Al-Mustapha, Others, Advocate Use Of Empirical Approach In Tackling Security Challenges

Al-Mustapha discussing with the DG of APUDI, Prof. Atu

By: Ben Ukeji

Former Chief Security Officer to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha, and some experts in the security sector have advocated for the use of empirical, scientific and systematic approache in tackling the mirage of security challenges bedeviling Nigeria.

Al-Mustapha said spate of security challenges the nation faced is as a result of decades of neglect.

He said that those trusted with the responsibility of running the country and guaranteeing peace and stability failed in the execution of their primary assignment, hence, the increasing level of security challenges faced by the Country.

Al-Mustapha, who is also the president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) , APUDI Institute for Peace Studies and Social Rehabilitation (APIS), spoke during the Maiden International Peace Conference organised by the APUDI in conjunction with African Peace Institute for Social Research and the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention, Wednesday, in Abuja.

The APUDI CEO insisted that past leaders of the nation failed to live up to their responsibility, hence the present security quagmire.

He said that the present security challenge faced by the country is horrific, and requires a systematic, scientific approach to solving it.

According to him, the security situation in Nigeria and indeed most African nations, has been neglected for so long and has degenerated to the level where the mechanism of damage control become inevitable in finding solutions to the intractable challenges of banditry, terrorism, and violent crimes.

He insisted that decades of neglect of the security challenges have made it a herculean task to manage and pulling the country aright.

Al-Mustapha stated that modern empirical, systematic, and scientific approache must be adapted to reverse the trend of insecurity, which is ravaging the World.

He explained that the institute was formed in 2013 after he regained his freedom; noting that it started as the Al-Mustapha Peace and Development Initiative (APUDI), which was a result of several engagements across the six geopolitical zones on the need to build bridges of understanding, unity, and tolerance among Nigerians, irrespective of socio-cultural, religious, and ethnic differences.

According to him, the engagements across the country gave birth to the training and education programmes, which provided avenues for partnership with some international and local Non-governmental Organisations.

He declared that the conference was part of measures by the institute to find empirical, scientific, and systematic ways of addressing the mirage of security challenges.

“When the situation is horrific and damage control is mandatory, we are at the stage of damage control . So, we are contributing our quota as private citizens, as an institute through academics. The assemblage of academics and other resource persons tells the kind of support we are providing in addressing the challenges due to the love we have for Nigeria,” he emphasized.

Also speaking at the event, the Director General of APUDI, Prof. Danladi Aboki Atu, said the Institute decided to organize the Conference to bring various experts in the field together to generate workable, viable, accurate, and reliable data that would assist in addressing the multifaceted challenge of insecurity across Nigeria and indeed Africa.

He stated that data generation on security issues is challenging and most times people fabricate data, which hamper realistic solutions towards addressing the challenge.

He said the conference is also aimed at building synergy with experts in the field toward coming out with empirical-driven solutions.

Atu added that intelligent gathering would be further enhanced with diligent collation of reliable data.

The Director-General stated that the maiden conference with the theme: “Promoting Empirical Research for Peace Practice and Safety in Africa: A Peer Review” was born out of several engagements by the institutes.