Presidential hopeful, Kingsley Moghalu has described the Nigerian security system under President Muhammadu Buhari as very dysfunctional following the incessant killings across the country allegedly perpetrated by the rampaging Fulani herdsmen.
Moghalu, a professor of international business and economics, told BusinessDay in chat on Monday that Nigeria also has a very flawed concept of National Security, stressing that if he is elected president he would embark on massive overhaul of Nigeria’s security agencies including police reforms that will include state police.
“First of all the concept of National Security in Nigeria is not sophisticated, it has not kept up with trends in the modern world. So the concept needs to be holistic. We should think of national security from several angles; including the economic angle, the military angle, safety of communities, the border control, and immigration, including the question of violence being the monopoly of the state and why there are so many groups in Nigeria today that bear arms.
“This is an indication of a failing state where you have competing armed groups. For example if you have herdsmen carrying AK 47 all over the place is that a feature of a normal country? If you look at the interplay of the various security forces and their relationships, you can see that in this governmental it is completely dysfunctional. Many of them are at war with one another so how can they secure the citizens?”
Moghalu, who declared to run for the highest office in the land in February, assured that if he is elected President in 2019, national security of Nigeria will be completely overhauled and brought into the 21st century standard. He has promised to declare for the political party under which platform he will run in May.
On how he would take such drastic measures judging by vested interests in the system, the 55-year-old Anambra-born technocrat noted that a leader requires courage and should not be intimidated by vested interests. “As a leader, one of your duties is to address challenges successfully. When I was Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) we reformed the banking sector completely and fundamentally despite the vested interest there. Vested interest should not intimidate a leader,” he said.
He added that Nigeria should be restructured along the geo-political zones for stability and prosperity, which is part of the national security that will be improved in a restructured Nigeria.
The former United Nations staff lamented the low human capital component of the Nigerian economic adding that he will employ the abundant human resources in the country to transform Nigeria’s human capital.
“The secret of the wealth of nations lies in what we call productive knowledge the more knowledgeable and skilled the workers are in any economy, the more productive that economy is and the more competitive. For you to have productive knowledge, which is what brings competitive economy, which creates economic opportunity to manufacture complex products in order to have an economy that is diversified, that depends on the quality of the human capital that you have. If you have the right type of human capital, you are tackling the economic challenges from its root.
“So when you educate people with productive knowledge you can leave the rest for them because with that knowledge they can take care of themselves. You don’t need the state to do everything, just create an enabling environment for them and they will create the jobs by themselves.
“Nigerians are very dynamic and very innovative; this country could easily be one of the wealthiest countries in the world if we have the right type of political leaders. But we have the type of political leaders who are not even thinking at this level. They are just there for power, for money and all sorts of base agenda, ethnicity and religion. They are not really focusing on what really matters, which is the welfare of the average Nigerian,” he said.
Innocent Odoh, Abuja
