Enlists Stakeholders’ Collaboration to Fight Terrorism

Okon Bassey in Uyo

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), Monday urged all hands to be on deck to check terrorism rocking the country, saying curbing the menace of terrorism required the collaboration of all stakeholders in the country.

Monguno spoke in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, during a National Sensitisation workshop on the Implementation of National Counter Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST) in the country.

Represented by the Head, Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism in his office, Mrs. Catherine Udida, he argued that the carnage unleashed by terrorists in Nigeria in particular and the world in general requires concerted approach and efforts by all citizens and governments at all level to curb the menace.

According to him, “It is a fact that no one man, agency or one country can achieve laudable success in the fight against terrorism. We must all work together, identifying our crucial roles and collaborate to record success.”

He said the office of the NSA expects cooperation and contribution from all Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs), civil society organisations (CSOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in blocking the loopholes of terrorists in the country.

The NACTEST, he said, was therefore a call for action to all MDAs, CSOs, NGOs and well-meaning Nigerians to consciously take up their roles as outlined in the strategy and contribute by undertaking programmes and projects that could bring terrorism to a halt.
The NSA maintained that in defeating terrorists or managing the acts of terrorism in the country, security agencies must be ahead of the terrorists.

Monguno tasked security agencies and stakeholders not to relent but always prepare and be on alert against any terrorists attack stressing the need for prompt information gathering and sharing among security agencies to conquer terrorism in the country.
“The country as a whole must understand the importance of information and the essence of timeliness in doing so. Information is power and timely sharing of information is super power,” he added

The Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, while declaring open the workshop, he noted that terrorism has affected everyone beyond boundaries and require collaborative efforts.
Speaking through his Deputy, Mr. Moses Ekpo, the governor called for intelligence sharing among all security agencies to tackle terrorism the country, advising all security agencies to constantly update their skills and information to meet global standard as terrorism was a global phenomenon.
In the collation of information, the governor urged the security agencies to also be careful as false information could lead to chaos.

In his goodwill message, the Speaker Akwa Ibom House of Assembly, Onofiok Luke, commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s effort in fighting insurgency in the Northeast and efforts in ensuring peace in the Niger Delta region through negotiations.

The speaker stated: “I commend the president for his effort in fighting insurgency in the country. I call on those who have the opportunity to make contributions to the fight not to sabotage the president’s effort.
“I also commend the sacrificial efforts made by our gallant security personnel in the fight against insurgents. The sincere efforts of the federal government in maintaining peace in the Niger Delta region is evident in the recent visit of the Vice President to states of the region and the painstaking efforts by the federal government to engage stakeholders.

“The proposal to award oil blocks to states and individuals from in the Niger Delta region is commendable. I urge states of the region to participate in the acquisition of the oil block. It is my expectation that federal government will follow up this proposal by ensuring that the marginal fields awarded to our states are economically viable.”