Former military Head of State, General Abdussalami
Abubakar (Rtd) will next week chair a roundtable aimed at addressing security challenges in the northern part of the country.
The two-day roundtable being organised by Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) will bring together Northern states governors, security chiefs, policy makers, traditional rulers, among others.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the event scheduled for 24th and 25th of January 2024, in Abuja, National Coordinator of CNG, Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, said the roundtable would chart a better security path for the northern region.
“For the past two decades, Northern Nigeria has been grappling with a series of security challenges that have inflicted immense suffering on its people. The region has become a breeding ground for insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, and various other criminal activities.
” The lack of political will and capacity to effectively contain these challenges has created a vacuum, leaving thousands dead, countless displaced and numerous communities destroyed.
” Recognizing the urgent need for a change in approach, the Coalition of Northern Groups took a bold and necessary by assembling a committee of security experts.
” This committee which has been working for the past three months, examined the inadequate response to the security crisis, highlighting the absence of synergy among security agencies, the lack of cooperation between the states and federal government, and the neglect of public involvement in combating these issues…..
“In the end, a roundtable discussion was proposed that will review and provide input into the operational framework for a multidimensional approach to tackling the security challenges in the region developed by the Technical Committee of Experts.
” The roundtable will bring together frontline Northern States Governors, National Security Chiefs, heads of security agencies, academics, policymakers, security experts, justices and judicial officers, traditional
rulers, clerics, and other critical stakeholders,” Charanchi said.
Speaking further, the CNG coordinator said the outcome of the roundtable will be a module to democratize the security project by engaging individuals and communities, as well as various stakeholders, to take ownership of the security efforts in the region.
“The discussion will include four syndicate sessions and an interactive session with state governors, security chiefs, and heads of security agencies. These sessions will provide a platform for in-depth discussions, knowledge sharing, and the formulation of actionable strategies
“The roundtable will take place from the 24th to 25th of January 2024, at the Nigerian Army Resource Center in Asokoro, Abuja. Various committees, including a sub-technical committee on security and a
planning committee on security, have been formed to oversee the event.
“The Coalition of Northern Groups is committed to addressing the critical issues affecting the Northern region,” he said.
