French Ambassador to Nigeria Jerome Pasquier yesterday described efforts to find sustainable solutions to insecurity in Nigeria, particularly in the northwest, as inadequate.
He spoke in Abuja yesterday at a workshop on “Addressing Rural Insecurity and Violence in North-western Nigeria” organised by the Pastoral Reserve, the Search for Common Ground, the Nextier SPD and the French Embassy.
Pasquier, represented by the Head of Cooperation, Embassy of France in Nigeria, Ellien Helios, urged Nigerian authorities and stakeholders to step up actions and devise new approaches. “There are many factors affecting the northwest region for years now, there are also many actors, but I don’t think there is enough being done by the actors to have a better understanding of the situation and try to find some appropriate solutions to the insecurity and the subsequent sufferings.
“We’ve a unique opportunity to work and listen to people gathering the best expertise on these issues.
So, let’s seize this opportunity as a starting point to get humble, but to also develop a better understanding of the issues, strategize response, develop a coordinative approach and increase action,” he said.
Senior Research and Policy Lead, Nextier SPD, Ndubuisi Nwokolo, said the insecurity bedevilling the northern Nigeria should not be seen as a northern problem only, warning that the entire nation could bear the consequences of collective negligence.
According to him, the entire country is at risk of food insecurity due to the unresolved insurgency in the north. He said dialogue and a regional approach were needed to permanently address the problem.
