Scholars, security experts and stakeholders have attributed the escalating war against insecurity across the country to the absence of balance and unbiased approach by the Federal Government, noting that terrorism as currently experienced in the country tops the list of critical issues that require urgent intellectual and stakeholders’ attention.

A national workshop on “The War Against Terrorism in Nigeria” organised by the African Humanities Research and Development Circle (AHRDC), University of Nigeria, Nsukka, which brought scholars, stakeholders and other professionals together reflected on actions displayed in the private and public spaces, motivated by some immediate and remote factors that have heightened insecurity within our borders.

These actions, they concluded, have led to loss of thousands of lives, both civilian and security personnel, saying: “The current gap between the academia and political leaders in Nigeria is a major factor undermining development and public peace.

These facts were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the virtual national workshop over the weekend and signed by Professor (Mrs) Egodi Uchendu of the African Humanities Research and Development Circle (AHRDC), Department of History and International Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

The scholars proffered: “Insecurity in Nigeria is fed by lack of innovative strategy as well as internal sabotage within the security agencies and allied institutions on one hand, and the political class on the other. The persistence of insecurity in Nigeria is the direct outcome of an absence of good governance in many areas due to the absenteeism of political leaders from their duty posts.

“Nigerian government should be transparent in the management of insurgency, criminal acts and other forms of violence in the country. There should be synergy between government and the academia for effective policy formulation and implementation.

“There should be balanced and unbiased approach to the war against insecurity everywhere in Nigeria.

“Citizens should build strong family units, as the family is the basic unit of society and the nation. Citizens should resuscitate their core values as a people and invest maximally in raising generations that uphold strong moral values that respect human life and dignity.

“The insufficient number of military and police personnel per hundreds of millions of Nigerian citizens deserve urgent redress. Technology should be employed as a force-multiplier to augment shortfall of personnel in the Armed Forces and the Police.

“Youth education and skills acquisition should be prioritized to drastically reduce their ready availability for recruitment into terrorist ranks.

“Sustainable development should be pursued in view of its crucial impact on terrorism and the future.”

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