Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, has attributed the unending security challenges in the northern part of the country to complex border management.
He stated this in a lecture titled presented
on weekend at the Institute for Development Research and Training, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
According to the CDS, Nigeria has 364 approved international border points and 1,497 other illegal migration points into the country.
He said, in addition to this, Nigeria is a signatory to the ECOWAS protocol on free movement of persons, goods and services within the West African sub-region.
Musa said, “The obligation to abide by the ECOWAS Protocol on free movement coupled with the nature of our border management further instigates the challenges to our nation’s security”,
This, according to him, “has manifested in increased insurgency, terrorism and religious extremism, as well as the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, human and drug trafficking among others.”
He explained that the underlying causes of these complexities could be attributed to the inadequacies in the implementation of frameworks for border management systems as well as structures to adapt to systemic changes.
According to the CDS, the impact of these complexities on Nigeria’s national security particularly, in the Northern part of the country, has brought to the fore the need to improve border control and overall security architecture for more effective monitoring of illegal entry through the borders.
Speaking further, Musa decried the erroneous perception of security issues as the responsibility of uniformed personnel, noting that this has greatly affected efforts to address the challenges in the north.
“Currently, there is an erroneous perception of security being the responsibility of only the military.
“This has greatly affected the ability to address security concerns in the north.
“Similarly, some unpatriotic citizens continue to undermine the unity and security of Nigeria,” he said.
The CDS said in order to ensure adequate security, citizens must be involved in the business of security.
He added that, “Until this is internalized, the security agencies which are significantly less than one per cent of the population will struggle to fill the massive gaps in the security architecture”.
Musa also said lack of patriotism, low human capacity index, the Nigerian justice system and lack of good governance among others, are challenges being face in addressing the security situation in the north.
He stressed the need for continuous collaboration with political leaders and relevant stakeholders in the implementation of essential protocols and action plans towards strengthening border management for improved national security.
The CDS called on schools, tertiary institutions, parents and guardians to continually stress the importance of individual and collective civic responsibility for the safety and wellbeing of all.
“Individuals therefore need to watch out for the good of others and pursue well-defined national security interests.
“Accordingly, people must be conversant with actions to be taken and who to report unusual occurrences to as part of their responsibility to national security.
“It is also important that institutions guarantee the safety of whistle-blowers and reward individuals who show high levels of patriotism and love for the country.
“As I have always said, those unpatriotic citizens fail to realize that there must first be a country before the issue of who governs where can be discussed.
“It is therefore important for us to always see Nigeria as our country and continue to show patriotism”, the CDS said.
John Shiklam
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