Omoyele Sowore, activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, has said he would appoint a drone as Nigeria’s Minister of Defence if elected president.
Sowore made the remark during a live interview on Arise Television on Thursday while speaking on his plans to tackle insecurity in the country.
“If I become Nigeria’s president tomorrow, my minister of defence will be a drone. That’s how much I believe in technology,” he said.
The AAC flagbearer stressed the need for a technological overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture, noting that the country required modern equipment, technology, as well as honest officers and supervisors to effectively combat insecurity.
According to him, the military has been hindered by commanders who are unwilling to leave the nation’s capital to confront security threats directly.
“We have to have honest leaders and supervisors and officers who are not staying in Abuja fighting over land but actually fighting wars, generals who can actually strategise and do what is right,” he said.
Sowore also called for a police force focused on its constitutional responsibilities.
“A police force that can carry out internal security of the country, not escorting people or arresting people for insulting others on Facebook,” he stated.
The former presidential candidate further described a security system driven by drones and artificial intelligence.
“I’m just going to have a control centre where people sit down and track terrorists and liquidate them,” he added.
When asked by the interviewer whether artificial intelligence could also serve as Minister of Defence, Sowore agreed.
“That’s part of it. And that drone will fly everywhere,” he said.
He, however, maintained that technology alone would not solve insecurity, insisting that government must also address unemployment and lack of education among young people.
“Ultimately, you must create a society where people can find jobs and go to school, and not be willing to take up arms,” Sowore added.
