UNIZIK ORGANIZES SECURITY SUMMIT, PULLS STAKEHOLDERS, EXPERTS FROM ACROSS NIGERIA

Nnamdi Azikiwe University was a beehive of activities in the morning of Thursday 29th July, 2021 as security agents, security experts, stakeholders, the academia and the media gathered from all over Nigeria to brainstorm on the way out of the many security challenges bedeviling the country.
The summit organized by the Faculty of Social Sciences has Distinguished Senator, High Chief (Dr.) Ben Ndi Obi, His Excellency Chief David Umahi, the Executive Governor of Ebonyi State, Maj. Gen. Bashir Mangashi (rtd), the Hon. Minister of Defence among others in attendance.
In his opening remark, the Vice-Chancellor of the university Prof. Charles O. Osimone welcomed the guest reminding them that the purpose of the summit was to bring together the best brains and expertise across the length and breadth of Nigeria to deliberate on the ways of surmounting the country’s myriad of security challenges.
Harping on dialogue as an important tool for achieving security and harmonious coexistence, the lead paper presenter, Prof. Aja Akpuru Aja of Abia State University Uturu, called on the Nigeria Government to open avenues for dialogue and negotiation with the various aggrieved groups across the country. The seasoned academia while praising government efforts and progress the same has made in protecting lives and properties, warned that guns alone cannot bring about effective and sustainable peace in Nigeria.
Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume who spoke on “Security and National Question in Nigeria” emphasized the role of the state as a mediator between the various ethnic groups and other social categories in Nigeria. The Distinguished Senator pointed out the need for the agents of the Nigerian state to engage those who feel they have been marginalized in the country. He however called on anyone who feels aggrieved in Nigeria not to choose the path of violence because violence has never under any clime led to amicable resolution of disagreements.
The Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Mangashi (rtd), blamed the worsening security situation in the country on agent provocateurs and ethnic champions who he claimed are mobilizing and polarizing Nigerian youth along ethnic lines. He alleged that some of these agents were hiding under the guise of restructuring, regional security arrangement etc., to call for the balkanization of the country. However he assured the summit that the government was doing everything it can, including dialogue and engagement with regional leaders to ameliorate the security challenges in the country.
Overall, the summit represent the day the best of brains and security experts across ethnic divides in Nigeria gathered to seek solution to the country’s security challenges. And the unmistaken theme that emerged at the end of that dialogue is that what Nigeria needs to be secure are not guns and bombs but dialogue and sense of national cohesion.