National Security Adviser (NSA) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu says at least 150 million Nigerians have been affected by insecurity.
This is just as the minister of livestock development, Idi Muktar Maiha, urged the government to replace armoured tanks with tractors and machine guns with milking machines in rural areas.
He said armoured tanks and machine guns had no place in society while people were hungry.
Ribadu spoke during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC) under the office of the National Security Adviser and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Abuja yesterday.
He said Nigerians were predominantly farmers but insecurity had disrupted their ways of life, rendering many hungry.
He said people were justified for feeling neglected by the government, and expressed the need for a whole of society approach to address the root causes of insecurity in the country.
Ribadu said, “Security is the biggest problem we are facing in all sectors but the biggest victim of insecurity is agriculture because when it came in, it interfered with our lives, Nigerians are farmers. It’s either you’re a farmer or from a family of farmers so all of us one way or the other it has affected us. Insecurity has turned our lives upside down. When we come together we are better off. We must come together to give our people their lives back.
“Our people are in dire need of this. I don’t think there is any country in the world today which is facing the challenges we are facing. Because we are big, we are huge in number. Populations that are affected by the insecurity in Nigeria maybe in excess of 120 to 150 million.”
He said the perpetrators of insecurity were out to destroy Nigeria.
“There is no way in the world we will have this again, no. The bad people are moving in more. They have destroyed democracies in our neighboring countries. Sudan is on fire, Chad is something, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali. We are the only ones standing strong in the Sahel now and thanks to our own security forces, we are surviving them. So we are in difficulties,” he said.
The NSA said the event marked a pivotal moment in the nation’s journey towards sustainable peace and security.
He said, “For too long, our focus in countering terrorism has predominantly been on kinetic responses. While it is essential, we have come to understand that true and lasting peace cannot be achieved through force alone.
The root causes of violent extremism such as poverty, lack of opportunity, and social disenfranchisement must be addressed with equal vigour. This understanding informs the bedrock of our whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.”
He said the collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture on the Agribusiness and Livelihood Empowerment Project for Disarmament, Demobilization, Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation, and Reintegration, of terrorists, communities affected by violent extremism was a testament to this evolving strategy.
According to him, the partnership is commitment to non-kinetic approaches that empower individuals, restore livelihoods, and promote social cohesion.
He reiterated that Nigeria had made significant strides in demobilisation, deradicalisation, rehabilitation and reintegration programmes, most notably through the Operation Safe Corridor in Mallam Sidi, Gombe State.
Ribadu said, “Following the success, we are also witnessing a growing willingness among terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers in the North West regions to surrender.”
The deputy director-general, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Dr Denshell Kenton, said IITA since its establishment in 1987, had been fully committed to providing agriculture and improving agriculture in Nigeria.
He pledged to work towards the success of the project.
“I would love my last success story in Nigeria to be that I made a small contribution to bring peace to Northern Nigeria,” he said.
He said the principles to be followed during the implementation were not new, adding that they have been tried and tested.
