President Bola Tinubu says those who think they can threaten the sovereignty of the country will have themselves to blame.
The President stated this when he met with the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, at the Presidential Villa Abuja on Wednesday.
The group was led by its leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti.
President Tinubu said his administration is tackling the myriad of security challenges in the country, including terrorism and banditry.
He said that unlike in the years past when insurgents laid claim to parts of the country, terrorism has been significantly degraded.
“I can tell you this afternoon that we are achieving success, and there is improvement. From hoisting flags on Nigeria’s properties and sovereignty, we have degraded terrorism to a level that they could not threaten the sovereignty of this country any longer,” Tinubu said.
He also vowed to deal with banditry and kidnapping in the country.
He insisted that his government would never pay ransom to kidnappers, citing the case of the rescue of the Kuriga students in Kaduna State as an example.
“The banditry and kidnapping they have resorted into will also be defeated. I declined any ransom, no payment of ransom whatsoever. We are taking the battle to them, and we are gaining results more rapidly thank ever before,” he said.
The president also disclosed the plans of his administration to establish effective forest guards that will be fully in control of the forests in the country.
Earlier, while presenting the speech of Afenifere, the Oluabo of Ilu-Abo and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, asked President Tinubu to look into the command structure of federal security agencies to ensure equity in the posting and deployment of senior officers.
The group said equity should also be reflected in the recruitment of security personnel from the bottom up.
It also reaffirmed its support for the establishment of state police, noting that it will enhance the security of lives and properties.
“It is not good for the future of our country if one section or a few sections of the country has some of the security agencies, as it were, in their pockets,” Afenifere noted.
On the rate of unemployment in the country, Afenifere appealed that federal capital projects, including road projects, should be geared towards creating employment.
It criticised a situation whereby politicians prefer to engage foreign contractors in the execution of projects, noting that such gestures have no impact on employment in the country.
“If Mr. President will allow us, we will submit at a later date, a proposal for massive employment creation using the existing artisans throughout the country to institute a National Apprenticeship Programme will take millions if youths off the streets,” the pan-Yoruba group said.
Meanwhile, Afenifere commended the president for the reconstruction of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos and the rehabilitation of parts of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The group called on the president to also look into the state of all the federal highways in the south-west region, including the Ibadan-Ife, Akure-Ado Ekiti and Osogbo-Ibadan, among others.
