NATIONAL CONFERENCE Committee on National Security Verbatim Report: 22-04-2014 The committee on National Security started this morning with a welcome speech by the Chairman, H.E Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta, GCON, who highlighted issues that affect the Nigerian nation. He also brought to the notice of committee members the absence of the deputy chairman, who was absent for reasons beyond his control. Here is the Chairman’s speech: The committee on national security is one of the most critical, given the role it plays in the development and advancement of a country. It remains the essence, why people come together to form a government. It is the function of all government to protect the lives of its citizens. Without it, no nation can carry out its daily activities. And this emphasizes the importance of the responsibilities that have been placed on us all as delegates on national security. It is also important that we approach it with our expertise, experience, maturity and the subjectivity the issue demands. We are here for proffering solutions to the issue of national insecurities that have befallen our nation and there is nothing you can do except you meet the demand of national security. One critical section in this discussion is the budget that supports national security. Each of us here has nothing to learn about national security because we have served in one capacity or the other in the security agencies in this country. We are here to address the issue of national security. And we are all to contribute to achieve this. A call for comments from the chairman. OKWUONU, High Chief Jerome comments: The President stated it in his inaugural speech, when he listed all the problems that have befallen the Nigerian state and he said we should come together to find ways among ourselves to solve the problems. So, the constitution is what we came here to do. I will like to make a comment on the general management of the committees, the sub-committees that were suggested should be given a maximum of three days and at the end of their meetings, they will present their summary to the committee to take a look at it. The president gave us three months to work and I will suggest that they send a copy of the compendium of past conferences on national security to us, then it is left for us to go through it. Chairman (H.E Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta GCON): We know that we all have divergent perceptions of the issues of national security and the views of everybody will be considered even at the sub-committee level. If you have any opposing perception, you are allowed to raise it. We are going to break up into sub-committees where everybody can contribute. ALBASU, Barr. Bashir AIG (rtd.) Comments: I support the idea of having a sub-committee. There we will do the nitty-gritty that affects the issue and send in our recommendations. Whatever is suggested by the sub-committee is what will be brushed over by the entire committee. Secondly, we are to make recommendations that will make the security agencies effective. Once they are effective, they will deal with the big and small offences that are present in our country today. OBADA, Her Excellency Erelu Olusola Agbeja comments: An advert on memoranda was sent out to newspapers for the public to submit their views. We want the secretariat to get them so that we know what they expect from us. EJIGA, Maj-Gen. Geoffrey (rtd): I suggest that the sub-committees be given time, so that they can do proper work. We should be conscious that we have six-working days spread across two weeks to make our recommendations. Nicholas Eze Emmanuel: This committee is expected to find a lasting solution to what is actually wrong in the country. And the fundamental problem of what is actually wrong is a system collapse. The system collapse has affected the security agencies and how they function. And we are to make recommendations that will consolidate the present security agencies in the country. Another basic issue we should try and address in our discussion of national security is corruption. People that were given money to put some things in place did not, they were not supervised. The lack of jobs now made the issue more terrible. The national assembly goes for an oversight function in all our agencies and this oversight function is to ask most of the ministries what they want to buy and they give them money, but the money is not being accounted for and those things they ask for are not put in place. DOMA, Alhaji Aliyu Akwe: We have to define the scope of our assignment. After which we can then discuss about the structure and methodology we want to use to approach the issue. I think we should focus more on the scope of our assignment. IDADA-IKPONMWEN, Brig. Gen. (Barr.) D. O: The problem we have in this country with security is not exceptional; it is a constitutional and an attitudinal problem. The Nigerian constitution is not consistent. I’m a retired major and I’m not here to rubbish the military, but the military gave us a clue to want they wanted to do and that led to the inconsistency in the constitution. So, we have to rewrite all the laws that do not lead to a democratic constitution or system. We shouldn’t as a national conference get involved in the nitty-gritty, because there is no time and that is not our function. We have not been able to di-sect the meaning of national security properly in this country. I’m suggesting four sub-committees of this committee on national security. They are: Armed forces, Police, Security Intelligence Groups and Law Enforcement. Chairman (H.E Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta GCON): The President has every right to make changes that is required to make the lives of the citizens safe. And we are doing what is required of us, so that our children won’t grow up with the sense of being slaves in their own country. OMU, Gen. Paul (rtd): Today, we are to start the serious work; we are to have a draft working paper that will serve as a guide for our discussion in the various sub-committees. Most of the nitty-gritties have been done in past conference, what we are here to do is a revision of them, so that they can fit into today’s security challenges. Group Captain Orji: National security is very wide and we should refuse the tendencies of diving into areas that are not central to national security. Any nation that must develop must have the capacity to pre-empt what is going to happen in the future and keep abreast with the latest developments in the area of national security. We should look at adding additional fighting elements to our security agencies and this is because our present security agencies are under pressure. Fighting elements like the national security guard (NSG). And also we can’t remove the place of good governance because it affects national security. It is a pre-requisite for this discussion. [The Chairman (H.E Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta GCON) adjourned for a thirty minute break so that the working draft paper can be served for the sub-committee discussion. After the break the committee on national security started deliberations on division into sub-committees.] The Chairman (H.E Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta GCON) asked the committee members to identify the number one problem on national security in the country today. The committee members all agreed that it is because of the lack of intelligence. The draft papers were served to the committee members. The chairman (H.E Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta GCON) also spoke on the methodology that will be used; he said that Nigeria is currently practicing the British system of security and that other systems will be considered at the sub-committee levels. In conclusion of the national security discourse, the committee divided into three sub-committees which are: 1. Committee on Crisis Management Bodies. 2. Committee on Law and Order Infrastructure. 3. Committee on Defence and Infrastructure. The sub-committees were given three days to come up with their recommendations, and they will all gather for a progress report on Friday, April 25, 2014.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 20:15:07 +0000
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