The Chief of Army staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja has declared that no single agency can independently tackle the current security challenges facing the country.
Lagbaja made this declaration while presenting the first strategic personality lecture at the Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies (IPSS), University of Ibadan on Friday.
The COAS while speaking on the topic, ‘Combating an Adversary Without Boundaries: The Need to Implement a Whole of Society Approach to Nigeria’s National Security’, said Nigeria must plan to solve the twin problems of poverty and unemployment to avert long-term insecurity and instability in the country.
Lagbaja who was represented by the General Officer Commanding 2-Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Obinna Onubogu, maintained that the twin problems of unemployment and poverty have given impetus to security challenges in the country.
He added that unemployed and poor youths are susceptible to recruitment by criminals and violent non state actors.
Lagbaja maintained that counter-insurgency operations require synergy among agencies, noting that all the agencies are supposed to collaborate with each other towards achieving a common goal.
“Related to the factors of unemployment and poverty is demography and youth bulge with citizens of 35 years below accounting for about 54.1 per cent of the population, estimated at 229,379,082 as of 20 July 2024. Of this figure, less than 20 per cent of them are gainfully employed.
“The operating environment has evolved to a point where no single service or agency can effectively and independently tackle the threats to national security.
“It is therefore crucial that synergy is developed with other security agencies in the implementation of the whole of society approach to the threats. Communication, cooperation, and collaboration amongst MDAs have been major topics of discussion. Although there has been some improvement, much more still needs to be done.
“Counter-insurgency operations require synergy amongst agencies, who need to collaborate with each other towards achieving a common goal.
“Collaboration, communication, and cooperation are required for planning, sharing of intelligence, and the practical execution of all operations.
“Where synergy is lacking among security agencies, there can never be a coordinated approach to the prevailing security challenge,” he said.
No single agency can solve Nigeria’s security challenges – Army Chief