Former National Security Adviser, General Aliyu Gusau (rtd) has opined that Nigeria is a difficult country to secure with an estimated population of 223.8 million and a diverse terrain covering 923,768 square kilometres.
Speaking during the launch of the Askarawa security outfit created by the Zamfara State government to complement the work of the security agencies on Wednesday, the retired general noted that, “expecting a single police force to patrol and control such a large and complex nation effectively is a very tall order indeed.”
The former Minister of Defence explained that the time has come for Nigerians to rethink the strategy in the best way possible and in the interest of the country, lamenting that currently, innocent lives were lost daily as terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, armed robbery, organised crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and cultism and other vices have become the order of the day across Nigeria.
He further lamented that while the perpetrators act with impunity, additional deployment of the military to hotspots had not achieved the desired results, stressing that with the initiative by the Zamfara State Government, it would complement the activities of the regular police force.
For it to succeed, he opined that strategic consideration should be given to creating appropriate support structures.
He emphasized that there was a need for greater inter-agency collaboration, as well as cooperation between the government, the private sector and the citizens.
