By Our Correspondent
The Minister of Defence, Muhammed Badaru has called for increased legislative policy and fiscal attention to preserve the integrity of the environment and advocated that security consequences be fully integrated into the national security and defence architecture so the negative effects of climate change on national security could be understood.
He spoke at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Kuru, Plateau State while addressing participants of the Senior Executive Course, SEC 45 during their defence and security studies week.
Speaking on the topic: “Industrialization, Energy Security and Climate Change: Implications for National Security,” the Minister represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Ibrahim Kana, he further called on government at all levels to “intensify actions in promoting education and monitoring as key intervention strategies for managing climate change.”
Also, Brigadier General Sylvester Oloyede, a NIPSS Directing Staff who spoke on the topic, “Understanding Defence and Security,” urged the federal government to deploy kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to achieve national security and insisted that good governance and food security must be ensured by December 2024 as measures to mitigate insecurity.
His words, “Some developed countries of the world, such as the US, UK and China have harnessed their factors of national power to achieve what constitutes their national objectives and protect their national interests. This involves military, economic, and diplomatic means, among others in the pursuit of national interest.
“Consequently, national defence is the deployment and employment of both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to achieve national security.
Nigeria is not lacking in policy, legal and institutional frameworks for sustainable national defence and security, considering the array of defence and security policies, laws and acts, as well as the numerous institutions established for national defence and security.
“The absence of a strong economy and industrialization emanating from poor implementation of domestic policies, to match the defence policy of force deterrence has continued to be the bane of Nigeria’s national defence and security. The adoption of this strategy by Nigeria since independence requires continuous development of the nation’s factors of national power.
Efforts must be made to focus non-military instruments of power and policies on supporting the discrete goals of national strategy.
“This means consciously aligning Nigeria’s diplomacy, international trade, financial policies, and human rights policies to advancing discrete national interests. This will require the use of soft power to promote a regional order where Nigeria’s respect on the African continent and by extension, globally, continues to be bolstered.”
He recommended that “The federal government should harness all the factors of national power in supporting the discrete goals of national defence policy and security strategy. The federal government should continue to adopt and intensify the peace-through-strength approach in Nigeria’s defence and security strategy.
Policymakers to make capacity and flexibility the watchwords of strategic military and non-military planning, in dealing with any contingency that may arise to threaten the nation.
“Ministry of Defence to cause the Defence Headquarters to continue to embark on maintaining a strong, well equipped and active armed forces with a formidable reserve strength and effective intelligence.
DICON to continue to partner with private entrepreneurs to develop Nigeria’s military-industrial complex through the manufacture of military hardwares. Federal Ministry of Justice in conjunction with Office of the National Security Adviser, the Ministry of Interior and the Nigeria Police Force to continue to reinforce law enforcement and immigration policies to protect Nigeria’s territorial integrity.”
