This week, new service chiefs were appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari after he accepted the resignation of the former service chiefs. Some Nigerians shared their views with Daily Trust on what their expectations from the new service chiefs are.
Lucky Isibor, 50, Journalist, Edo
Nigerians have high expectations from the new service chiefs. They should set the ball rolling by dealing decisively with Boko Haram, bandits and criminal herdsmen ravaging the whole country. We want them to sit down and do the needful on ways to curb insecurity in the country and fight it headlong with a new security architecture.
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Marshall Kalu, 34, Military, Abuja
Nigeria has the potential to be among the developed nations in the world, but excellence deficiency and lack of effective leadership have been the greatest downfall impeding our progress, unity, and synergy as people.
Thanks to the outgoing service chiefs for their unflinching and resolute efforts in ensuring Nigeria still stands. What Nigerians expect from the new service chiefs is a sense of truthfulness and integrity. Integrity is in short supply in our leadership and that is the major cause of corruption and bad governance. Let integrity and transparency, direct them.
Tonisax Nnamani, 29 Musical Artist, Asaba
To end crimes, Boko Haram, banditry, killing by the herdsmen, the new service chiefs should work together thereby providing necessary security to the citizens. The new service chiefs should not politicise security by aligning with Nigerian politicians.
What Nigerians need is competence, indiscriminate professionalism that will reduce insecurity and the shedding of innocent blood.
Uwem Asian, Self Employed, 30
I learnt the Igbo people are not happy about the composition of the appointment and feel cheated. But we need to give the new service chiefs time to perform.
Ifeoma Maureen Onochie, 27, Corps Member, Delta
The newly appointed service chiefs are expected to serve the people by carrying out their responsibilities and improving the well-being of citizens. They should avoid being corrupt. Indeed, good governance has been an issue in our contemporary world. If the newly appointed service chiefs should be transparent, responsive, to the authority and accountable to the system and have a strategic vision of the authority, then Nigeria will be more peaceful.
Engineer Victor-wealth Iyobosa Ogieriakhi, 39, Civil Servant, Benin City
I do not expect anything different from what others have done because the mind of Nigerians has not been re-oriented. That is why we will continue to fail as a nation. Until we have an ideology as a nation, nothing will work.
Americans know what America stands for. The British knows what they stand for but unfortunately, What does Nigeria stand for as a nation? Nigerians do not stand for anything.
Barrister Habeeb Whyte, Legal Practitioner, Abeokuta, Ogun State
Now that the president has yielded and appointed new service chiefs, what we expect from them is simple. They just need critical improvement in our security system. Right now in the country, we are battling banditry, herdsmen, Boko Haram, armed robbery among other security challenges. It is now a major problem as Nigerians are no longer safe. Even the expatriates are no longer safe. Nobody is investing in the country anymore due to insecurity. At a time, it was because of the infrastructure, but some companies found their way around it. I think the service chiefs have a mandate to ensure a peaceful and secured nation. They must bring their A-game and go after those masterminding insecurity in Nigeria because I know some people are behind these things.
most importantly, we need service chiefs that would be loyal to the country and not to the president. Our service chiefs have always been loyal to the president. That’s wrong. The loyalty is to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. So, I want them to be loyal to Nigeria and not President Muhammadu Buhari.
Comrade Abayomi Arabambi, Politician, Abeokuta, Ogun State
Congratulations to the new Service Chiefs. And kudos to Mr President for doing this needful exercise, I believe that the Service Chiefs should be prepared to raise the bar of professionalism in the military and thus clearly perform to reposition the Country and further guarantee security across the states, especially in the North East region and other danger points across the Nation.
The Service Chiefs should as a matter of urgency begin to ensure that the welfare of the rank and file is improved upon adequately. All the outstanding dues and allowances to be paid up quickly. The new Service Chiefs should as a priority ensure all monies are efficiently monitored.
The Services Chiefs, one hopes, will deliberately design a security program that will accommodate synergy among all the service – arms to result in top-class security across the Nation.
Meanwhile, it is a known fact that all is not exactly too well with the officers and men in the military as some deficiencies were noticeable in the management of the economic and spiritual benefits and accruals to the rank and file including conditions under which they officially operate.
Lord Chux Emuka, Life Coach, Abuja
We expect a total overhaul of the internal leadership of the armed forces. There should be an urgent re-orientation among them, patriotism that regards all citizens as same regardless of tribe, religion. Proper understanding of citizens’ rights, vital roles of intelligence gathering and they should take advantage of technology in their operations. The welfare of the rank and file, including their retirement package, should be a priority.
Comrade Yinka Folarin, Human Rights Activist, Abeokuta
As a Nigerian, I would expect that they should advance the course beyond what they met. They should put in more effort to ensure they restore sanity to the society and tackle insecurity challenges with all strength and patriotism.
They also need to boost the morale of the officers and look into the various challenges confronting them at the war front. By so doing, they would bring about a peaceful and secured nation.
They must also be careful not to engage in what could violate the rights of the people. They must train and retrain their officers on how and why they need to respect the human rights of the citizens.
Nsikakabasi Friday, 35, Teacher,
The just-retired service chiefs have done their part, and it is expected that the new service chiefs will perform well with time and bring new ideas and ways of tackling insecurity in the country. Nigerians should give them time to do their duties.
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