Before he was elected into office, President Muhammadu Buhari promised Nigerians that he would solve the insecurity problems facing the country. That promise, alongside anti-corruption war and tackling the economic problems of the country, formed the three pillars upon which Buhari convinced Nigerians in 2015 to vote for him.
That also formed the basis upon which Nigerians voted out the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was then led by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
While Buhari is tackling the anti-corruption fight and the economy the best way he could, one area Nigerians expected his expertise to bear on the nation’s health quickly was in the area of insecurity. He is a retired Army General.
It is important to point out that during Jonathan’s administration, the menace of Boko Haram, the biggest threat to security then, was so high that bombs went off so easily in Abuja, the nation’s capital; in Kano and Kaduna, while Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states remained under siege of the insurgents.
Congruent states such as Gombe and Kogi alongside similar ones were not spared, as some local governments were under the captivity of Boko Haram. But nothing rankled Nigerians more than the abduction of over 200 female students of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, by the insurgents.
It was one event that cut the cord between the Jonathan presidency and Nigerians.
Entered Buhari in 2015, a retired General and, up till then, regarded as a no-nonsense man.
Buhari was to go ahead to appoint his service chiefs with a standing order that they relocate to Maiduguiri, the hotbed of Boko Haram, to face the insurgents. That was with a view to stopping the insurgents in their tracks and restoring order.
We are aware that not long after, the Army particularly pronounced the insurgents technically defeated, a chorus that was sung by Buhari and his ministers. All seemed well under control until the abduction of over 100 female students of Government Technical Secondary School, Dapchi, Yobe State, by the same ‘technically defeated’ insurgents. Although many of them were rescued, some others died, while one Christian female student, Leah Sharibu, remains in captivity of their abductors till date. The latest news at the weekend was that Leah is now a mother.
Since then, the battle between soldiers and the insurgents have become a circus, with victories and casualties on both sides.
We acknowledge the fact that soldiers appear to have been overstretched by both the Boko Haram war and other acts of insecurity in other parts of the country, including banditry, kidnapping and herdsmen’s attacks, among others.
But, it is almost five years now since the service chiefs came into office. Can we honestly say that the security challenges, including the Boko Haram problem, have been tackled effectively? Can we honestly say that these service chiefs have done better than the ones they replaced from the Jonathan era? Can we say that after almost five years in the saddle, these service chiefs still have the solution to the plethora of insecurity in the country? For us, the answer to the above questions is a resounding no!
Nothing illustrates the decent of Boko Haram insurgents to a most dangerous dimension than the execution of Lawan Andimi, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Michika, Adamawa State, last week.
As pointed out by Buhari himself, the killing “is cruel, inhuman and deliberately provocative.”
He added: “…We will ensure that these terrorists pay a heavy price for their evil actions.”
The leadership of CAN has questioned the commitment of the president and his service chiefs to ending the orgy of violence in the country. CAN President, Dr. Samson Ayokunle, told journalists that the terrorists killed Andimi because he refused to be converted to Islam.
He also cited the case of Rev. Denis Bagauri, who was murdered in Mayo Belwa of Adamawa State and the beheading of 11 Christians, including a bride-to-be, by the Islamic State in West Africa on Christmas Day of 2019 in Maiduguri, to buttress his case.
“It appears our government is completely overwhelmed. The brutality of Nigerians is happening unabated daily,” CAN declared.
We are not joining CAN in alarming the nation. That is because we are aware that the insecurity is blind religiously. But we believe strongly that the president needs a change of strategy in order not to allow the insecurity fester beyond his tenure, which is about three years to end.
We are of the view that that change of strategy includes the removal of service chiefs, in order to bring fresh ideas to the fight.
We note that apart from the Inspector-General of Police, who was recently brought in, the president has since 2015 maintained the same security chiefs, even when it is clear that it is either they have run out of ideas or are tired of going through the same routine, which eventually has not solved the problems.
We believe, and very strongly too, that the president needs to take a deep look at the security situation in the country. He needs a new strategy and strategists to tackle the frightening insecurity in the country. We believe he needs to remove the service chiefs now if the war is to be won.
