- Safiu Kehinde
The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has attributed the spate of insecurity in Nigeria to the failure of the country’s internal security agencies.
Tunji-Ojo made this known during his address at the Constitution Review Legislative Dialogue on National Security Architecture.
The event, held on Monday at the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Abuja, was jointly organized by the House of Representatives Committee on the Review of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Speaking on the theme, “Nigeria’s Peace and Security: The Constitutional Imperatives”, Tunji-Ojo commended the Department of States Service (DSS) and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) for their efficient human resources.
He also hailed the leadership of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
However, the Minister noted that Nigerians only recognise the military action against insecurity within the country.
This according to him showed a sign of failure from the internal security agencies.
“We have some of the most brilliant people in our DSS. We have our NIA doing fantastically. You can see the kind of leadership our that the NSA is providing.
“But the simple truth is that when we talk about our internal security, the first thing that comes to Nigerians mind is the military.
“That is sign of failure on our internal security agencies.” He said.
Tunji-Ojo cited the dependence of the Nigerian Police Force on budgetary allocation as an example of the cause of the Force inefficiency.
“Let’s tell ourselves the truth, I do not see a reason why our police, for instance, should even rely on budgetary allocation. Let’s call a spade a spade. I do not see it!
“We are talking about the most populous black nation on earth. Africa has a population of 1.2 billion people. 240 of that population are Nigerians. And you have a Police Force that depends on budget capital and all and you think it will be efficient.” He said.
While calling for alternative source of funding for the Police Force, Tunji-Ojo also noted the inadequate funding of the Nigerian Immigration Service and porous nature of the country’s border.
This, according to him, avail terrorists to remobilize and invade the borderlines.
“If you look at the 2025 budget, how much do you even have for border security? That’s the truth.
The whole budget of the Nigerian Immigration Service, the capital budget, is less than N10 billion. And you want to protect 4,024 square kilometres of our border space, are we joking?
Once you kill on terrorist and the border is porous, 20 will come in and the military are challenged. So for us, we need to be more realistic with ourselves.” He said.
The Minister also called for a proper security framework, especially on the country’s cyber security which, according to him, is still 20 years behind what is obtainable in other climes.
“Something is very important that I must say, the attention we are paying to cybersecurity, we are still leaving 20 years behind.
“You cannot continue to run a cyber security architecture on an ad hoc arrangement. There must be a proper security framework.” Tunji-Ojo said.