Former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd), on Thursday identified poverty, unemployment and weak governance as causes of insecurity in Nigeria and other countries in the Sahel region.
Abdulsalami stated this at the first News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) annual lecture in Abuja.
He added that climate change, environmental degradation and other factors had provided fertile ground for insecurity to thrive in the region.
Countries in the Sahelian region of Africa are – Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, · The Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal.
“At the heart of the insecurity in this region, among other factors, are the undercurrents of poverty and unemployment, for the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
“Also weak governance, and institutional failures, as well as climate change and environmental degradation.
“These factors have certainly created a fertile ground for insecurity to thrive, with devastating impacts on our dear nation.
“We must not, however, lose faith in our capacity to ride above the storms of insecurity, since this challenge is the business of each and every Nigerian, and indeed, all Africans,” the former head of state stated.
Abdulsalami lamented that the impact of the situation is devasting to Nigeria and the Sahel the region.
He added: “Nigeria’s security challenges cannot be divorced from the regional heritage in the Sahel, a vast landmass which encompasses the troubled countries of Burkina, Chad, Mali, and Cameroon.
“In the year 2020, a whopping 4,660 people were killed in this region, while another 2,600 civilians lost their lives in banditry attacks in 2021.”
He expressed concern that insecurity was still lingering and required concerted efforts to address the situation.
“We must work together to fight insecurity because we owe children, the future generation, the duty to create a secured nation,” he concluded.
