Nigeria cannot experience true development and economic growth if the spate of insecurity in the country is not checked, Dr Mathew Kukah, Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese and other participants at the Third Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, GOCOP, held on Friday in Lagos.

The discussants, Mr Mike Ejiofor, a former Director at the Department of State Service (DSS), Mike Ejiofor and Prof Akpan Ekpo, a former DG, West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, posited that “no security, no economic development.”

The Guest Speaker, Dr Mathew Kukah, had delivered a speech on the theme:  ‘Economy, Security And National Development: The Way Forward’.

Ejiofor pointedly said that “security is not negotiable for any nation that wants its economy to thrive.”

According to him, if there is no security, there can’t be solid foundation for economic growth and development, stressing that nobody will invest in an environment that is not secured.

Ejiofor lamented the presence of cabal that hijack successive governments.

In his words, “The truth remains that people hijack leadership in every government because every government has its own cabal but it’s more pronounced in this government.”

Ejiofor noted that kidnapping, banditry and Boko Haram have aggravated insecurity across Nigeria, contributing to relocation of big businesses out of Nigeria hence, massive loss of jobs.

Proffering the way forward, the former boss of the DSS advocates good leadership, stressing that leaders must live by example.

He also enjoined the leadership to come up with deliberate polices to eradicate poverty, unemployment, injustice to aid improvement in security situation, adding “It is our collective responsibility to make Nigeria work.”

Ejiofor while congratulating GOCOP for its commitment to sanitising the online space, saying the “Greatest challenge in the country is fake news” that must be fought by credible online media practitioners.

Also discussing Bishop Kukah’s presentation, Prof Akpan Ekpo, a  renowned professor of economics and former Director-General of West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) also posited that there can’t be meaningful growth and economic development if there is no security.

He noted that unemployment and underemployment are major causes of insecurity.

While submitting that security issue is a function of leadership and followership, Prof Akpan Expo, who was represented by Prof Douglason Omotor, charged the government of the day to put things in proper perspective to get the security issue right.