A Peace and Conflict expert, Mr Oluranti Owolabi, has appealed to Nigerians to give moral support to the military in the fight against insurgency.
Owolabi made the appeal on Friday in Osogbo while speaking on the need to rid the country of insurgency and the role the citizens must play for the war to be won.
He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that moral support to the military by all Nigerians would win the war given the commitment of government and troops at the war front.
“The greatest weapon of defeat in an asymmetrical war of this nature is the mind of the people which is always controlled by information; that is why Nigerians must repose confidence in the military.
“The confidence people have in our military will automatically make them to support the troops morally and insulate them against the damning propaganda of the insurgents, ‘he said.
According to him, the moral support from all Nigerians to the patriotic soldiers at the war front coupled with the commitment of the government will win the war soonest.
The peace advocate extolled the political will of the government to bring the insurgency to an end and the doggedness of the security agents who he described as heroes and heroines.
He advised the opposition parties to see the insurgency as an affront on the corporate existence of Nigeria and not an avenue to score cheap political points.
“The tenets of opposition parties in developed democracies is to strengthen the system through constructive engagement of the ruling party and not the game of hide and seek.
‘’The security challenges facing the country should not be an opportunity for the opposition to score ridiculous political points, the challenge should be collectively tackled as Nigerians.
“I have never seen Nigerian opposition parties living up to its obligation as a vibrant and better alternative to the ruling party and government in waiting.
“The best opposition parties in Nigeria can do is to hide somewhere and wait for the government to fail for them to come out and rather than criticise destructively,’’ he said. (NAN)