Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), and erstwhile ECOWAS Commission President and African Union Chief Mediator on Sudan, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, are among dignitaries who have confirmed their intention to grace the Inaugural Annual International Lecture of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The agency, in a statement yesterday in Abuja by its Managing Director, Malam Ali Muhammad Ali, revealed that the duo would attend the lecture billed for October 3 at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja.

Chambas, a renowned diplomat and expert in security and conflict resolution, would speak on “Insecurity in the Sahel (2008-2024): Dissecting Nigeria’s Challenges – Genesis, Impacts and Options,” while Abdulsalami would chair the epochal forum.

Also invited are President Bola Tinubu and members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), as well as the top echelon of Nigeria’s political establishment and top brass of the military.

The statement said members of the diplomatic corps and the academic community and media executives from local and African news agencies have also signified intention to attend.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, and Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, are leading traditional rulers who have been invited, the statement added.

It said the lecture is “part of the national efforts to enliven public discourse on the debilitating challenges of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, militancy and violent ultranationalism, among others in the country.” The statement continued: “What are the causal factors responsible for driving violence in this benighted region?

“Who are the non-state actors at the heart of this ring of violence? How is it impacting on Nigeria? How do we as a nation contend with this present and clear danger?

“What prognosis can we make going forward? The lecture is expected to elicit responses to these posers.”