The Minister of Defence, Alhaji Muhammed Badaru, has urged the Nigerian Defence Attachés and Advisers in different countries to leverage collaboration to proffer solutions to some of the nation’s security challenges.
Badaru said this at the Chief of Defence Intelligence Annual Conference 2023 with the theme: “Leveraging Defence Diplomacy, and Effective Regional Collaboration for Enhanced National Security”, on Monday in Abuja.
Badaru said that for any country’s defence strategy to succeed, it must recognise the critical role of diplomacy in reducing military mix as well as possible and shared understanding for enhanced national security.
The minister, therefore, urged Nigeria’s defence advisers and attachés to aim towards providing sustainable solutions through defence diplomacy and code on better information-sharing systems.
He also urged them to respect the principle of certainty to quality and long interference in the internal affairs of other nations.
“You must emphasize cooperation rather than competition, act within the confines of the law and always advocate for international peace and security, honouring equality, mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and managing differences.
“It is through peace that regional collaboration can be realised for enhanced national security,” he added.
Badaru said as defence advisers and attachés, their role was to protect Nigeria’s interest, “facilitate joint training and exercise where a lesson can be learnt and best practices adopted and hopeful stable relationships to ensure peace and strategy”.
The minister told the participants to utilise the opportunity to energise their resolve to serve the country better in their various capacities.
On his part, the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, said the country needed a proactive and intelligent driving security approach to secure its borders and critical infrastructure.
Matawalle said the best way to achieve that was to devise ways to strengthen the country’s defence capability through defence diplomacy.
He said the National Assembly recently passed the Defence Industries Corporation Bill which would transform the Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) to a Military Industrial Complex.
“Accordingly, the corporation will be largely self-funded with the capacity to undertake local and international military contracts, thereby saving import costs, increasing foreign exchange earnings and providing job opportunities.” (NAN)
