Institute of Planning, Nigeria (IPN) has restated that insecurity remains Nigeria’s major handicap as the giant of Africa, adding that as long as banditry and other vices continue to prevail, the country maintaining its rightful place in the comity of nations remains a mirage.

Speaking on the highlight of a three-day Planners’ Conference that ended at the weekend, the President, Dr. McCarthy Ijiebor, called on the Federal Government to tackle the menace without further delay.

Theme of the conference, which took place at Kakanfo Inn Conference Centre, Ibadan, Oyo State, is ‘National Security and Sustainable Development Planning: A Nigerian Perspective.’

“The country is plagued by the menace of kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, Internet fraud among others in an environment of power outage, poor infrastructure, high cost of living, high exchange rates among others. Insecurity is not only a threat to life and property, but also capable of disrupting aspects of the nation’s economy, leading to economic downturn.

“Avenues such as this conference give us the opportunity to x-ray the issues and proffer solutions. Security plans must be timely and strategic for effectiveness in the present dispensation,” he said.

Ijiebor, who was represented at the event by a member of IPN Governing Council, Dr. Veronica Okolo, also said for Nigeria to be the country of every patriot’s dream, there is need for a bold leader, who would not compromise and ready to implement good plans; “hence Nigerians should be mindful of who they vote for in next year’s election.”

Talking on ‘National Security and the Emerging Debt Burden,’ the keynote speaker and member of IPN Governing Council, Prof. Richard Mayungbe, said national security spans across land, sea, air, technology, the environment, finance/economy and health. He noted that absence of national security makes it impossible for implementation of any programme of sustainable development.