EDITORIAL: Buhari, let go of the service chiefs now

TRACKING______Faced with the worsening security situation, the citizens expect President Muhammadu Buhari to take more decisive steps to restore stability than his banal meetings with the nation’s service chiefs.

The president, again, recently held one of such meetings with the service chiefs over the rising state of insecurity in the country.

The meeting took place at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Asokoro, Abuja behind closed doors, with the six governors of the North-east, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, including several others in attendance.

The main point of the meeting was why Nigeria is still being severely challenged by insurgency and banditry despite all the efforts and resources already expended on them.

Added as a corollary was the point that to deal effectively with insurgency and banditry, there is the need for a more coordinated effort and a new strategy In this regard, the Governor of Katsina State, Alhaji Aminu Masari, commended Operation Sahel Sanity recently introduced by the military.

He said that there was a need to bring back the village security councils abolished about forty years ago to reinvigorate the fight against banditry in the areas under severe attacks.

He stressed the need to police the villages as it was in the past.

This means the devolution of powers to the local government councils which would need more funding for effective security policing of the village communities. Alhaji Masari also underscored the need for serious attention to be devoted to the education of children in the remote villages which had been neglected in the last four decades in the northern part of the country.

Finally, Governor Masari called on the security agencies to beef up security in the attacked villages to enable the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to return to their places of origin.

The call on the Buhari government to overhaul the security architecture of the country has been made time and again by different groups.

The National Assembly and PANDEF and others from the different segments of society have advised the president to no avail.

The practice of calling governors, security chiefs and agencies to a meeting after each sacking and displacement of communities and killing of law-abiding citizens by insurgents and bandits does not show commitment on the part of government.

This makes it difficult to defend the government against allegations that it is aiding and abetting insecurity in the country.

The National Assembly has urged the Executive Arm of government several times to remove the security chiefs and overhaul the security architecture of the country.

But the president is reported to have said that he does not want to change them because he trusts them.

How could the president desire and trust security chiefs on whose watch soldiers are ambushed and slaughtered like animals?

What kind of trust when under them the insurgency and banditry are spreading like wildfire?

Sometimes, the incompetence of the security agencies is blamed on lack of or inadequate funds to procure military software and hardware.

But the president admitted publicly that funds released ($2.1 billion USD) for the procurement of these equipment were embezzled by the officers in charge.

Are the security chiefs not part of the officers in charge who shared and pocketed the money as alleged by Mr. President? If they are, why is the president still retaining them?

We think that it is in the best interest of the president and Nigerians to remove the service chiefs and replace them with more competent officers. Besides, the tenures of the service chiefs have long expired.

The public service rules attach tenures to positions and offices. These security chiefs have long exceeded the 35 years of service provided for in the rules governing appointments and retirements.

Why retain them in the face of mounting insecurity, wanton killings by the insurgents and bandits?

By retaining the service chiefs, the president is flagrantly flouting the Civil Service Rules. Is President Buhari aware of this?

Is Nigeria still a country governed by law, rules, and regulations? To make matters worse, by refusing to retire, the security chiefs are selfishly stifling the promotion of officers qualified to be elevated to higher positions.

This has led to the loss of morale of the military which negatively impacts performance and professionalism.

Buhari should therefore retire the security chiefs, overhaul the security architecture of the country, promote officers due or overdue for promotion and boost the morale of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The democratic principles on which he ascended to office demand no less.

It is conventional to remove wartime army commanders when performance is poor.

We can recall the activities of the 3rd Marine Commando Division during the Nigeria-Biafra war when Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle had to be removed as commander to give room to then Colonel Olusegun Obasanjo to conclude the war.

There are many other examples from international scene.

It therefore runs counter to reason to keep the military high command in place when the men in charge seem to have run out of ideas on how to end the insurgency. Mr. President, let go of these tired service chiefs now!