Today’s edition of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) Weekly Subject Experts’ Presentation was held at Hall C, TY Buratai Block NARC, Abuja. There were two presentations made by the Subject Experts covering India Sub-continent and Nigeria.
The first presentation was delivered by Brig Gen OD Donibo Subject Expert for Indian Sub-continent. The presentation focused on the Quads Foreign Ministers meeting held in New Delhi, on 3rd March 2023. The objective of the meeting was to reaffirm the Quad’s steadfast commitment to supporting free, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific relations. The Quadrilateral security dialogue is a group of four nations established solely to strengthen diplomatic and military assistance among them.
In the analysis and lessons for Nigeria, he stated that Nigeria is a coastal country that has a locational advantage of sharing boundaries along the coastlines with the Atlantic Ocean and maritime boundaries within the larger Gulf of Guinea. Although rich in oil minerals, among other natural resources, but the area is significantly under policed as a result of land and maritime insecurity. He further stated that Nigeria has shown good engagement with international law as a dominant player in ensuring peace in the region. He therefore, suggested that there is need for the Federal Government to focus on the recognition of maritime zones using the dualist principle for the security of the country’s coastal boundaries.
The second presentation was made by Brig Gen MF Babayo, Subject Expert for Nigeria. The senior officers presentation amidst other headlines discussed the BVAS and the commendable credibility and transparency it brought for the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections. One of the features of the BVAS highlighted was its ability to accredit voters using any of their ten fingerprints. He noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission adopted the BVAS to enhance security, accuracy, and inclusiveness. Although the BVAS comes with enormous benefits, it is not without it challenges. Therefore, he recommended that there is a need for INEC to modify and upgrade the BVAS software to improve voters’ accreditation and picture quality.
Present at the briefing was Ed Consult, Director of Research, Senior Research Fellows, Research Fellows, Consultants, Senior officers, and other staff of the Centre.
