Yar’Adua charges West African security chiefs

06.05.2008

President Umaru Yar’Adua has challenged Heads of Intelligence and security Services of West Africa (CISSA) to check the problem of insecurity in the sub-region. Yar’Adua, represented by Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, made the call on Monday in Abuja at the Conference of Heads of Intelligence and Security Services of West Africa (CISSA).

He said as professionals in the intelligence and security sector, they should be alert, noting that “old threats abound, while new ones are continuously being spawned.” Yar’Adua urged the participants to find lasting solutions to the problems of cross-border banditry, arms smuggling, illicit drugs, human trafficking, illegal migration and terrorism.

He urged them to fashion out mechanism for quality control to ensure that policy makers in member-states were always presented with the realities on the ground to facilitate efficient management of issues relating to issues. Yar’Adua noted that the issues of security and development were closely inter-linked, adding that security was a crucial catalyst in the creation of a peaceful environment required for every field of endeavor.

“The negative social effects of underdevelopment will continue to create circumstances that undermine the capacity of our respective governments to guarantee the protection of lives, investments, and development programmes,” he said. The president stressed the need for global networking by intelligence and security services to tackle the rising wave of international terrorism and other asymmetric threats.

“No country is either immune or capable of engaging these threats alone,’’ he added. Yar’Adua expressed delight over the relatively stable security climate currently being experienced in Liberia and Sierra Leone. “We are pleased to acknowledge the success of democratisation and post- conflict reconstruction efforts in the two sister nations,” he said.