Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Theophilus Y. Danjuma, (retd), has knocked President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government over persisting insecurity in the country.
He said Nigeria’s security challenges have got to the point where the trend has made the country become a disgrace to the world and a laughing stock to the international community.
The former Defence chief who said this on Friday while speaking at the annual Nwonyo Fishing and Cultural Festival in Ibbi Local Government Area of Taraba State, stressed that urgent steps must be taken to address the security challenges facing Nigeria before the country is completely overtaken.
According to Danjuma “Nigerian authorities must take urgent measures to redeem the battered image of the country by addressing the security challenges confronting the nation.”
He emphasised that the level of insecurity in Nigeria has become so bad that nobody, especially foreigners, would be willing to come to the country to invest or visit tourist sites knowing full well that their security was not guaranteed.
According to him, “No person or group of persons will want to come to our state or country if we continue to kill and butcher ourselves.”
Speaking further, he said that the ugly situation in the country required immediate attention of the government, urging that all hands must be on deck in order to put “the right pegs in the right holes.”
He added that “Those in position of authority must work hard to make the country safe for all Nigerians including foreigners before we could attract more and more investors into the country.
“If we continue to make our roads unsafe for people to move around, our dreams of making Nwonyo fishing and cultural festival an international festival, can not be achieved.
“It is sad that Nigeria as a nation has become a laughing stock following the security challenges.
“As the country is currently, we are a disgrace to the whole world and therefore we must redeem our image and put our house in order because right now we have become a laughing stock to the whole world.”