Gambari calls for dialogue, consultations to address security challenges

Former Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, has urged Nigerian leaders to employ dialogue and consultations in solving security and other challenges confronting the country.

Gambari made the call at a security summit jointly organised by the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) and the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) on Tuesday in Abuja.

The theme of the two-day summit is ‘Terrorism, Insurgency and Incidence of Electoral Violence in Nigeria: Role of Security Agencies’.

Gambari urged Nigerian leaders to begin the process of collating various recommendations from different summits, conferences and reports on security with a view to adopting them in solving challenges facing the country.

“Therefore we must strive to build human security, and other elements such as political security, economic security, and environmental security.

“All citizens of the country must be united in fighting ills bedeviling the country and political elite must desist from fanning the embers of violence in order to build a nation that is peaceful and prosperous for all.

“I want to say again and again that the sustainability of the Nigerian project for a united, peaceful, prosperous nation cannot depend on one person – not on President Muhammadu Buhari or the military, it is the responsibility of all of us.

“The traditional rulers, civil society organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations and the people must stand united against violence of any kind and build a peaceful and prosperous Nigeria,” he said.

Gambari also berated some political leaders who fan embers of war and destruction for political and financial gains, adding that such attitude would not create strong national identity among the people.

Earlier, Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, said the army resource centre had strived towards finding research based solution to the nation’s security and defence challenges since inception.

Buratai said that the partnership with NEPAD was borne out of NARC’s commitment to its mandate. (NAN)