Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) Weekly Subject Experts’ Presentation was held at Hall C, TY Buratai Block, Abuja. There were two presentations made by the Subject Experts on Eastern Europe and North America.
The first presentation for the day was made by Brig Gen Ak Egwuagu (Rtd) subject experts on Eastern Europe, he focused on how Putin Wins Russia’s Presidential Election. As expected, strategic planner Vladimir Putin won Russia’s presidential election held from 15 – 17 March 2024 with 88% of the votes cast, giving him six more years in power and a fifth term in office. The communist candidate, Nikolai Kharitonov finished second position with just under 4%, while newcomer Vladistav Davankov came third and ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky, fourth.
In his analysis and lessons for Nigeria, Brig Gen Ak Egwuagu (Rtd) noted that, Nigeria’s democracy need to be improved upon and not to allow it degenerate into Putin’s type of democracy where the rights of the people are clamped down and their wishes not cared about. Nigerians need to upscale their participation in all democratic and governance processes especially in massive turnout to vote and be voted for, as well as holding political leaders accountable at all levels to discourage tyranny as being exhibited in Russia by Putin.
He recommended that, Federal Government of Nigeria should review as a matter of urgency, the challenges associated with the last general elections with a view to addressing all the observed lapses towards a better outing in future elections. The FGN should divorce itself from appointing electoral managers and umpires by relinquishing such tasks to the national judicial council, the organised Labour and any other impartial body.
Similarly, the second presentation was made by Maj Gen AP Ahmadu subject experts on North America, he discussed on how Hundreds of Cubans Take to the Streets in Rare Protests as Economic Crisis Deepens. On Monday 18 March 2024, Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Cuba’s second-largest city, Santiago, demanding food and power amid a worsening economic crisis. In widely circulated videos on social media, Cubans in Santiago, in the east, can be heard chanting, “We are hungry,” as well as calling for electricity and food. Some residents have experienced power outages for 18 hours a day or more. While there have been occasional outbreaks of protests in the past few years, they are still rare on the tightly controlled, communist-run island.
In his analysis and lessons for Nigeria, Maj Gen AP Ahmadu noted that, just like in Cuba, the Nigerian economy is at its lowest point leading to hunger and anger which have encouraged street protests and threats of strikes. “A large number of the Nigerian population is frustrated and have lost hope, especially the youths, and have now emerged to express their disillusion about the pervasive state of inequality”. Over the years, there has been a standing mismatch between public and government perceptions, the migration of jobless youths from rural areas to urban centres is also one of the causes of insecurity in Nigeria.
He recommended that, the Federal Government of Nigeria should prevail on the ministry of petroleum resources to ensure that the 4 major state refineries are fixed by the end of 2024 as earlier scheduled in order to halt importation of refined petroleum products to Nigeria. The FGN should make concerted effort to provide more employment opportunities for the teeming youth to engage them in both formal and informal sectors to address their involvement in all forms of criminal activities.
