For sometimes now, Nigeria has been grappling with numerous security challenges ranging from kidnapping, insurgence, banditry, armed robbery, herders/ farmers clash, communal clash and other crime-related issues.

Since 2009, Boko Haram had killed thousands of people while about two point five million people had fled their homes and towns, and the direct consequence of the conflict was that the north-east was plunged into a severe humanitarian crisis.

 in his first term, President Muhammadu Buhari  said his government would bring an end to Boko Haram insurgence and other security challenges.

 The government has made significant military gains, reducing the number of Boko Haram attributed deaths in the past couple of years.

Nevertheless, the crisis is not yet over, and it would be a grave mistake for anybody to disregard the conflict.

It is important that the government should not just focus on security but invest in peace-building, reconstruction and rehabilitation and socio-economic development.

The new security chiefs have a task of finding inclusive and creative ways of addressing and deescalating these challenges facing the country.

There is every reason for the government to make efforts to foster peace and development given the havoc that these challenges have on the lives and economic impact on the citizens.

The government needs to be proactive in its response to the conflict by helping to mediate and deescalate the conflict and making proper arrangements for displayed people.

Nigeria, given her economic, cultural and demographic must use her influence and power to contribute to peace in West Africa and the broader African continent especially as its stability has an inextricable impact on the peace, progress, and prosperity of the continent.

Nigerian foreign policy has historically focused on this.

In recent decades, Nigeria has contributed to the de-escalation of conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and most recently in the Gambia. Nigeria must continue along this path.

 To live up to the title of the ‘Giant of Africa’, it is imperative that Nigeria gets her priority right.

It is pertinent that Federal Government take these issues seriously and ensure that Nigeria moves away from this seemingly perpetual cycle of conflict and instability and realizes its potential as a formidable African power.

Rasheedah Makinde

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