Pascal Arogorn Ibe
Senator representing Borno South and Chairman Senate Committee on Army, Ali Ndume has again called for concerted efforts to combat the security challenges facing the country.
He made the call at the weekend in Abuja while featuring on the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Correspondents’ Chapel programme, “Correspondents Chapel Roundtable.”
Senator Ndume who bemoaned poor funding of the military said the right thing must be done for us to surmount banditry, kidnapping and the terror gang, Boko Haram.
He said: “The situation is terrible and whenever there is a forum like this, I think there is the need for us to talk and proffer solutions. As a legislator with experience going to 20 years now, I must confess to you that I’m confused. I’m truly confused. The problem in this country is so much today, that the solution to it is only with us.
“Unfortunately, Nigeria is one of the religious countries. So, most of us now resort to God. We say ‘let us pray’, and we see the pastors and Imams are thriving. Tomorrow, most of you will flock to churches to raise up your hands and start shouting to God. Well, it’s good.
“I’m a Muslim, a dedicated one, but I believe God will only answer your prayers if you genuinely confess your sins and you truly believe in God and you truly do your own bit. If you do your own bit rightly, then God will help you. But if you just sit there, perpetuate criminality, tribalism and other sentiments, and then you expect God to solve your problem, then, you’re wasting your time.”
He submitted that a nation like Nigeria with an estimated population put at over 200million must have adequate provision for the defence to train, equip and train its personnel in the armed forces and other security agencies.
He said: “I have been saying this. I say this at every opportunity that I have like this one, that government should prioritise security and peace does not come cheap. In a country where you are budgeting N13 trillion for a year and you budget less than one percent for security, you know we are not serious.
“Now the president seems to have risen to the occasion with his New Year speech where said he is going to do something about insecurity and he removed the service chiefs, bringing in the new ones.
“This is not enough, you must equip, you must have the numbers, and you must deploy them properly. The Nigerian security agencies, especially the armed forces are not well equipped, they do not have what it takes to address the security threats we are facing as a country.”
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