The Federal Government has expressed disappointment over the refusal of world powers to grant Nigeria access to arms deals.
The Minister of Information who appealed to the world powers not to be swayed by “unsubstantiated” arguments to deny the country vital platforms and weapons to fight insecurity, revealed it during an interview granted by the News Agency of Nigeria today in Abuja.
The Minister claimed that apart from kinetic deployment, the government is equally using a non-kinetic approach to tackle insecurity like the economy and social intervention programs meant to empower and engage the youths, adding that the current security state of the country is better than it was in 2015.
Mohammed said, “I want to use this opportunity to say that the international community can help us better than they are doing right now.
“To fight terrorists we need platforms and weapons.
“When the international community is weighed by unsubstantiated arguments to deny the country of vital platforms and weapons to fight insecurity, you cannot turn round to accuse the country of not fighting terrorism,’ he said.
The minister buttressed the claim, saying “certain world powers have refused to even sell to us certain vital weapons.”
“For more than two to three years now, we have paid for certain vital weapons that they have not released to us and they even refused to give us spare parts.
“I think our appeal to them is that they should please help Nigeria to provide us with these sensitive platforms so that we can fight insecurity more effectively.”
“To better appreciate what the government is doing in the area of security, they should take a global survey to understand that unrest, terrorism, and mindless violence cut across the globe.
“People should recognize the fact that today, people have weaponized the issues of religion and ethnicity.
“We are dealing with extremely unreasonable people, whether in the northwest or in the northeast.
“They should not forget that we are fighting a non-conventional war and at the same time, these people have contacts everywhere,” he said.
Nwada Ugochinyere Onyechere reporting, Obinwannem News
