Minister of Women Affairs hosts NISS Executive Intelligence Management Course 14 

By Ignatius Ushie

The Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, has said that peace and security are essential to development and prosperity, and as such, concerted efforts and readiness are required for peacebuilding, to prevent conflicts and establish conditions for sustainable peace.

This was contained in an address by the Minister of Women Affairs when she received the Executive Intelligence Management Course 14 of the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS) in her office in Abuja. Tallen noted that the resultant effects of insecurity in any nation is largely borne by women and children, who are often dehumanized and sometimes hewed down in their prime, adding that at the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, their interest is in the involvement of women in the whole security architecture of the country.

According to her, “In the area of Women, Peace and Security, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs provides leadership, overall guidance and supervision for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 in Nigeria. This Resolution represents the first of several Resolutions on “Women, Peace and Security” (WPS).

“Building on the global momentum and responding to the need to address Women, Peace and Security issues in the country, in view of the identified gaps over time, we are working assiduously with UN Women to launch the 3rd National Action Plan”.

The Minister further noted that, “Given that security is a responsibility of all and not an exclusive preserve of government or security agencies, traditional institutions, religious institutions, communities and opinion leaders must come together to find lasting solutions to this teething evil bedevilling the nation. In this regard, the Ministry will continue to engage with all stakeholders in various sections of the country to foster peace in the land.

“Realizing the enormity of the challenges of insecurity in the country, the Ministry is employing every necessary avenue including advocacy, policy trust and development of peace and security plan of actions to address these challenges including COVID-19 pandemic from gender and human rights perspectives”, Tallen said.

While acknowledging that the theme for this year’s Course 14, ‘’Governance, Security and Sustainable Development in Africa: Nexus, Challenges and Prospects’’, aptly describes the current topical situation in Africa, including Nigeria, she added that Africa is widely considered as a continent that is enmeshed in armed conflict and instability, the sources of which are both diverse and endemic

She expressed the belief that the group will be able to contribute to strategies that would help in designing appropriate mechanisms to address the issues before they degenerate into conflicts that would be difficult to address for durable peace and economic development.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Anthonia Ekpa, Phd expressed hopes that the visit will provide an opportunity for further collaboration and partnership to address the security and safety challenges facing the country.

Ekpa noted that the theme for this year’s Course; “Governance, Security and Sustainable Development in Africa: Nexus, Challenges and Prospects” is timely given the current security challenges in Nigeria occasion by the Boko Haram insurgency, armed banditry, kidnapping, sexual and gender-based violence and rape.

These violent crimes according to her are not only peculiar to Nigeria but also in sub-Saharan Africa and the entire African continent. The causes of most of these conflicts are not unconnected to poor governance structure, inequality in resource distribution, scuffle for political power, corruption and nepotism, among others”, she said

She further added that Africa as a Continent searching for solutions to sustainable development, must embrace good governance and incorporate respect for the rule of law as a critical element in her sustainable development strategies.

She thanked the Commandant  General of the National Institute for Security Studies, the faculty members and the Participants at the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 14 for considering the Ministry as one of the MDAs to visit this year.

Responding, the Commandant, National Institute for Security Studies, Alhaji Ayodele Adeleke,  represented by his Deputy,Mr. Didacus .E. Egbeji noted that the Ministry of Women Affairs is so important and strategic to the activities of the NISS.

The Commandant noted that the participants are expected to learn about governance, challenges and prospects as well as security and at the end of the course, make a position paper for the government, to address the issues of governance, security and sustainable development in Africa adding that the participants will be well-groomed in the next 10 months, based on their study.