Nigerian armed forces have made commendable progress in the fight against terrorism, insurgency, banditry and other forms of violent crimes across the country.
President Bola Tinubu made this known while declaring open the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Inaugural Annual International Lecture on Thursday in Abuja.
The Lecture with the theme, “Insecurity in the Sahel (2008-2024): Dissecting Nigeria’s Challenges – Genesis, Impacts and Options” was conceived by the management of NAN as part of efforts to tackle the menace of insecurity in the Sahel and Nigeria.
He reassured Nigerians of the government’s commitment to return the country to the path of stability through kinetic and non-kinetic approaches.
Tinubu, was represented by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
“We have seen a difference that you are making and of course our security forces, represented here by our own Gen. Christopher Musa and all of you in the armed forces formation.
“This country will continue to be grateful to our armed forces and the security forces.
“We are beginning to restore order. We are beginning to get stability. We are beginning to have a new Nigeria.
“Nigeria is getting to be stable,” he said.
He said that the incidence of mass kidnaps in Abuja-Kaduna and Lokoja highways had made it safe in the last one of his administration, adding that order was being restored in the South East where all the police stations were back to work.
According to him, since 2023, up to now, not a single attack has taken place as terrorism against our religious places or any government building or anything.
“For example, in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna Kano, and so on, there is not a single case of that.
“It is a reminder of how a country has changed in a short period of time and we are not going to relent.
“For the first time, our borders are open and we share our commonwealth with our brother's countries, not the criminal.
“In Nigeria today there is a ministry of livestock for the first time that is going to address the perennial problem of herders and farms for decades.
“This is our new Nigeria we are talking about,” he added.
The president commended NAN for the foresight in coming up with the lecture, saying that a secured Nigeria was also a secure Sahel region.
He said that fixing Nigeria’s challenges would ultimately translate into the other parts of the neighbouring countries facing challenges and difficulties.
“This lecture, organised by the News Agency of Nigeria, is therefore a worthy contribution to the ongoing debate to the body of knowledge on the nation’s security architecture and what prognosis to make going forward.
“There is no doubt that the insecurity in the Sahel is complex with deep roots in sundry causal factors such as climate change, food insecurity and extremism which have created a ring of violence and instability in the region.
“In tackling our security challenges, our administration has adopted a multifaceted approach as enshrined in the renewed hope agenda which prioritised security as a critical component of government focus.
“These administrations in the last year had put in place processes, policies and programs to achieve improved security, economic development, improved welfare for all Nigerians,” he added.
To the terrorists and insurgents, Tinubu said ”surrender or face renewed onslaught of the military.”