Senate meets security chiefs over insecurity

The leadership of the Senate is currently meeting with the security chiefs over the lingering insecurity in the country.

The Star reports that the latest development comes a few days after some opposition senators, especially those elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) threatened to impeach President Muhammadu Buhari if he fails to end the security challenges bedevilling the country within six weeks.

Present at the meeting on Wednesday are the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval staff, Chief of Air Staff, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), and a representative of the National Security Adviser.

Speaking at the meeting, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, expressed hope that the security challenges would be properly addressed.

Lawan, who said it was time to find an effective solution to the lingering insecurity in the country, stated that the situation was frightening.

The Senate President said: “This session is to look into where we are today and this current position where we are is most frightening. This is like there is nowhere to go.

“We have to review what more we have to do and what difference we have to do.

“Insecurity is everywhere and especially if it is coming to the point of dislocating the security situation where the government is quartered.

“We will really review and see what more we have to do and how differently we have to do.

“Our population is largely peasant. Most of our people are in the rural areas and they live their lives by going to farms. We all know this. In many parts of the country today, that is a herculean task.

“My belief is that we can do better to secure the rural areas, the so-called ungoverned space at least for our population who go to farms to earn their living.

“Where our agricultural productivity is drastically going down, that will complicate the security situation because the most ordinary Nigerian cares more about what he or she or what the family will eat. And of course, all other things are secondary.

“We have problem with our economy to some extent because of insecurity. No foreign direct investment or not as much as we would ordinarily attract to our country.

“Our prayer is to start seeing serious, remarkable and dramatic changes from today.

“We hope that our discussions will give us the opportunity to consider other things or other areas or ideas that we didn’t have before,” Lawan stated.

Also speaking at the meeting, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, said efforts were on to address the security challenges bewildering the country.

The Star