The Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, has blamed the rising cost in food rates across the nation on the high level of insecurity being experienced in the country.
Magashi made this known on Monday during the opening of a retreat for defence advisers/attaches organised by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Abuja.
According to him, the security challenges faced in the country has stalled national and economic development, including the surging rates in food commodities.
“The threats currently facing Nigeria and understanding their socio-geographic context is pivotal for adapting appropriate and lasting counter-measures. Regrettably, the prevalence of these threats has continued to endanger not only national security and economic growth but also food security.
“In particular, food security has been adversely affected by the attendant rise in the prices of foodstuff across the country, which portends a new dimension of threat,” he said.
The minister said it was important for various security agencies to collaborate in the fight against insecurity, noting that this would boost economic activities in the country.
“This makes it imperative for the various security agencies in the country to continue to collaborate to tackle this menace in order to create an enabling atmosphere for economic activities to thrive and to attract foreign direct investment.
“It also means that the security agencies must explore all avenues within their respective systems to come up with innovative ways of identifying and confronting the challenges facing us as a nation,” he said
He also stated that the defence adviser system is saddled with a crucial role in cooperating with the security and defence architectures in their respective countries.
The minister added that the conference would help participants appraise the shared vision of curbing insecurity through the combined efforts of all government entities.
