Nigeria’s former Chief of Defence Intelligence, (CDI) Air Vice Marshall Monday Riku Morgan has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take the battle on security challenges engulfing the country to the grassroot level for meaningful improvement to be achieved.
The security expert said that the federal government must look inward and set the stage for fight against suspected criminals at the community levels of the country.
Air Marshall Morgan who spoke at the ongoing lecture series of the Peace Corps of Nigeria holding in Abuja expressed optimism that the spate of insecurity would be brought down greatly when intelligence gathering is kick-started at various local community levels of the nation.
At the lecture attended by eminent Nigerians including some members of the National Assembly, the former Chief of Defence Intelligence asked the President to deploy voluntary organizations especially the Peace Corps of Nigeria to rural areas for intelligence gathering purposes.
He said that the autonomous relevance of the Peace Corps operating at the local government and community as a third line of security would be greatly advantageous to the security well being of the nation.
“It will not be out of place, if Peace Corps as a functional grassroot orgarnisation can be deployed by Mr President to gather intelligence at community level that would help our conventional kinetic forces like Army, Airforce and Navy to better target criminal and insurgent elements
“As a non-governmental organization now evolving to a quasi-governmental organization, the PCN has designed for itself, special development goals, which recognizes the non -homogenous nature of the youth as a demographic class in our society.
“Everyone desires peace and security. Conflict is inevitable in any nation of the world
but when it becomes difficult to resolve emerging conflicts, they result into lack of
peace and insecurity and no country can develop economically, politically without
peaceful co-existence among its population and within its borders.
“There had been incessant and visible cases of insecurity in Nigeria; such as terrorism, kidnapping, ritual killings and cultism which have led to fear and insecurity with the resultant effect of sorrow, hardship, pains, destruction of lives and properties.
“Many reasons have been adduced for lack of security and peace in Nigeria, such include, youth unemployment, governance that is not participatory, political insinuations, religious
problems and clashes among ethnic groups.
“Nigeria faces a plethora of security challenges ranging from violent extremism, to
farmer-herder conflict, banditry, a revived secessionist movement, police repression,
piracy and attacks on oil infrastructure among others. ‘
“This lecture combines both scholarly and practitioner perspectives, by identifying the links between these security challenges and Nigeria’s patronage-based state institutions.
“There is the need to look at the collaborative efforts of kinetic and non-kinetic strategies, especially as regards the role of the Peace Corps as a means of strengthening
national identity, harnessing aspirations of youth to advance governance reform, create more accountability within the security services and avoid the militarization of every security challenge.
“Across the planet, there are currently numerous ongoing low conflict counter insurgency wars being fought, Iraq, Afghanistan, the DRC, Mozambique and
Nigeria are all examples.
“Over the past 75 years, the overwhelming majority of conflicts has been similar in nature. Terrorists, by fomenting armed conflict are able to inflate the political pressure they bring to bear on local governments.
“These movements are often poorly equipped and trained, however ideological fanaticism
coupled to local discontent, rugged terrain and the logistically challenged national militaries give them a disproportionate rate of success, often allowing