Senator Ahmed Lawan, the immediate past President of the Nigerian Senate, has expressed concerns over the country’s rising insecurity, saying that insecurity still lingers across the country due to inadequate and delayed funding for the armed forces, news.ng reports.
Senator Lawan, representing Yobe North Senatorial District, made this known during plenary on Thursday, stating that the fight against insecurity rests not only on the military but also on political leaders.
Senator Lawan, who led the upper chamber between 2019 and 2023, said the military cannot successfully curb insecurity without adequate funding.
“So, I believe that we have simply not gotten the solutions yet, and the solutions do not lie completely with our armed forces. This is a challenge first to us political leaders,” he said.
He added that while some information regarding insecurity might not be allowed for public consumption, the military is also faced with insufficient equipment to confront the insurgents.
“Mr President, some things are better not said publicly because they are too sensitive. But you know what happened? Our armed forces, our security agencies, could not get the resources, basic resources, to deal with the insecurity in this. They are not magicians. There’s hardly anything anyone could do if you are not properly armed to face these criminals.”
On addressing the issue, the northern senator urged the National Assembly and the executive to remove bureaucratic bottlenecks in releasing funds to security agencies.
“So, Mr President, distinguished colleagues, this National Assembly, working with a greater arm of government, needs to look at funding and release of resources to our armed forces in good time and other security agencies. Otherwise, our soldiers are killed.”
“But somewhere along the line, the resources are not released. And I believe that this is a major issue. Talk with the military.”
He, however, proposed a national security summit to address the spate of insecurity.
“And by the way, Mr President, what has happened to our planned and proposed security summit? Why haven’t we done it? It’s supposed to be at the front burner. Because every day we talk about security challenges.
“But somewhere along the line, the bureaucracy, maybe it’s not doing enough. And it’s our duty to insist on getting the required resources… otherwise, we will continue to be speaking along the same line every day,” he concluded.
