SGF urges Nigerians to uphold moral values to end terrorism

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, has urged citizens to uphold the tenets of moral, religious, and cultural values to end acts of terrorism and other vices in the society.

Mustapha, represented by Permanent Secretary SGF, Dr Amina Shamaki, said this at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Security Meets Business Dialogue on Tuesday in Lagos.

Mustapha urged citizens at individual and family levels to account for all children and wards, and take personal interest in their individual development and conduct to make them unavailable tools for recruitment to banditry and terrorism.

This, he said, would ensure that the effort of government, military and security agencies become positively evident.

“The determination to tackle insecurity requires the cooperation of all.

“Every member of the society has his or her level of responsibility; some to volunteer information, some to provide counselling and some to engage in the theatre of the war itself.

“Above all, we must all resort to our moral, religious, socio-cultural values which will make all of us protect the sanctity of the human life, abhor immoral and irresponsible behaviours and live up to our responsibility of raising good members of the society.

“Once our societies are populated with good moral and religious behaviours, the fight against insecurity will be easier to win.

“Once absolute peace is restored, the atmosphere will be created for our youth to unleash their creative potential and the economy will grow at exponential rate,” he said.

Mustapha added that the corporate world could also assist in tackling insecurity by enthroning clearly defined job security policies as government alone could not provide employment for all Nigerians.

“Unemployment is one of the root causes of insecurity and our people believe only government jobs could suffice especially as it relates to job security.

“The corporate world could assist by swaying notions away from this stereotype by equally, providing clearly defined job security policies,” he said.

He listed more areas the corporate world could assist in tackling insurgency to include enhancing the competitiveness of the Nigerian industry and evolving robust policies that would adequately address the mortality rate of business concerns.

He called for evolving robust policies to encourage and guarantee successes of partnerships, equity, joint ventures, and franchises.

According to him, the evolving policies should accelerate the movement of business entities from the informal to the formal sector.

The SGF enumerated the new approach by the government to tackle insecurity to include increased reliance on technology, increased funding and adaptability.

“Also, to tackle the influx of illegal weapons, the government is working hard to realize the establishment of a commission on small arms and light weapons in line with ECOWAS Protocol.

“Government is in the process of developing an internal security policy and strategy and this will be robust and comprehensive and should provide guidelines on how each internal security challenge should be adequately tackled with levels of responsibilities,” he said.

He noted that at the inception of this administration, the security situation was at its lowest ebb.

“However, government, since the inception of this administration, has put in place serious security measures which has led to the reduction in the nefarious activities of the terrorists, in particular,” he said.

Mrs Toki Mabogunje, President LCCI, in her address, said that business could not thrive in an environment that is unsafe or perceived as insecure.

She said that security of life and property was a critical factor in investment decisions as insecurity erodes business and investors’ confidence.

This, she explained, results in disruption of domestic supply chains and weakening of capital formation required to drive significant economic growth.

“Our country continues to contend with intractable security challenges bothering on insurgency attacks by Boko Haram terrorists, killings by armed banditry, herdsmen/farmers clashes, religious and ethnic crisis, kidnapping for ransom, armed robbery and cultism.

“These security challenges are widespread and experienced in practically all geopolitical zones and regions in the country and the impact on economic activities has been negative and profound.

“Global ranking for Nigeria in the area of security gives cause for concern as we were ranked 148th out of 163 countries on the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2019 and placed among the five least peaceful countries in sub-Saharan Africa along with violence-ridden countries.

“Meanwhile, we acknowledge the efforts of the federal government to ensure adequate security for all and sundry but a lot more is still needed.

“As a promoter of private enterprise, it is our firm belief that we must continue to adopt innovative ways to address legacy and emerging security issues,” she said.