Insecurity threatens Nigeria’s foundations of nationhood – Gbajabiamila
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has said that the current security challenges in Nigeria are a threat to the foundations of the country’s nationhood.
The Speaker, however, noted that the Nigerian Government has responded to the challenges by taking certain measures such as increasing funding for the police and the military, recruiting personnel for security agencies, among others.
Gbajabiamila spoke when he delivered a paper titled ‘Democracy in Challenging Times: The Role of African Parliaments in Safeguarding and Delivering on the Dividends of Democracy’ at the School of Oriental Studies, London on Wednesday as part of his ongoing official visit to the UK.
Speaking on the challenges facing Nigeria, Gbajabiamila said: “The most pressing of these challenges today is the national security crisis that threatens the foundations of our nationhood and portends great danger for Africa and the world if it persists. The Speaker, however, said: “First, to address present challenges and then to build resilient institutions that can withstand uncertainty in troubled times, more than anything else, our focus must remain on the young and vibrant youth of Nigeria and Africa who have so much to offer the world and who have proven that they can thrive under challenging circumstances given half a chance.
“However we cannot do this for as long as our present national security challenges persist.
“The government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has responded to the reality of our present challenges by increasing funding provisions for the police and armed forces, accelerating recruitment and training to put more boots on the ground and also acquiring weapons systems designed to give the security agencies an advantage.”
The Speaker said upon the resumption of the 9th House, “the scope of our challenges was evident, matched only by our confidence that we would do what was required to overcome those difficulties and deliver the dividends of democracy for our people.
“Now the topic of this paper speaks to ‘dividends of democracy,’ a term that has been loosely and broadly interpreted to mean different …