Threats: Dan-Ali inaugurates Defence, Security think-tank

The Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, on Monday, inaugurated a “Defence and Security Think-tank” team approved by President Muhammadu Buhari, to “proactively and continuously examine security situation in the country”.
According to the minister, the team is to give necessary advice based on its findings.
Dan-Ali said the think tank was also empowered to co-opt any person deemed necessary to contribute positively to its assignment.
He said: “You are further expected to constantly intimate the Ministry of Defence of your findings and recommendations on quarterly basis.”
The minister noted that the nation was faced with different security challenges which had claimed a lot of lives and property.
He said those challenges also posed threats to social, economic and political stability of the country.
He said: “Addressing these challenges require analysing the causes of threats as well as critical evaluation of the performance of the security agencies in handling emerging scenarios.
“It also requires the provision of thought-out and far reaching advice by security experts and experienced individuals.
“The effective implementation of a comprehensive approach to these challenges require the contribution of all security agencies and other stakeholders based on shared sense of responsibility, openness and determination, taking into account their respective strengths, mandates and roles as well as decision-making autonomy.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the terms of reference of the committee are to constantly undertake strategic threats and vulnerability analysis, and evaluate strategic defence and security requirements of the nation.
It is also to access the degree of success and failure of measures taken to address threats, and exploit avenues to establish strategic partnership and collaboration with foreign countries, organisations and individuals that would benefit the country.
Other terms of reference are to suggest plans for handling specific problems, advise how the armed forces could interface with other security agencies to achieve joint operations and any other task deemed appropriate by the minister of defence.
The Chairman of the committee, Gen. Abdulmalik Jibril, noted that though the Boko Haram insurgents had been degraded, there were still other security challenges in the country.
Jibril promised that the team would live up to expectations.