Terrorism Has Drastically Reduced — Defence Minister Musa
The Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, says terrorism in Nigeria has significantly declined, giving the country’s security performance a score of between 65 and 70 per cent.
Musa made this known during an interview on Arise Television on Friday, adding that no country is completely free from crime and criminal activity.
According to him, although cases of terrorism and kidnapping still persist, the situation has improved when compared to previous years.
He attributed parts of the insecurity challenges to the breakdown of family values and poor social orientation, stressing that some offenders are driven by the desire for quick wealth rather than hard work.
Musa also suggested that certain criminal activities may be politically motivated, aimed at portraying the government as weak or making the country appear ungovernable.
He, however, maintained that the armed forces and other security agencies are working tirelessly to tackle insecurity across the country.
Musa said, “Yes, I’ll give ourselves 65 to 70 percent score. No nation is totally free from crime and criminality, but the level of terrorism across the country has actually drastically reduced.
“Now we have acts of terrorism, and terrorism, like I said, is a social vice, a failure of family values. We have seen fathers kidnapping children, children kidnapping each other, and brothers kidnapping sisters.
“It tells you that there’s something wrong with the family, and we need to also look inward to see how we can develop those aspects again, like the issue of education. People need to understand that to make money, work very hard, don’t look for shortcuts.
“Most of these people taking part in those kidnappings and all these things are looking for shortcuts.
“And again, you can’t rule out politics, because most of these people they are kidnapping are people that don’t have anything to offer, and you’re asking for one billion naira, knowing that the individual you are kidnapping cannot offer, so what are you doing? Who are you expecting to pay that money?
“And that’s to tell you that there are some times you can look at it as acts of sabotage to make the government look weak, or to make the country look ungovernable, or whatever.
“However, the armed forces and security forces are working tirelessly to address those issues. I can tell you, Nigerians are working with us, and I want to appreciate Nigerians. The level of support we are getting is a lot better than it used to be in the past, and we’re making more inroads.”
Sodiq Yusuf is a trained media practitioner and journalist with considerable years of experience in print, broadcast, and digital journalism. His interests cover a wide range of causes in politics, governance, sports, community development, and good governance.
