Angered by the worsening insecurity in Nigeria, federal lawmakers across party lines Wednesday called for immediate removal of all the service chiefs.
This is as the Senate, through resolutions, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare a national security emergency and also summoned the Inspector General of Police Mohammad Adamu to appear before it in plenary next week Wednesday on the modus operandi for community policing.
The red chamber also set up a 17- member Ad-hoc Committee to interface with all security agencies for way out of the security challenges at hand and report back in two weeks.
These were fallouts of a six-hour exhaustive debate following a motion sponsored by the Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi and supported by 105 others.
During debate on the motion titled: ” Nigeria Security Challenges: Urgent need to restructure , review and reorganise the current security architecture,” many of the lawmakers who contributed, called for immediate removal of the Service Chiefs by President Buhari for allegedly running out of ideas.
The Service Chiefs in question are Chief of Defence Staff General Abayomi Olonisakin, Chief of Army Staff Lt- General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, Chief of Air Staff Air Vice Marshall Sadique Abubakar and Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Etuk Ibos Ibas, who were all appointed in July 2015.
The debate
First to contribute to the debate was Senator Betty Apiafi (PDP Rivers West), who said the realities on ground as far as worsening security situation is concerned, showed the security chiefs have run out of ideas.
“The service chiefs may have put in their best at the beginning in 2015, but since last year to this moment, it has been diminishing returns from them in terms of performance and results on the war against terrorism and armed banditry.
“They have no doubt overstayed their welcome. They should leave the stage for younger officers to come up with fresh ideas and vigour required for the war”, she said.
Similarly, Senator Adeola Olamilekan (APC Lagos West), called for removal of the service chiefs saying “the realities on ground clearly indicate that they have overstayed their welcome.”
The embattled service chiefs were further slammed by Senator Elisha Ishaku Abbo (PDP Adamawa North), who said Nigeria had never had it this bad as far as problem of insecurity is concerned.
“Things have deteriorated security wise and the service chiefs seem not to have solutions to them despite the N4.5trillion spent on the military between 2012 and 2019.
“There is serious grumbling within the rank and file of officers across the three outfits in the military largely because of the retention of the service chiefs after expiration of their years in public service.
“The truth must be told, silence is no longer golden, the service chiefs should quit the stage for fresh hands to come up,” he said.
Similar calls were made by Senators Emmanuel Bwacha, Bamidele Opeyemi, Sani Musa, Abba Moro, Mathew Urhoghide, Rochas Okorocha among others.
Division over state police
However, the issue of state police divided the senators during the debate as many of the lawmakers from the South, supported it while most of their counterparts from the North opted for community policing.
Senators who argued for establishment of state police as possible way out of the security mess are, Ibikunle Amosun ( APC Ogun Central), Oluremi Tinubu ( APC Lagos Central), Adeola Olamilekan ( APC Lagos West), Olubunmi Adetunmbi ( APC Ekiti North), Smart Adeyemi ( APC Kogi West), and Ibrahim Shekarau( APC Kano Central) etc.
Those who kicked against it on the ground of possible abuse by state governors are, Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege, Senators Adamu Aliero ( APC Kebbi Central) , Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf ( APC Taraba Central), Danjuma Goje ( APC Gombe Central ) and Gabriel Suswam ( PDP Benue North East).
Abaribe’s call on Buhari
Earlier at the beginning, the debate almost assumed party colouration when Minority Leader Enyinnaya Abaribe in his contribution called for resignation of President Buhari, saying Nigerians would soon be stoning those in positions of authority for bad governance.
But Senate President Ahmad Lawan called him to order and appealed to all senators to address the issues as statesmen and not politicians.
The 17- man Ad- hoc committee set up for further interface with security agencies within the next two weeks, is headed by Senate Leader Abdullahi while the minority leader and 15 others would serve as members.
Some of the members are Senators Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, Ali Ndume, Kashim Shettima , George Sekibo, Stella Oduah, Bala Ibn Na’Allah , Ibikunle Amosun , Gershom Bassey among others.
…Reps too
At the Lower House, similar calls were made for the resignation of all teh service chiefs over the rising spate of insecurity.
The resolution followed a motion by Hon Abubakar Fulata (APC, Jigawa) that the chiefs of staff of the nation’s military have failed on their mandate.
The lawmaker said doing same thing over time without change in strategy would always yield same result, and to expect something different is “insanity.”
“Whether their tenures have expired or not, they should resign,” Fulata said.
Presidency
And in a sharp reaction, the Presidency Wednesday’ described Senator Abaribe’s call on President Buhari to resign as one of his stray comments.
A statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu said the senator’s call did not represent the opinion of the country.
The statement reads: “Just because some characters think that President Buhari should resign, then they expect him to quit. That call does not represent the opinion of the country. This is the opinion of an arm chair critic, known for making stray comments.
“If a leader like President Buhari needs to resign, there are millions of other Nigerians who need to resign, including Senator Abaribe, who unlocked the door to enable the escape of traitorous and treasonable suspects.”
“He signed the bond for the court to release Nnamdi Kanu on bail, from which moment the suspect disappeared into the thin air. Senator Abaribe has failed repeated deadlines to return Kanu to the court for trial, yet he has the effrontery with which to accuse someone of failing to the bidding of the law.
“This is a man who should have replaced the suspects he failed to produce in the correctional facility.
“Abaribe’s party raped the nation and left it collapsing in 2015 and President Buhari is fixing things up all the years he is in office.
“President Buhari is working hard to keep Nigeria and Nigerians out of the harm terrorists have unleashed in the entire Sahel and Sub-Saharan Africa with the support of Nigerians and our foreign friends, he is going to finish off these terrorists. He alone can’t do it.”
…PDP
However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed support for the position of the NASS on Buhari to sack the service chiefs.
PDP National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan in a phone chat with our correspondent Wednesday said the call was part of the agenda the party set for the lawmakers.
Ologbondiyan said: “We have always said and we also set the agenda for National Assembly. PDP stand remains the same, President Muhammadu Buhari should re-jig the security architecture to put an end to insecurity.”
Similarly, in statement by Ologbondiyan, PDP said: “The comments by President Muhammadu Buhari expressing surprise at the heightened insecurity across the country as defeatist, demoralising and traumatising.
“By this comment, President Buhari has displayed a disheartening dereliction of duty, directly admitted that he is overwhelmed and lacks the required capacity to articulate and implement any solutions to the escalated insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, bloodletting and increased wave of violence under his administration.”
“The PDP notes that such development has further eroded the confidence Nigerians repose on the Buhari Presidency for solutions, especially given his failures to re-jig his security high command in the face of failures and demands by well-meaning Nigerians.
“The party therefore backs the call by the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, asking President Buhari to resign,” the party further said. .
APC chieftain supports call
Also, in a telephone interview with Blueprint in Kano, a renowned chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Anas Abba Dala, said the service chiefs lacked any justification to remain in office.
He said Nigerians were not satisfied with their performance as the rising spate of criminal exploits was at its high ebb, saying “in time of precarious combat situation, there is the urgent need for a periodic change of guard.”
The party leader however stated that the service chiefs to be appointed by the president should come from the areas worst hit by the insecurity.
Speaking in the same vein, a prominent political analyst in Kano, Alhaji Aminu Idriss Fagge said the federal government should not only stop at effecting such a change, but to also increase the funding to the military and its personnel for proper welfare.
He also called for the beefing up of the nation’s military arsenal in tune with modern reality.
The analyst said: “It is a common trend all over the globe that in a complex security situation, those at the helm of security affairs are often removed from their respective posts, to pave the way for the new blood to test their efficacy. Allowing them to over stay would ultimately make the system archaic.”
ADP
Also, the opposition Action Democratic Party (ADP) joined call for the sack of the top security brass, saying Nigerians were already living in fear
National Chairman of the party, Engineer Yabagi Yusuf Sani, in a statement Wednesday in Abuja, said the service chiefs had failed to deliver on their mandate in spite of the unprecedented financial and moral support from the federal government.
He said: “History does not remember Generals but Kings”; the embarrassing inexplicable breakdown of the nation’s security architecture under your watch if not halted would become an undoing of your administration not the record of service of your Service Chiefs.
“A case in point is the recent reign of terror by suspected bandits and herdsmen on innocent citizens in some parts of Plateau, Niger, Benue, Kaduna, Zamfara, Edo and Katsina states.
“We wish to draw the attention of His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR that at this critical period in our nation’s history where insecurity occasioned by incessant cases of kidnappings, banditry, communal clashes is at its peak, there is an urgent need to sack the current Service Chiefs and appoint a new set of security Chiefs whose vibrancy and fresh ideas will yield the desired result.”
…Other Nigerians speak
This is a good and grand protest from the National Assembly. Let’s now wait and see whether the government will act appropriately but I doubt because of the antecedents. Adedeji Ogunlana, a call center agent.
To say the truth, I am in support of this call. Politics apart, Nigerians are dying. Even as a member of APC I won’t join the bandwagon and not wait any longer. The moral of our military men is very low. These service chiefs have ran out of idea and the insecurity is getting worsening each day. Abubakar Muhammed, a school proprietor
In a developed world, the failed service chiefs shouldn’t have waited until a rubber stamp National Assembly call for their resignation; they (Service chiefs) would have quite. I have never seen a country like this when things are going wrongly and nobody seems to say anything. Idris Avaore, Motor spare parts trader.
If the president refused to retire them he should be impeached but this set of rubber stamp NASS don’t have such courage. Ambrose James, a student.
