Engagement with Service Chiefs: Senate must prioritise national interest, plight of Nigerians
The worsening of security profile in Nigeria has recently become an albatross. The brewing storms have been finding expression with the collision of several decadence which recently have begun to assume explosive dimensions. The troubles over security threats have recently been sending fear down the spine of many. The flagging wings of various accumulating security challenges which have assumed speedy graduation recently, have compounded to worsen security profile in the Country. Presently, the rise of banditry compounding with terrorism have grown to the height of national turbulence.
The hands of Boko-Haram/ISWAP terror taking expansive force of attacks has become troubling recently. The affront of the terrorist group to resume launching of attacks against Military bases in the North is an omen of fear which continues to encumber sensations of panic among citizens. Report of the group taking over some towns and hoisting their flags on same, is practically an attack against the Nigerian State as an entity, and therefore an effrontery which reflects that the claws of the mischievous group are not firmly tamed.
However, while Boko-Haram/ISWAP continue to pose their battle against the Nigerian State, banditry is apparently taking an expansive turn which is assuming decentralised formations across communities in the Country. Most recently, the bandit operation of the kidnapping of a number of students of the Greenfield University on Tuesday, 20 April 2021, in Kasarami village, Chikun LGA, Kaduna State, has heightened insecurity fear in the Country. The killings of some of the kidnapped students and the threat to gruesomely kill others if a ransom of N100million is not promptly paid, have mounted up societal heat. The fact that security architectures in the Country have not been able to track the bandits and secure the release of the abducted students is mind-boggling. The ongoing saga appears to give some justification to the argument that majority of the flaunted release of abducted victims in the past were only effected by ransom.
As the security profile worsens with panic ravaging the society, the question of the competence or otherwise of the newly appointed Service Chiefs have begun to become a considerable subject. It would be arguable that security profile has in no way improved since the new chiefs came up on board. It is apparent that the account of the prevailing profile of security trends in the Country, gives no positive omen in about three month records since the new chiefs assumed duty. From late January till present, pressing matters of insecurity have not assumed any profound character of improvement. Saddening enough, attacks even on security formations have been recorded in dismay.
It was on Tuesday disclosed that Service Chiefs and Heads of Security Agencies would on Thursday, appear before the Senate to brief the upper chamber on efforts to address the spate of insecurity in the Country. The President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, who disclosed the need for the briefing over the worsening security situation in the Country, said that the appearance by the Service Chiefs is in response to a resolution by the Senate last week Tuesday, wherein it was resolved that the Service Chiefs and other Heads of Security Agencies be invited against the backdrop of heightening insecurity across states of the Federation. It would be recalled that the Senate had last week summoned the Service Chiefs and Heads of Security Agencies to appear before it on Tuesday after lawmakers in the upper chamber had expressed fury over continued security challenges in the Country with increasing cases of terrorism, banditry, killings, rape and Kidnapping.
Parties on invitation for appearance before the Senate are the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (retd); Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Attahiru; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amoo; the Minister of Defence, Gen. Bashir Magashi; the Director-General, National Intelligence Agency, NIA, Ahmed Rufa’i and the acting Inspector General of Police, IGP, Usman Baba.
It would be recalled that some of the lawmakers who last week made remarks over the worsening security profile in the Country had made reference to a lack of leadership and political will as reasons for the worsening security challenges in the Country. It is essential for the lawmakers to perform their statutory role diligently as required of representatives of the people provided under a representative democratic government. It is therefore, imperative for them to put the Service Chiefs and all executive stakeholders to strict and challenging scrutiny on the prevailing security challenges of the Country. Hence, it is not required for the lawmakers to address matters with mild hands. The need to put the heads of security formations in the Country on their toes is paramount. The season of tolerating mediocrity and poor performance from Service Heads should no longer be permitted, given the worsening profile of security challenges in the Country. Such tolerance in the past had only resulted into emboldening security threats in the Country.
Hence, it is essential for the upper chamber to drill the Service Chiefs and Heads of Security Agencies on the summon list to give responsive accounts of the worsening security challenges in the Country. Thus, it is required of the Senate to put the interest of the Country at the forefront as the impetus of their engagement with the Service Chiefs and Security Heads. In this way, the need for the Senate to be objective in its approach is imperative, while intelligence gathered from the briefing of the invited security heads should be subjected to sincere appraisal to determine courses of action instrumental to pragmatically address the prevailing struggles. It is therefore paramount that the plight of Nigerians be put first against any other pecuniary interest.
