Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Joel Salifu (4th right) former Governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke (2nd left), President of GOCOP, Maureen Chigbo (3rd right), Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Spain, Mamman Yusuf (3rd left), Dr. Mohammed Abubakar (2nd right) Head, Media relations, NCC, Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan and veteran broadcaster, Debra Ogazuma (ist left) during the GOCOP conference held in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital city.

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s political, diplomatic, the academia and the business community have made a strong case for Federal Government to take effective action to end the worsening state of insecurity in the country, which has taken its toll on every segment of the country’s socio-political and economic life.

They also called for an affirmative action by the Federal Government to address the current energy deficit in the country with the attendant negative effects on the general economy, especially Small and Medium Scale Enterprise SMEs, the industrial and manufacturing sectors as well as the general wellbeing of the citizens while transforming into a digital economy.

The stakeholders spoke at the 8th annual conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers GOCOP, which held between October 2nd- 3rd, 2024, at Reverton Hotel in Lokoja, Kogi State with the theme: “Nigeria: Tackling Insecurity, Power Deficit, and Transitioning to Digital Economy” The event and was chaired by Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Spain, Ambassador Mamman Yusuf.

The conference had in attendance, the Governor of Kogi State, His Excellency, Usman Ododo, who was the Chief Host and was represented by his deputy, Joel Salifu. Others include former Governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, who was the keynote speaker, former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai and the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, who was represented by the head, media, Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan, among several others.

On the panel of discussants were Prof Rotimi Ajayi of the Department of Political Science, Federal University Lokoja and Ms Debrah Ogazuma, Edutainment Communicator and veteran broadcaster.

The conference was also attended by over 100 members of the Guild and dozens of other invited guests from across the country.

In a communique issued at the end of the two-day event, the stakeholders observed that since the country returned to democratic rule in 1999, there have been worsening spate of insecurity- ranging from the Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, separatists’ agitations to the Niger Delta militancy over resource control.

According to them, these security challenges have no doubt impacted negatively not only the citizens and their wellbeing, but also the country’s economy thus, causing economic hardships on the people.

The conference further observed that this worsening insecurity has given rise to poverty and high unemployment rate which currently stands at about 40 per cent, which are major factors contributing to the insecurity across the country.

The stakeholders further blamed this rather ugly development on weak governance systems, inconsistent government policies and widespread corruption in the security forces, which have also hindered efforts to effectively tackle the menace.

The conference however acknowledged efforts of successive governments, which significantly degraded the Boko Haram insurgency through the use of technology and intelligence, but regretted that insurgents’ attacks have continued unabated, especially in the north-east region.

The conference therefore called for the decentralisation of security apparatus by granting state governments greater control over local security forces so as to improve regional responses to insecurity.

The communique reads in part: “There is urgent need to strengthen Nigeria’s local security architecture through Community Policing, which will no doubt improve intelligence gathering, foster trust between security forces and communities, and ensure a more proactive response to local threats.

“There is also the need for increased funding for security agencies, while emphasising the need to reduce corruption in the procurement process so as to ensure judicious use of available resources.

“To address the root causes of banditry, kidnapping, and farmer-herder conflicts, the government should implement development initiatives targeting rural poverty and job creation. Tackling insecurity effectively depends largely on political will and the right leaders that will see corruption as evil and confront it frontally.”

The stakeholders therefore charged members of GOCOP as media executives to take interest in interrogating the governance process that will ensure that committed and sincere leaders emerge to pilot the affairs of the country.

They also argued that there is a corollary between poverty and insecurity and hence called for specific economic empowerment programmes targeting the youths such as entrepreneurship training, and access to financing for SMEs.

On the way forward in addressing Nigeria’s power deficit, the conference called for conscious efforts aimed at diversifying power generation capacity through investment that guarantees expansion of the gas pipeline network to ensure more stable gas supply to power the plants.