South Korea’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Kim Young-Chae has been advised the country to tackle its security challenges internally, as they were ‘mere family affairs.’
The ambassador gave the advice in Abuja when he spoke at a summit held that the insecurity facing the most populous nation was akin to a family disagreement that does not require the intervention of the international community, but regional cooperation.
His words: ‘Security is a very sensitive issue. I know everyone is concerned about the insecurity in Nigeria but it is Nigeria’s internal issue. It should be discussed among Nigerians. If another country engages Nigeria, that is another issue entirely, which would be considered an international issue. To solve the problem, Nigeria needs international cooperation mainly with its neighbouring countries to enhance its internal security. Nigeria must cooperate with Chad, Niger and other neighbouring countries to ensure cooperation.
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The envoy, who stressed the need for the military to be professionalised, described the Army as the centre that holds the society together.
He went on: ‘In South Korea, we have a very strong defence which is rated number six in the world. The military is very dedicated and there is little or no corruption in the system. The military is the centre that holds the country together. If the military is corrupt, there is a high possibility that the whole country will be corrupt. Discipline and dedication are key in building a stable and efficient military.’
The diplomat said both nations were on the verge of sealing a defence and intelligence-sharing pact.
He explained that the Asian country had established the office of a defence attaché in its embassy to strengthen cooperation between the two nations.
‘To have defence information sharing, both Nigeria and South Korea need to sign some documents. Defence authorities of both countries need to sign the documents which our Defence Attaché is presently working on. We are going to invite Nigeria’s Minister of Defence to South Korea to concretise this cooperation’. Young-Chae concluded.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
