PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari this morning hinted of his plan to rejig the nation’s security apparatus to tackle worsening insecurity.
In his New Year’s speech, he expressed hope that the country would continue “to weather all stormy waters and emerge stronger and better where others have fallen and disintegrated”.
“This nation, this Nigeria, will survive and thrive,” the President said.
According to him, there will be a “re-energising and reorganising” of the security apparatus and personnel.
This is the clearest indication yet that the President might have heeded the numerous calls to tinker with the security architecture in the quest to put an end to banditry, kidnappings and other forms of insecurity the country is grappling from.
Buhari said: “The year 2021 will indeed be a year where we will work to reinforce the hopes of fellow Nigerians in the vision of a united and progressive Nigeria.
“Some of the key priority areas we would direct our attention and strengths to include: re-energising and reorganising the security apparatus and personnel of the armed forces and the police with a view to enhance their capacity to engage, push back and dismantle the operations of both internal and external extremist and criminal groups waging war against our communities in some parts of the country.”
The President recalled the abduction of the over 300 boys of the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara inhis home state of Katsina and praised the “professionalism” of the armed forces in rescuing them.
“We recognise that we rapidly have to move to a more proactive and preemptive posture to ensure that these sorts of traumatic incidents do not become a norm.
“Our administration is fully aware of the responsibility we have to protect the lives and property of all Nigerians, and we will not relent in learning and adapting to changing threats to our national security and civic wellbeing,” the President said.
He noted that 2020 came with a lot of challenges, ranging from security and economic issues to “understandable protests that were mainly led by our youths”.
The protests, he said, “served notice to the demand for police reforms and accountability”.
The President said: “This government heard; this government listened and this government is committed to fulfilling the five demands of our youths, fully understanding that we all wish well for Nigeria.”
President Buhari reaffirmed his commitment to Nigerians, especially the youth, who he said need “collective encouragement and support”.
“In securing this nation we need to secure the future of our youth…In this regard, we will partner with the legislature to develop an enabling environment to turn their passions into ideas that can be supported, groomed and scaled across regions.
“This will create vast opportunities in fintech, agriculture, business process startups and in the entertainment industry,” he said.
On the economy, the President said it is being diversified and infrastructure is being rebuilt, while his administration is putting reforms in place in the power sector to significantly expand generation and distribution.
“Our focus is on revamping the economy through the national economic diversification agenda that supports the primary goal of national food self-sufficiency.
“This has helped reduce the growing food-related inflationary figures and have in considerable measure positively impacted our food security status during the long months of the pandemic lockdown.
“As an administration, we are currently undertaking a series of special interventions designed to boost job creation and support the entrepreneurial drive of our youths.
“With the recent opening of our borders, we expect that the pent-up demand of legitimate cross-border and international trade will boost the fortunes of the many small businesses and agricultural enterprises that depend on Nigeria’s trade and commerce.
“The message to our West African neighbours is that Nigeria is once again fully open for those willing to conduct business in a fair and equitable way,” the President said.
On the anti-graft war, he said the executive would work with the legislature to enact laws that would strengthen the fight.
“On the part of the executive, we would ensure the diligent and timely prosecution of corruption cases, while appealing to the judiciary to ensure that corruption cases are dispensed with expeditiously,” President Buhari said.
He spoke of the need to keep the country safe from a resurgent cycle of COVID-19 as his administration finalises plans “to procure and efficiently and effectively distribute the COVID-19 vaccines”.
“I urge you all fellow citizens to observe strict COVID-19 prevention protocols,” the President added.

Buhari announces plans to rejig police, armed forces
By Bayo Onanuga
President Muhammadu Buhari, admitting the challenge of insecurity in the country on Friday spoke about his plans to rejig the Nigerian security architecture, to make it more proactive.
He did not give a timeframe to accomplish this.
He said his administration will “Re-energize and reorganize” the security apparatus and personnel of the armed forces and the police with a view to enhance their capacity to engage, push back and dismantle the operations of both internal and external extremist and criminal groups waging war against our communities in some parts of the country.
His plans fall short of the people’s expectations, as most critics want him to dispense with the services of the current heads of the security agencies and reset the nation’s security.
Buhari acknowledged the critics, but urged them to reflect on the state of security before he came into office 29 May 2015.
“I am aware that for some of our compatriots, the progress we have registered since the inception of this administration is not nearly as fast or as sufficient as they would wish. I do not begrudge them their views in so far as they signify a wish, in which we all share, for only the very best for our country.
“Nevertheless, I call upon all Nigerians to carefully recall the circumstances of our coming to office, the facts on the ground and the resources at our disposal since 2015 with the accomplishments of this administration.”
For now, he said he is sticking with his views as expressed 18 December in an interview with NTA.
“In line with the current security challenges, we are facing as a Nation, I would like to reiterate the promise I made recently when over 300 of our boys abducted from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara were successfully rescued by our security operatives.
“The professionalism shown by our Security Forces and the collaboration from all stakeholders across both State and Federal Governments that led to the successful rescue of the boys is proof that Nigeria has the internal capacity to decisively deal with terror attacks on our citizens.
“However, we recognize that we rapidly have to move to a more proactive and preemptive posture to ensure that these sorts of traumatic incidents do not become a norm.
“Our administration is fully aware of the responsibility we have to protect the lives and property of all Nigerians, and we will not relent in learning and adapting to changing threats to our national security and civic wellbeing”.
Buhari also noted that the persistence of various forms of violence has meant that in the most affected parts of the country, the fabric of inter-communal harmony woven through years of investment of effort at building trust, mutual respect, and harmony has been threatened.
‘Insecurity as a challenge has direct repercussions on our national economic stability, growth, and development, setting us back at critical points through the destruction of public and private investments.
“In parts of the country where chronic poverty, social exclusion, and disillusionment among sections of the youth were already a problem, the cycles of violence that have been unleashed by mindless groups like Boko Haram and others have thwarted the efforts of government to undertake the social policy and associated investments that could make a huge difference in the quality of life of our citizens.