Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, has directed the security and intelligence agencies in the country to prioritise the sharing of information and intelligence among themselves. He emphasised that withholding such resources could hinder the fight against terrorism. The President gave these instructions on Monday during a visit to the new Office of the National Security Adviser and the facilities at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) in Abuja.
While acknowledging the efforts made in countering terrorism and the state-of-the-art facilities at these locations, President Tinubu stressed the importance of supporting these efforts with knowledge. He stated that his administration recognised the utmost priority of security in achieving economic revival, prosperity, and development.
“It is a great joy to see that we are getting proactive resources to prepare ourselves. Terrorism is not unique to Nigeria alone. It is across the world and we have to fight it. We have to eliminate it.
“If we as Nigerians are looking for economic revival, prosperity, and development, then we have to give priority to security. What I have seen here is a demonstration of intelligence efforts to counter terrorism. This must be backed by knowledge.
“Counter-terrorism that is not backed by knowledge and intelligence is not going to be of any service to any nation. We are going to work on that together,” he said.
President Tinubu emphasized that effective counter terrorism requires intelligence and knowledge, as they are essential for any nation’s success. He expressed his commitment to work together in addressing this matter.
“The effort of the entire Armed Forces of this country must be put together in a way that there will be one single focus on securing the country. You can’t have disharmony in an orchestra. We must focus on one tunnel; coordinate, share information, share intelligence, and work harder.
He further emphasized that information and intelligence should not be hoarded, as it is detrimental to national security.
“You cannot hoard information. You cannot hoard intelligence. I am glad that Nigeria is on the path to success. We will, I assure you. We will make it a priority and that is why I am here this morning,” he added.
President Tinubu regarded the tour of the new ONSA building as a significant event and expressed his willingness to support the nation’s security architecture in any way necessary.
In response, the NSA, retired Major-General Babagana Monguno, expressed gratitude to the President for visiting his first engagement outside the Villa. He noted that this visit reaffirmed the President’s commitment and unwavering dedication to overcoming the security challenges faced by Nigeria and the sub-region in the shortest possible time.
Monguno pledged the total commitment and dedication of ONSA to ensure that President Tinubu fulfills the promises he made to the Nigerian people regarding security.