The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio has charged security executives to be mindful of intelligence gathering in any operation as this would enhance security of lives across Africa.
Senator Akpabio gave the charge when he addressed the faculty members and participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 17 of the National Institute for Security Studies who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja on Thursday, February 22, 2024.
Participants for the course are drawn from 30 security related agencies in Nigeria and five African countries of Cote d’Ivoire, Chad, Ghana, The Gambia and Rwanda and would undertake a ten-month course on the theme, “Artificial intelligence, security and emerging economies in Africa: challenges and prospects.”
A statement by the Special Assistant on Media/Communication to the Senate President, Mr Anietie Ekong quoted Senator Akpabio as imploring the participants to deploy the knowledge gathered at the course to bring about security of not just West Africa but of Africa and the global community in general.
According to Senator Akpabio, “Be mindful of the need for intelligence. It is extremely important in any operation. Today, we are faced with insecurity across the globe, from Gaza to Ukraine, Iraq and some of our neighbouring countries which are suffering from disrupted democracies. There is also the issue of cross border banditry and kidnapping, Boko Haram, insurgencies and all sorts of insecurities around the world.
“That is why you are here and it is expected that with the knowledge that you have gathered as participants in the course, when you go back to your duty posts, things would be different,” Senator Akpabio said.
Senator Akpabio took the course participants through the workings of the parliament as the Chairman of the National Assembly, from lawmaking to oversight functions.
In his address, the Deputy Commandant and Director of Studies of the National Institute for Security Studies, Mr D. E. Egbeji, thanked Senator Akpabio for always identifying with the Institute since his days as the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, and having a legacy project at the Institute and have at several times similarly hosted past participants of the Institute and even as a guest lecturer.
According to Mr Egbeji, the Senate was chosen for the study because it is the engine room of any democracy and at the end of the course they would come up with a position paper to the President and Commander-in-Chief in relation to their research on how the countries can deploy artificial intelligence for security.