controller General Federal Fire Service (FFS) Engineer Abudulganiyu Jaji and NIS Acting Comptroller General Mrs. Caroline Wuraola-Adepoju as well as the Director, Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Correctional Services Board, Ja’afaru Ahmed among others.
Addressing the gathering, the minister said: “We have to look at the Services, look at the bottlenecks and unbundle those bottlenecks.
“The immigration service, you have a lot to do. We need to secure our borders and deploy modern technology to ensure that all our land, air and sea borders are secure. I assure Nigerians that we are not going to disappoint them. NIS, the whole issue of passport delays and bottlenecks must be tackled.
“Nigerians, including those in Diaspora must be treated with respect in all our passport offices. Foreigners should be able to come to Nigeria based on merit. It can no longer be business as usual. I do not work without timelines. There must be timelines and key performance indicators because responsibility without accountability is irresponsibility.”
“For the Federal Fire Service, the response time, we are going to look into that. I know you have your challenges, but I am going to work with you to tackle them. Fire is a serious disaster and we need to optimize our processes.
“Nigeria Correctional Service, we must work with critical stakeholders on the Administration of Criminal Justice Act. We have to look at how to decongest the custodial centres and effectively integrate ex-convicts back into the society. Our custodial centres must become places of hope,” he said.
