Lets Quickly Implement National Security Strategy, NSA Urges

The National Security Adviser NSA), retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, has urged stakeholders to ensure the implementation of the 2019 National Security Strategy (NSS) to address contemporary and emerging security threats in the country.

Monguno made the call on Monday in Abuja at a stakeholders’ workshop for the Sensitisation Session of the NSS organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

Represented by Mr Aminu Lawal, the Director of Policy and Strategy, ONSA, Monguno said that the NSS document was recently launched by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said that the sensitisation session would avail the participants the opportunity to interface with the NSS committee for a better understanding of the document and the need for MDAs to key in for a successful implementation.

According to him, producing an NSS document is meaningless if its contents are not holistically implemented.

“Critical to the implementation is by understanding the process for developing and formulation of the document in order to guard against describing in granular details, specific policies of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies in the document.

“The sensitisation is, therefore, the first stage towards the implementation of the Strategy.

“Let me assure you that my Office remains committed to collaborating with you and all relevant stakeholders to ensure the document is understood and properly implemented.

“I, therefore, urge you to feel free to engage the committee members on areas of concern to ensure all of us operate on the same page and attain our national interest through this Strategy,” he said.

Monguno explained that the NSS was first conceived in 2014 during the peak of activities of insurgents in the country.

The NSA said the need to review the document was borne out of the fact that some of the security threats still remained.

He said Nigeria had been confronted with myriad security challenges which include terrorism, kidnapping, militancy, small arms and light weapons proliferation, banditry, and pastoralists/farmers conflicts, among others.

“In addition to focusing on the effectiveness of security providers, it incorporates several key issues as a way of ensuring their relevance, public legitimacy, ownership and sustainability as well as facilitating their implementation while improving the efficiency of how security is provided.

“In this regard, the new notion of National Security under this administration places emphasis on the ‘people’ as the referent object and not the ‘state’, aimed at enhancing the social-well being of the citizenry.

“This strategy, therefore, underscored the need to address the socio-economic concerns such as corruption, which breeds poverty and unemployment; insecurity and the diversification of the economy, which are the three key objectives of this administration,” he added.

The NSA also disclosed that there was a need to continuously assess the current and future threat environment and develop appropriate resilience and capacity to mitigate them.

He added that the manifestation of a formidable relationship with Nigeria’s allies and institutions at national, regional, continental and global levels was an important aspect of the strategy.

Amb. Layiwola Laseinde, the Chairman of the NSS Review Committee, said that the focus of the strategy document was human security which encompasses food security, job, health, and shelter.

Laseinde said that the document was also reviewed in line with the agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the security of all Nigerian, encourage agriculture and fight corruption.

He said that the NSS outlined the major security concerns of the nation for which policies and strategy had been articulated in line with a government plan to deal with those concerns.

According to him, the document should serve as a manual for all security stakeholders to use in addressing the prevailing threats in the country.

He urged the participants to study the document thoroughly to enable them to proffer solutions to both internal and external threats.

“The NSS is an overarching document, its content is general in nature and it relies on other national strategies.

“One of them is the national counter-terrorism strategy. The NSS summarises all these strategies,’’ he said.