Memo To Defence Minister On Security Challenges

By Abba Dukawa

All eyes are now on retired Major General Bashir Salihi Magashi to consolidate the technical victory against Boko Haram insurgency and other security challenges facing the country. In the early stage of Buhari’s administration, Boko Haram suffered one loss after another until the authority boldly declared on national television that the militants had been “technically defeated”.
That “technical victory”, it is apparent, is fast becoming a Pyrrhic victory with the renewed wave of attacks by the insurgents on soft targets.

In a wave of attacks by various militant groups spanning a ten year period, families have lost their loved ones. Many women are now widows. Children have become orphans with no hope for the future. Many lives and properties have been lost and a large number of citizens rendered homeless. The latest security challenges facing the country are kidnapping and attacks.

During your ministerial screening in the Senate when reacting to a question by the Senate Chief Whip, Orji Kalu on the insurgency in the country, you have said the relationship among the service chiefs was not cordial.
“Regarding the issue of the service chiefs, in my own view, we are caught in a situation where you find out that each commander or service chief tries to please the nation.

“Anytime the service chiefs conduct operations, you find radio coverage that the Air Force has done this, the Army has done this; thank God we are not near the ports where we can see that the Navy is also involved.

“If the Navy was around here, then the three services would have been on the same collision course. In an ideal situation where I served as an ECOMOG commander, it was a single unit that was overseeing the needs, the aspirations, welfare of our troops in combat zones.”

You also elaborated that “In Nigeria today, what we call command structure is now being seen as weakness. We have almost disseminated all our forces and I do not think the current structure is a true reflection of the manpower requirement in this country. We only have divisions probably by name but I do not think we have the required manpower to man them”.

You added that to fight insurgency or general insecurity, the Army, Air Force, and the Navy should have a common troop working together and should not operate independently of one another with a need for a single commander who should take care of reinforcement, operations, change of troops, among other needs.

General, you had a wealth of experience in warfare having served as chief of staff ECOMOG in Liberia. What Nigerians expect is a military victory, not technical victory. Militants of all kind should be boxed into a corner where they will be forced to negotiate peace terms which should be devoid of the exchange of cash.

What you and the President need to do

The only action that will curb insecurity in the country is for services chiefs to relocate to the hotspot areas. The Chief of Army Staff has accused Nigerian soldiers of not being committed so he should permanently be in Borno, where he will coordinate his troops. The Chief of Defence Staff should have an annex office in Zamfara rather than sit in the comfort of his office in Abuja. The Chief of the Air Force needs to also be on his toes. We need a new paradigm in terms of methods and personnel to fit into the sophistication of these crimes.

Nigerians need to see a different approach in terms of choosing the right personnel to dispense with the responsibilities of safeguarding the country. The present Chiefs seem to have reached their nadir and the motivation to deliver the right modules for effective security is tellingly missing.

Some Nigerians have been saying that it is about time the President rejig his service chiefs. Let these tired chiefs leave the scene for more robust and result-driven younger minds that will come up with a new perspective on how to combat our insecurity challenges.
The army should be trained in counter-terrorism strategies and tactics, asymmetric warfare, and desert warfare. The Nigerian military has lost its morale due to overstaying in the battlefront, lack of proper medical attention, as well as poor salary and allowances.

Those within the ranks of the military who give controversial orders that impede efforts to crush the insurgency should be court-martialled and punished appropriately.
There is a need to reduce the shortage of security personnel by creating a National Guard and a Special Forces Unit tasked with the responsibility of protecting the Nigerian state from internal and external aggressors.

It is about time the President goes beyond mere sloganeering, and sprouts to action. We are tired of weather-beaten rhetoric that has become so repetitive and boring. For about eleven years, the country has had its own bitter taste of different kinds of insecurities which practically stalled development in many areas that have a direct impact on human capital development indices.

Finally, I am wishing you Allah’s guidance to witness real victory against all kinds of insecurities facing the country not “technical victory”.

Abba Dukawa can be reached at abbahydukawa@gmail.com