Nigeria’s food security facing new threats – Defence Minister

The prevalence of the various security threats in Nigeria has adversely affected food security thereby posing new dimension of threats to the country, Minister of Defence, Maj.-Gen. Bashir Magashi (rtd), has said.

Magashi stated this at the opening of a retreat for Defence Advisers/Attaches Conference, organised by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) on Monday in Abuja.

The minister said the attacks by Boko Haram Terrorists and Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the North-East as well as banditry and herder/militia in the North-West and Central had continued to pose serious security threats to Nigeria.

According to him, the littoral states in the South-South region are plagued with illegal oil bunkering, piracy and militancy while the South-East is challenged with secessionist activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

He added that the South-West region is equally faced with secessionist inclination driven by ethnic agitators as well as occasional tension between herders and farmers.

“The threats currently facing Nigeria and understanding their socio-geographic context is pivotal for adapting appropriate and lasting counter-measures.

“Regrettably, the prevalence of these threats has continued to endanger not only national security and economic growth, but also food security.

“In particular, food security has been adversely affected with the attendant rise in the prices of food stuff across the country which portends a new dimension of threat.

“This makes it imperative for the various security agencies in the country to continue to collaborate to tackle these menaces in order to create an enabling atmosphere for economic activities to thrive and to attract Foreign Direct Investment.

“It also means that the security agencies must explore all avenues within their respective systems to come up with innovative ways of identifying and confronting the challenges facing us as a nation,” he said.

Magashi said that the Defence Advisers/Attachés system had crucial roles to play by forging understanding and cooperation with the security and defence architectures in their respective countries of accreditation.

He said the conference would provide participants the opportunity to appraise the shared vision of stemming the tide of insecurity through the integrated efforts of all government entities, the objectives of the government approach.

He said the recent achievement of the military and security agencies who took the fight from all angles to the door steps of the adversaries leading to the surrender of over 14,000 terrorists, is reassuring.

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), said the defence Attachés/Advisers were considered as critical stakeholders in surmounting the myriad of security challenges facing Nigeria.

The Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), Maj.-Gen. Samuel Adebayo, noted that the Nigerian armed forces had made tremendous progress in confronting the nation’s security challenges as evident from the massive surrendering of terrorists in the North-East and intensified operations against bandits in the North-West and North-Central regions.

The Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd), urged attachés to use their position to support the fight against drug abuse and trafficking in Nigeria.