The deployment of security services and the nation’s resources have been overstretched, according to President Muhammadu Buhari, due to the security issues that Nigeria is currently facing.
The president also noted that the escalating state of insecurity, with the emergence of the Boko Haram terror group and other forms of criminal activity, has worsened fears among Nigerians in his remarks Friday at the State House, Abuja, at the launch of the National Crisis Management Doctrine (NCMD).
His words: “The emergence of the Boko Haram terrorist group as well as bandits and kidnappers in Nigeria considerably changed the country’s security situation, leaving panic in the minds of the populace.
‘‘These and other security challenges confronting the nation tend to stretch the deployment of our security agencies, resources and national security apparatus.”
However, he believed that the recently established NCMD will increase the security of the country by bridging the gap left by the significant deployment of security forces and by encouraging cooperation between Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
He said that the NCMD, which was created by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in collaboration with the appropriate MDAs, will ensure greater success in dealing with national crisis.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd), his staff, and the working group members from various responder MDAs were praised by the president for their outstanding work in developing the doctrine.
In acknowledgment of the necessity for concerted efforts to achieve coordinated, effective, and efficient national crisis management, he described the accomplishment as a key milestone.
‘‘This shows the renewed promise and commitment of this administration to managing crisis in the country,’’ the president said, urging ONSA to continue to play its coordinating role amongst crisis response stakeholders to achieve greater successes.
In addition, President Buhari thanked the British and US governments for their assistance in developing the doctrine and urged them to keep the bonds of friendship strong.
He recalled how Nigeria faced numerous security issues at the start of his government, including terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, ethnic militia attacks, oil theft, rape, gun trafficking, and different crimes resulting from violent extremism.
‘‘Owing to the dynamics of these crises, the Office of the National Security Adviser revised the National Counter Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST) which I endorsed in August 2016.
‘‘Within this strategy are certain work streams, which include the prepare and implement strands that seek to mitigate the impact of terrorist attacks by building resilience and redundancies to ensure continuity of business; and a framework for the mobilization of coordinated cross-government efforts respectively.
‘‘I am glad that the Office of the National Security Adviser has not relented in its efforts to implement the NACTEST by coordinating relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies to develop the National Crisis Management Doctrine,’’ he said.
The president’s endorsement of the redesigned NACTEST, which has five work streams, including “Forestall,” “Secure,” “Identify,” “Prepare,” and “Implement,” gave the doctrine’s development new impetus, according to the NSA, who earlier in his speech said.
The NCMD, a subset of the NACTEST, fulfills the “Prepare” and “Implement” work streams, according to Monguno’s additional statement.
According to him, ‘‘The doctrine provides a detailed methodology for national crises response, outlining how the various relevant MDAs should interact at the strategic, operational and tactical levels.
‘‘It is to be noted that the NCMD can be used to manage both malicious threats and civil emergencies owing to the general principles set out within it.’’
