Insecurity Affecting Our Retirement Plans, Diasporas Lament At Naija Times Summit
The delicate insecurity in Nigeria as well as infiltration of illegal aliens, arms and ammunition, ethno-religious conflicts, political based violence, economic based violence, were central to stakeholders’ submissions at the Naija Times Diaspora conversation which held on April 17.
The webinar, which had in attendance, Mr. Femi Oyawale, President, National Association of Online Security Reporters, (NAOSRE) was organized by Naija Times.
The conference drew discussants from London, Canada, United States and other countries in the world.
In his opening remarks, the convener and Publisher/Editor-in- Chief of Naija Times, Ehi Braimah, noted that it was the publication’s maiden conference which aims to re examine Nigeria’s security challenges and offers implementable solutions for a safer country.
Titled ‘Nigeria’s Security Challenges And The Way Forward,’ discussants admitted that the country is gravitating towards a failed state as a result of downward curves of economic indexes and food shortage arising from the debilitating activities of kidnappers, armed robbers and of course, insurgents.
Speaking, Toju Ogbe, a London based Communication strategist highlighted causes of insecurity in Nigeria which, according to him, includes improper training of security personnel, inadequate funding and lack of political will to deal decisively with perpetrators and insurgents.
He lamented that the negative impacts of insecurity are affecting economic growth.
Specifically, Ogbe disclosed that Nigeria’s unsafe environment is discouraging Diasporas from investing at home.
He maintained that he has refused to heed his sister’s advice on the important need to build a home in Nigeria saying it would not translate to any tangible gain when citizens build homes they cannot safely live in.
“For those of us in the Diaspora, we always look forward to a time when we would get old and relocate home to spend the rest of our life peacefully in our country. But that retirement plans don’t exist anymore because how does one retire into unsafe environment at old age.?
“That principally accounts for Diasporas’ delay in building homes at home which has eroded enormous economic advantages of generating employment.
“The consequence of the growing insecurity is that Diasporas are being disconnected from home. I know of some who have sworn never to go back to Nigeria because of their bitter experiences,” he stated.
Various speakers and other discussants who added voices to the glowing insecurity in Nigeria got worried that, as things are, Nigeria may not remain the favoured destination for Foreign Direct Investment inflows into Africa.
They pointed lack of commitment, insincerity and complicity of highly placed individuals as reasons that have hampered the fight against Boko Haram, a development that devalues Nigeria as the leading economic heavyweight on the continent.
As a remedy, Braimah noted that the current anxiety can be overcome if leaders across strata collaborate to tackle insurgency.
He called on security agents to up their game in wholesale intelligence gathering and urged government to re asses its security policies and deploy innovative strategies to check the menace.
