By Augustine Ehikioya
President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday asserted that his government is steadily winning the war against insecurity challenges in the country.
The Military and Security Agencies, he said, have been taking the battle to enemies of the Nation from all angles in the past four months.
These were part of his Independence Day address in Abuja marking the occasion of Nigeria’s 61st Independence Anniversary, as monitored by Security Watch Africa (SWA).
Buhari also disclosed that over 8,000 terrorists have so far surrendered to the security forces.
He said “As our economy continues to open after the COVID-19 related lockdowns, we have also seen the resurgence of insecurity in certain parts of the country.
“In the last four months, the gallant men and women of the Military and Security Agencies have made tremendous progress in addressing these new security challenges. We are taking the fight to our enemies from all angles and we are winning.
“Earlier this year, I launched the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, the Deep Blue Project, which is designed to secure Nigerian waters up to the Gulf of Guinea. I am happy to inform Nigerians that we have taken delivery of key assets for this project and very soon, its impact will be felt.
“In the North East region alone, over eight thousand Boko Haram terrorists have surrendered,” he said.
To boost the fight against bandits, he said that the Nigerian Armed Forces have recruited over 17,000 personnel across all ranks.
“Furthermore, I have also approved for the Nigeria Police Force to recruit 10,000 Police Officers annually over the next six years,” he added.
He went on “I am also pleased to note that most of the Air Force platforms we acquired over the past three years have started to arrive in Nigeria. These will positively impact our security operations in all parts of the country.”
He promised that his administration will prosecute anyone inciting violence in Nigeria, either directly or through body language.
“In line with section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the security and welfare of Nigerians continue to be the prime focus on which programmes and projects of our government revolves.
“Therefore, as a Government, we are ready to arrest and prosecute all persons inciting violence through words or action. Our resolve for a peaceful, united and one Nigeria remains resolute and unwavering,” he continued.
Stressing that the nation’s hope is not to fight for peace, he said “we can always settle our grievances peacefully without spilling any blood.
“I will therefore take this opportunity, on this special day that symbolises the unity and oneness of our great Nation, to ask all Nigerians to embrace peace and dialogue, whatever your grievances.
“The seeds of violence are planted in people’s heads through words. Reckless utterances of a few have led to losses of many innocent lives and destruction of properties.
“Such unfiltered and unsubstantiated lies and hate speeches by a few evil persons must be stopped. Our media houses and commentators must move away from just reporting irresponsible remarks to investigating the truth behind all statements and presenting the facts to readers.
“We must all come out and speak against the lies being peddled. At this point, I would want to sincerely appreciate the large number of our Traditional, Religious and Community leaders as well as other well-meaning Nigerians who, in their various fora are openly spreading the message of peaceful co-existence and conflict settlement through dialogue in their respective communities.
“Nigeria is for all of us. Its unity is not negotiable. And its ultimate success can only be achieved if we all come together with a common goal of having peace and prosperity for our nation.” He said
According to him, his administration will continue to work on dialogue based solutions to address legitimate grievances.
The President also threatened that decisive sctions would be taken against secessionist agitators and their sponsors.
He said “But we remain ready to take decisive actions against secessionist agitators and their sponsors who threaten our national security.
“The recent arrests of Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Adeyemo, and the ongoing investigations being conducted have revealed certain high-profile financiers behind these individuals. We are vigorously pursuing these financiers including one identified as a serving member of the national assembly.
“This is a clear example of how people abandon their national leadership positions for their selfish gains. Instead of preaching unity, they are funding and misleading our youth to conduct criminal acts that sometimes lead to unfortunate and unnecessary loss of lives and property.
“As the so-called leaders run abroad to hide, our innocent youths are misled and left in the streets to fight for their senseless and destructive causes,” he stated.
He said that the government will continue, with greater level of peoples’ participation and in collaboration with international partners, “to improve the security architecture, reduce enabling environment for criminality to thrive and eliminate opportunities for terrorism financing.
“In particular, security is a bottom to top undertaking. Joining hands and hearts together would enable us to secure ourselves and our country,” he said.