President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday told his service chiefs that their “best is not good enough,” and warned against further deterioration of the security situation in the country.
Security experts told the Daily Trust that they were not impressed, insisting that the president should have sacked the service chiefs, rejig the security structure and inject fresh hands in order to stop needless killings in the country.
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The president had said that he would not accept further escalation of the current situation, saying that none of the service chiefs was forced on him.
He added that it was left for the heads of security agencies to live up to expectations.
Though speaking by proxy, this was the first time President Buhari would call out his service chiefs since he appointed them on July 13, 2015.
He had been commending them all the time and renewed their tenure in office again and again despite noticeable problems in the security architecture and spike in attacks. The National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd.), spoke on the president’s reservations while briefing State House reporters on the outcome of the meeting they held with the president.
Monguno was in the company of the Director of Defence Intelligence (DDI), AVM Mohammed Sani Usman, and the Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS), Alhaji Yusuf Magaji Bichi.
The service chiefs are: The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Gabriel Olonisakin; the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar; and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Yusuf Buratai.
What the president wants us to do
The NSA said President Buhari had directed him to work with the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami to tackle some issues.
Monguno also said the president was disturbed by lack of synergy among the security agencies.
He said: “A meeting was just concluded between Mr. President and heads of the security agencies, that is the operational heads consisting of the minister of defence, the service chiefs and on the other hand, the intelligence components that consist of myself and the intelligence heads.
“Today’s meeting basically focused on recent developments. Mr. President has expressed great concern over the declining security situation in the country. He is extremely unhappy about what is happening and he feels that, even though the security agencies are doing their best, their best is not good enough for him and wants an immediate reversal of the current trend and immediate reversal of our misfortunes in all their dimensions.
“He also stated that no one was forced on him, he selected everyone individually based on what he feels their records had revealed and therefore, it is up to individual organisation to live up to the expectations.
“He also pointed out the immediate areas of concern and these areas are also interlinked and we must find a way out, especially the issue of proliferation of drugs, small arms and light weapons. These two issues also go hand in hand with the major issues of criminality in this country…,” he said.
Only Buhari can change his service chiefs
Asked whether the service chiefs would be changed soon in order to address the security problems, Monguno said: “These are issues that only the president can address, I am just an adviser.
“It is up to Mr. President, he has the prerogative to make any change at whatever time he deems fit. Remember he is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and he is the one ultimately who will take this kind of executive decision,” he said.
On why he was unable to provide synergy among various security agencies, he said: “There are a lot of flexibilities, a lot of issues of overlapping and interlocking responsibilities.
“For the office of the national security adviser, its mandate remains the same as before. This again is a decision that only the president can streamline because as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, he may deem it necessary to allocate certain tasks and responsibilities to certain organisations even outside defence and security.”
On what assurance the government would give the Nigerian population, he said: “First, we have to go back to the drawing board, nothing is ever too late. It is regrettable that lives have been lost, a lot of chaos has arisen, but that doesn’t mean we ditched all our efforts, we are going to go back and that is why I emphasised on collective efforts; the convergence of all our efforts so that we can streamline and develop more meaningful strategies, but definitely, there will be a change.”
Inject new hands – Experts
Commenting on Buhari’s new directives for his service chiefs, security expert and terrorism scholar, Dr. Amaechi Nwaokolo, said it is time the president takes action rather than giving marching orders and warnings.
Insisting that service chiefs have overstayed their usefulness, Nwaokolo said: “We are tired of all those marching orders, which usually produce nothing. Mr. President should look beyond the horizon because it is time for them (service chiefs) to go.
“They are already fatigued. In other climes they would be relieved of their duties by now. They have tried their best but they need to take a bow. The issue of warning cannot produce any result. We have people who are more prepared for the job,” Amaechi said.
Salihu Bakhari, a retired military officer who worked in different parts of the country said it was time for the president to listen to the voice of reason. “The last warning could last as long as 2023. Why not give them a timeline and targets? And if that time comes without any appreciable impact, ask them to go.
“From newspaper reports, the NSA mentioned three issues including hard drugs, proliferation of small arms and unregistered sim cards as the major causes of the security situation; I think this is just blame passing.
“I believe these are the excuses they passed to the president and he believed them. These are the most flimsy excuses, which have been made time and time again. It is a shame that at this stage we are still blaming other departments of government. For the military to be brought in, it means every other department has failed.
“The killings are too many and people are demonstrating, but he turned a deaf ear; so what he said yesterday was expected.
“He had launched operations twice in Zamfara, one ongoing in Katsina for the past two months and many others too, yet no results.
“People are tired of the existing arrangement…….Rejig the military/security circle and give them what they require. If we can’t get it right now that is dry, we have to wait until November to make any impact,” he said.
On how to motivate the Nigerian troops fighting in many fronts, Bakhari said, “The troops can only be encouraged by most especially equipping them with the right platforms as was the case in 2014 where new equipment bought by the then government changed the situation from 35 LGAs across 3 states under Boko Haram in the North East to 1 LGA before handover in 2015.
“The second motivation is removing the service chiefs as both junior personnel and senior officers have lost confidence in the military leadership. There is nothing new any of them will bring that has not been used in the last five years.
We’re avoiding collateral damage
While Monguno and the service chiefs were at the Presidential Villa briefing the president, the Coordinator, Defence Media Operation, Major General John Enenche, told journalists that avoiding collateral damage is a major constraint for the military fighting bandits in the North West and North Central parts of the country.
He spoke yesterday in Abuja during an interactive session at a press briefing on the regular update of major military operations across the country.
He said the bandits have knowledge of armed conflict and international humanitarian laws.
Enenche explained that they leverage on this, knowing the military cannot fire on them when they mingle with the civilian populace.
He argued that, “It is not that the armed forces are weak, it is not that we don’t have the capacity to clear an area in a few minutes, but because of collateral damage.”
He added that another major challenge was support from the civilian populace in the area in supplying the military with information about the bandits.
He said in the North-West, troops had continued to build on recent successes against armed bandits operating in the region following intensive ground and air assaults on their identified bases with scores of bandits killed.
More protests in Katsina, Abuja
Many people were yesterday arrested by police for embarking on another protest in Katsina over insecurity.
Those arrested were mostly students from various tertiary institutions who stormed the streets demanding for the resignation of some of the top government officials.
The students were rounded up in the metropolis as they began their march and taken to the central police station.
Confirming the arrest, the spokesman of Katsina State Police Command, SP Gambo Isah, said “yes, we have arrested many of them. They came out on the streets saying the secretary of the state government must go. We don’t know the brain behind this politically motivated demonstration in Katsina.
“It is a crime; we will charge them for inciting disturbance, breach of peace amongst others, “he said.
Also, an NGO, the Dan Alhaji Foundation, staged a peaceful protest in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday to seek the rapid intervention of President Buhari.
Daily Trust observed that some of the peaceful protesters were holding placards with inscriptions like: ‘Stop the rape in Batsari,’ ‘Stop the bloodshed in Batsari, Katsina State,’ ‘We need emergency response, Mr. President.’
A member of the group, Aminu Alqasim, who shared his recent experience in Batsari bemoaned that residents of the community could not go to their farms.
He said: “People in Batsari are afraid to say what is going on because they are afraid of talking; they feel after calling for help the bandits will attack their communities again.”
