By Tobias Lengnan Dapam
The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has opined that in leveraging Defence Diplomacy and effective regional collaboration for enhanced national security, nations should act within the confines of International law.
A statement issued yesterday by
Henshaw Ogubike, Director (Press and Public Relations), said the Minister who stated this during the opening ceremony of the CHIEF OF DEFENCE INTELLIGENCE Annual Conference 2023 in Abuja, said acting within the confines of International law would foster equality, guaranty mutual respect, enhance peaceful coexistence and ultimately enhance national security.
He said the Defence Attache system is a veritable Defence Management for solving many problems of a nation, stressing that Nigeria must rise to the occasion and lead the way in these efforts. “In doing so, I urge you, the participants to respect principle of sovereign equality and non- interference in internal affairs of other nations. You must emphasize cooperation rather that competition and act within the confines of international law,” he charged them.
Furthermore on Diplomacy, he said that for any country’s defence strategy to succeed, it must recognize the critical role of diplomacy in reducing military risks as well as fostering shared understanding for enhanced national security.
Badaru therefore urged the Defence Attache / Advisers who are the participants of the conference to pay attention to the global and regional challenges as diplomats and continue to positively represent the DIA, the Ministry of Defence and the nation in general.
In his remarks, the Honourable Minister of State for Defence, Dr Muhammed Bello Matawalle MON, called on the participants to utilize the opportunity to re-energize their resolve in developing strategies that would continue to improve security, political, economic and diplomatic efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
He charged the Defence Attaches/Advisers to build strong relationships with their host country’s Defence establishments, Government officials and Defence industry stakeholders.
In his keynote address, the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, stated that the objective of the annual conference is to provide an avenue for participants to review progress made during the receding year, assess current and emerging challenges, leverage on past efforts and strategize for the future.
He assured that the Federal Government would not rest on its oars in ensuring a robust and viable Defence Management and security apparatus to address contemporary challenges.
