Fight against terrorism will yield desired result – Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has assured that the political will being demonstrated by his administration in the fight against terrorism in the country will yield the desired result.

Jonathan made the assertion in Abuja on Tuesday while declaring open a two-day National Summit on Security Challenges in Nigeria, jointly sponsored by the Nigeria Police and Vanguard Newspapers.

Represented by retired Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade, the Minister of Police Affairs, Jonathan said that the time had come to rise and address the challenge.

He said it was in realisation of this that a Presidential Committee to Re-organise the police was recently set up having observed some deficiencies in the capacity and professionalism of the force.

``A lot of emphasis is being placed on training and retraining, improving the sophistication of weaponry and equipment, improved welfare of officers and men and the image of the police.

``I am optimistic that the political will being demonstrated by this administration will yield the desired result in the fight against terrorism, improve crime investigation and enhance public order policing.

``This will guarantee the ultimate protection of lives and property and law enforcement in our society,’’ he said.

The Chairman of the occasion, Mr Gambo Jimeta, a former Inspector General of Police, described the security situation in the country as ``self-inflicted’’.

Jimeta said, “The insecurity we have in the country now is a self-inflicted situation by previous governments, leaders and other stakeholders who could not really understand that if one Nigerian has a feeling of insecurity and he is afraid to go about his business and enjoy the God given rights that a state is supposed to give him, it is that one person that is weakening the well being of the state.

“What I want us to understand is that our current situation is very self-inflicted, arising not only the situation in Nigeria, but almost all developing countries. You cannot have a state and fail to provide for the institutions of the state that are supposed to secure the state and therefore its citizens.

“What is happening is for the leaders to throw up their hand and say there is nothing they can do or like we hear in Nigeria that people from one part of the country are not in sync with what is happening or that people from one part of the country are not in sync with the regime.

“You cannot tell me there is no part of this country where you can say a Christian cannot rule this country because Gowon has ruled this country for nine years after him, there was also General Olusegun Obasanjo who ruled for some time and then, he ruled again.

“So, when people want to go and seek conflict, they would becloud the truth that people are too poor and they have no alternative to life except to go on the side of lawlessness. What is again wrong is for the authorities to think that it is anything more than that.

“Incidents of murder are specifically taken care of in our Criminal Code and so should not be swept under the carpet. Police should investigate conclusively to bring to book those people and we must also make sure that the judicial system of this country is not truncated by interests.

“If a man commits a murder, it is a murder. If we start to becloud murder and say it is religious thing; I tell you, there is no religious murder. There is need for us to adjust our lifestyle so we can move forward.

“The colonial masters provided for the security agencies to be able to perform their duties. The military, police, the security agencies were not lacking in any way and their morals were high.

“The composition of those units that were considered vital to any government are such that they were carefully selected that they would command the respect and affinity of the community they served and if there was anything that could truncate that relationship, everything was stopped until that problem was solved.

“There were stringent laws and regulations to ensure that the money given out were not abused. We ran into this trouble when out government started neglecting this important foundation and went into other ventures that could have been carried out by private people and private enterprises.

“So, we are witnesses to what has been happening since independence. Gradually this notion of not providing for the basic needs of our people brought us to our knees. Everybody is crying; everybody is kneeling down”.

``Whenever you see a country running into security problem, it is when it starts to neglect this all important foundation for the well being of the nation. ``There is nowhere in Nigeria today where you can sleep with your eyes closed. Let’s put our priorities right, build a robust defence and internal security system,’’ Jimeta said.

He decried a situation where criminal gangs were more armed and government officials protect themselves, leaving the citizenry at the mercy of God. ``Things are not all right, things are going wrong. The people are frustrated,’’ adding that if the situation was not addressed, the people might be forced to react negatively.

Jimeta said there was a disconnect between the government and the people and blamed the Boko Haram insurgency and other challenges facing the nation on bad governance. He stressed that no religion encouraged violence and killings and called on relevant government agencies to arrest and bring to book all those perpetrating criminal acts.

The former police boss warned those aspiring to lead the country to desist from ``irresponsible’’ utterances capable of causing crises. He commended the police and other security agents for paying the supreme price in the effort to arrest the current situation.

On his part, the Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, noted that security was fundamental to existence of any society. Abubakar, however, said that as a nation grows in terms of development, the nature of the threats it faced become sophisticated.

``Security is undoubtedly the foundation on which any society’s socio-economic and political developments are built. ``Insecurity, therefore, is a venomous threat to the well being of the citizens of any nation and a canker worm that destroys the roots that hold the existence of any nation,’’ Abubakar said.

According to him, the security situation in Nigeria in recent times has been a source of great concern to all patriotic citizens and to the international friends of Nigeria.

Mr Gbenga Adefaye, the Editor-In-Chief of Vanguard Newspapers, said the organisation had the social responsibility to help in finding solution to the security challenges.

Adefaye appealed to authorities concerned to take seriously the recommendations that would come out of the summit. The theme of the summit is ``Addressing Nigeria’s Security Challenges for Sustainable Peace and Development’’.