Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai
Mohammed says the nation needs more weapons and platforms to win
the insurgency war.
He disclosed this in Abuja, the nation’s capital during a
New Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum on Thursday.
“To fight terrorists we need platforms and weapons,” he
said.
Mohammed also asked the international community to support the
Federal Government to tackle the numerous security challenges
facing the country.
While noting that foreign countries can do better in assisting
Nigeria, the Minister pleaded with western powers not to deny the
current administration support due to what he describes as
unsubstantiated arguments.
“I want to use this opportunity to say that the international
community can help us better than they are doing right now.
“When the international community is weighed by unsubstantiated
arguments to deny the country of vital platforms and weapons to
fight insecurity, you cannot turn round to accuse the country of
not fighting terrorism,” he said.
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The Minister stood his ground by claiming that “certain world
powers have refused to even sell to us certain vital weapons.”
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He regretted that the Federal Government is yet to receive some
weapons despite paying for them for more than two years.
According to the Minister, “they have not released to us and
they even refused to give us spare parts.”
Although he did not name any country, the minister, however,
appealed to some advanced nations saying, “They should please help
Nigeria to provide us with these sensitive platforms so that we can
fight insecurity more effectively.”
“They should not forget that we are fighting a non-conventional
war and at the same time, these people have contacts everywhere,”
he said.
Mohammed said besides kinetic deployment, the government is
equally using a non-kinetic approach to tackle insecurity like the
economic and social intervention programmes meant to empower and
engage the youths.