Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor (Rtd), has said Nigeria requires adequate infrastructure to fully harness technology in tackling insecurity across the country.
Irabor spoke on Thursday during a Channels Television live programme, “Generation Next: Youth, Power & The Future We Must Build,” organised as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Day anniversary.
The former defence chief explained that the challenge was not necessarily the absence of technological solutions but the lack of supporting infrastructure and the integration required to make different technologies work effectively.
“It is not about the non-availability of tech solutions or the non-application of tech solutions. First, you must understand that no matter the technology that you have, there has to be an infrastructure within which you are to apply those tech solutions.
“And then, those tech solutions must also be integrated because there is no single application or, if you like, single technology that addresses the complexity of the threats that we have.
“So, the overall infrastructure helps you to harmonise or integrate all the applications that you have for it to be able to make sense, and I think that is where the challenge lies,” Irabor said.
Using drones as an example, Irabor said their effectiveness in security operations depends on the availability of systems capable of receiving, processing and analysing the information they collect.
“One simple example many people talk about is drones, and that drones can do a whole lot. And I ask: where you fly a drone across a territory, let’s say an area of interest, there are two things it can do: either it captures and then you return to base, download and analyse what happened, or, as it is capturing, it is transmitting online in real time to where you are doing the analysis.
“There is an infrastructure that exists to make that possible. So, it is in light of the fact that we are limited in infrastructure that one sees that as a challenge,” he said.
The retired general, however, acknowledged that steps were being taken to address the infrastructure gap.
He said the ongoing efforts were part of a gradual process and had contributed to some improvements recorded in the country’s security situation.
“But then, that does not imply that nothing is being done, and I must also acknowledge that it is a process and there is a buildup, and this is the reason why we are having some of the improvements in the security situation in the country,” he said.
Insecurity: Nigeria needs infrastructure to harness technology – Ex-CDS, Irabor