Senator Ahmed Lawan (Yobe North), who represents the region, has warned that the Nigerian security forces and agencies will be unable to adequately combat insecurity without more resources and better financing.
This was something he said Thursday at a plenary session. Lawan emphasised the need of providing security forces and military with the tools they need to effectively combat criminals nationwide.
The most fundamental resources needed to address the insecurity were not made available to our military and security organisations. He warned that the crooks were not magicians and that there was little anyone could do to stop them if they were unprepared.
In order to sustain continuing operations against insecurity, the legislator pleaded with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the government to release the authorised monies for the military soon.
Therefore, it is imperative that you, Mr. President, and the government promptly examine the matter of financing and the flow of resources to our military forces. If we don’t, our warriors will perish,” Lawan declared.
Despite the president’s and the National Assembly’s best intentions, he said bureaucratic red tape may be preventing the military from receiving the support it needs.
“This National Assembly has supported the president’s efforts to increase funding, and I think he has done a lot of good, but the resources have not been released yet, and I think that is a big problem for the military,” he continued.
While troops may not be able to publicly demand more funding, Lawan argued that lawmakers should do so.
“We are supposed to speak on their behalf, even though they are not supposed to be talking,” he stated.
Symbolic actions, he added, would not be enough to address the nation’s security concerns.
Standing here for a minute of quiet every day won’t get us anywhere, my esteemed colleagues. A more positive approach would be to explore alternative methods of empowering our security services and military forces, according to Lawan.
In order to better equip frontline troops to fight criminal elements across the country, the senator emphasised the critical need to immediately enhance Nigeria’s security architecture.