Both the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila have withdrew the pressure being mounted on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the nation’s Service Chiefs over the lingering security crisis dodging the country.
Rising from a meeting they had with the President today, February 3, at the Presidential villa, Abuja, the leaders of the two chambers of the National Assembly, admitted that the sacking of the service chiefs would not possibly resolve the security challenges in the country.
Speaking to newsmen separately after the closed door meeting, one of them, Femi Gbajabiamila said: “opinions are divided; the generality of the opinion is that the service chiefs should go, that was evident in our debates in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, but sometimes you don’t want a knee-jack reaction.
“Many of us identify that something drastic has to be done. There’s also the school of thought that says since we are talking about banditry, kidnapping and murders, what have the armed forces got to do with that, anywhere in the world?
“So the question then arises that if he (President Buhari) changes the service chiefs, does that address the issues of kidnapping and banditry?
“The army, navy and air force are outfits set up to tackle external aggression. It is the police that is set up
for internal security, such as we are all witnessing.
“That’s talking about service chiefs. Has the Inspector-General of Police met up with his responsibilities? The question is if we now narrow it to the Inspector General of Police, many will argue that he has done a very good job and many will argue with you that he’s armstrung, straight-jacketed. There’s very little he can do in the face of no equipment, no funding and we explained to Mr. President that we have to increase funding, we have to recruit more.
“We are talking. Even just right now we have gone on to set up a committee that will periodically review the issue of security, maybe once a month or once in six weeks, which will involve the two arms of government and the party.”
This was even as the Senate President said that one of the numerous things they discussed with the President was the issue of service chiefs, adding: “we believe that it is imperative that we are able to provide those necessary equipment and welfare for the armed forces of this country and the police, to ensure that they are able to operate and performed efficiently and effectively.”
Senator Lawan said that President Buhari is more worried than anybody else about the growing insecurity in the country.
“So, we are on the same page that we should be able to do whatever it takes to ensure that the security agencies are able to perform better than they are doing now.”
He said that in matters of security, the leaders are supposed to lead but that when it concerns security, every single citizen matters.
“So it is for all of us, citizens and leaders to ensure that we are playing our part as it is necessary. But I believe that how the time has come, we have reached a tipping point that everybody in Nigeria is concerned about the security situation and therefore we are all prepared and that is why we have come to meet with Mr. President as leaders of National Assembly on behalf of our colleagues, to discuss the way forward.
“And of course, I believe that citizens participation is critical and crucial.”
The Senate President said that government is looking into technology in the way the security matters are handled.
“We don’t want to divulge everything discussed about security, but I believe that the issue of technology is important. “We need to minimize the casualties of our armed forces and therefore we need to apply technology and become more efficient.
“It is also critical that because we are dealing with human beings, you are asking the military, the police to go and fight insurgents, kidnappers and bandits, you also need to do something for their welfare. How do they live? where do they live? What is the condition of the schools for their children? And so on and so forth.
“So these are issues that are very important and could have very impact outcomes when we are able to do the right thing and we will do them.”
Desiderius Erasmus, the Dutch humanist and theologian who was also the leading renaissance scholar of Northern Europe, got it completely right when he aptly said that “war is delightful only to those who have had no experience of it.” There is also the African proverb that says, “he who wears the shoes, knows where it pinches.”
For President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired General of the Nigerian Army, he has worn the shoes of war and knows exactly where it pinches. And whereas millions of compatriots could afford to play politics with the war against terror, he is one of the last set of people to do so, because he did not, and still does not, find war delightful. In his prime, Buhari sacrificed it all to fight a battle to keep Nigeria as one. Let’s not forget that about a million lives were lost in Nigeria’s unfortunate civil war that was fought 50 years ago.
If he who knows what war in real terms means, who also knows more than everyone else the challenges the Nigerian military is facing in fighting the war against terror, insists on retaining the current crop of service chiefs, then there must be a reason. And knowing President Buhari very well, any dispassionate Nigerian could attest to the fact that the reasons must be very cogent.
If also, as President of Nigeria or any other country, you keep changing security or service chiefs on account of being asked to do so by mostly the opposition, then, in a four-year tenure you would end up with perhaps a hundred service chiefs. You can then be sure of reaping tons of chaos. And if you are the President of a vast country like Nigeria, who decides to pull the trigger just for the heck of it or because some people want you to do so, you would as well be the country’s undertaker, as the country would die in your hands and posterity would record you as a weakling who allowed himself to be negatively influenced and toyed with.
Permit me, from the outset, to make this categorical statement: I, for one, cannot dispute the fact that there are rising incidences of insecurity in Nigeria. Ten months ago, my grown-up daughter was kidnapped, and the family was fast losing all hope of ever reuniting with her, until the Nigerian Army intervened and rescued her without us paying a dime. Not to the kidnappers, not to the army personnel that rescued her, not to anyone else. It is a story I have narrated twice on these pages. So, I cannot deny that there are serious insecurity issues in Nigeria. But I also strongly feel it is uncharitable to fall for the temptation, as many compatriots are influenced to do, of condemning the security services, or in particular the service chiefs, just because that’s the narrative the bandwagon wants us to key in to. In my about 50 years of sojourn on planet earth, I have strived to always be my own person. I do not allow myself to be influenced by the bandwagon. And that’s how every Nigerian with any sense of dignity should be.
More than every other Nigerian, President Buhari knows the very reasons why the attack against the service chiefs is gaining more traction and momentum, more so in the last few weeks: First, some unpatriotic elements, for political and pecuniary reasons, have succeeded in dividing Nigerians along religious and tribal lines. There have been countless newspaper reports erroneously describing the service chiefs as coming from one religion and tribe. And in Nigeria, a country with the highest number of churches in the world, religion is good business.
Here, you see imams and pastors smiling to the bank every day. Some even own two or more private jets, all courtesy largely of their ability to manipulate members of their congregation. This is the truth nobody wants to hear, but denying it will not give it another name.
It doesn’t even take President Buhari to know that the distribution of the service chiefs is evenly spread between the south and the north, and between Islam and Christianity. The Chief of Defence Staff, who is the overall boss in the Nigerian military, is from the South. Same with the Chief of Naval Staff. Both of them are also Christians. On the other hand, the Chief of Army Staff and his Air Force counterpart are Muslims from the North.
If you want to be fair to President Buhari, you ought to discern that incidents of insecurity have been more pronounced in the North. So, even if the service chiefs are more from that region, there is little or nothing wrong because it is for strategic reasons. Countering guerrilla warfare, such as the one deployed by bandits and Boko Haram terrorists, entails an extensive knowledge of the local environment. That obviously also explains why the National Security Adviser and the army chief are both from Borno, the birthplace of Boko Haram. The air chief is also from the North-East.
The other reasons, much as some may deny it, have to do with the fact that many Nigerians from the South-West, the region that controls the media in Nigeria, are not happy that the government of the day had declared Amotekun, the local security outfit formed by governors of the region, as illegal. When the Attorney-General of the Federation made that declaration, a friend told me some hawks from the South-West would come up with something that would rattle the rest of Nigeria and force the rest of us into submission.
It cannot be lost to any discerning mind that attacks against the Buhari administration took a dimension for the worse after that infamous declaration, so much so that government was forced to meet with governors from that region on the same matter, during which some concessions were made. I am by no means blaming the South-West because that is what strategic planning is all about. If other parts of the country cannot see the wisdom in media investment, then they must be ready to have the national agenda set for them. For as long as the rest of the country remains aloof, the South-West will continue to dictate the tune for the rest of Nigeria, and we will have no choice than to dance to those tunes, good or bad.
Every week, the President receives intelligence reports showing the dangerous antics of some senior military officers, some of who erroneously feel the only reason they are not service chiefs is because the ones holding the offices are still very much there. Those ones sponsor negative newspaper publications and influence sermons in churches and mosques against the incumbent service chiefs, on one hand, and the President of the country, on the other. They feel that only by this wrong strategy would they pressure the government to drop the incumbent holders of the offices and have them announced as replacements. But this strategy only goes to show the narrow vision of those pursuing this dangerous path.
At most, only four people could be appointed service chiefs at any one time. And the President of Nigeria is at liberty to pick from hundreds of senior military officers, some of whom have never even dreamt or worked towards it, just as he did when appointing the current holders of the offices. Hardly does President Buhari appoint desperate seekers of political appointments, even career-based ones, like in the military. So, today, I have very bad news for those undermining the system in desperation to be picked as service chiefs: They will not succeed. If they want to bet on this, I am ready to do so with my last dime.
I also want to say that the existence of the current service chiefs has nothing to do with claims of stagnation in the various branches of the military. Even recently, hundreds of officers were promoted to the post of major-general and brigadier-general. The Chief of Army Staff even recommended to the President, who doubles as Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, the promotion of Lamidi Adeosun, a major general, to the post of lieutenant general, the same post held by the army chief. Welfare of troops is being improved, and, under the current service chiefs, especially that of the army that mainly constitutes the bulk of the military, not a dime belonging to those troops gets delayed in being paid. There was a time years back when troops were getting shortchanged. Under the current leadership, that has since become history.
There are reports that insecurity in Nigeria tends to increase because some of those desperate office seekers in the military deliberately sabotage the war against terror so as to cast the present holders in bad light. You may think that those engaged in this unpatriotic act would stop once the present crop of service chiefs are dropped. But they will not, inasmuch as they are not the direct beneficiaries. But there is no way President Buhari could pander to the wishes of some subversive elements and thereby destroy the armed forces. These are vested interests who are going to the ridiculous extent of undermining our security for personal aggrandizement. The intelligence services should do more to fish out all those commanders and senior officers that have not taken their job seriously, as well as those that make silly mistakes or encourage others to do so.
There are definitely many of them. And they should without delay be shown the way out. I was surprised that Senator Ebaribe was calling on President Buhari to resign from office, citing rising incidences of insecurity as the reason. But the distinguished senator failed to take into consideration the fact that if security failure is the only reason why a government, or a president should resign, then many presidents globally will not be in office today. Or they will have been forced out of office midway. Chicago, in the United States, is reported to have one of the worst records of killings in the world. But I did not hear anyone asking President Trump or any president before him to resign on that score.
Chicago has recorded more homicides and shooting victims than New York City and Los Angeles, combined. It has been the same in Johannesburg, here in Africa. When there are incidences of surge in insecurity, the citizens are not expected to use it as political tool against any incumbent president. They rather have a responsibility to help the security services with intelligence to nip the matter on the bud.
I dare say that if all the people of Maiduguri will today decide to end Boko Haram, it will come to an end. Sadly, as it is true from the very beginning, there are still people in that city who regard Boko Haram members as their own, and who still do everything to support and shield them. This is just the bitter truth.
Terrorists also thrive in publicity. I recall the Chief of Army Staff telling the management of Sun newspaper recently that terrorism will come to a total end in Nigeria if the country’s press want it to end. He said the press can ensure that by stopping the free publicity it inadvertently accords terrorists, by publishing their atrocities on front pages of our national and regional newspapers. Other countries, for example Turkey, was only able to nip the dastardly activities of PKK in the bud because its press are united in according that terrorist group only a scant mention in their papers and radio/TV.
It is true that Boko Haram has been defeated. More than everyone else, President Buhari knows this. But what we have are two issues: one, the remnants trying to appear to still be relevant by hitting mostly soft targets. And the second, the African wing of ISIS, called ISWAP, which has access to sophisticated weapons and foreign funding. Let’s not even forget that some countries are being accused of sponsoring insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria. A lot of Nigerians do not also seem to know that the entire annual budget of the three branches of the military is not even up to the budget of New York Fire Service. Nigeria failed to utilize the great oil boom days when Jonathan was President to acquire modern weapons that will have wiped out Boko Haram in no time.
Rather, contracts were allocated to stooges who ended up acquiring obsolete equipment from Ukraine and Eastern Europe. And even though President Buhari has as far back as 2015 promised to see to the end of Boko Haram, his ability has been hampered by inability to fully give the military the kind of funding it deserves. The money has been stolen, shared to politicians by the then National Security Adviser to prosecute the 2015 presidential election for the then government in power to be returned to office. Instead of holding those people responsible for sowing the seeds of our ruination today, we are busy chasing shadows and allowing partisan and religious considerations to rest the blame on the wrong doorsteps. Before we open our mouths to condemn the military, let’s try to find out the billions of dollars the United States spends in Afghanistan or Iraq alone. Or the several billions spent recently by the United Nations for peacekeeping in Mali. Yet, the war in Afghanistan is still ongoing, even if the Taliban has largely been defeated, just like Boko Haram here.
President Buhari has made it very clear that changing service chiefs during war is a dangerous strategy. Firstly, you are encouraging the terrorist by giving them the impression they are winning. Secondly, the transitional period of handingover and taking over will be used by terrorists to inflict damage from which we may not easily recover. If, for example, the right thing was done at the right time by previous administrations, Boko Haram that started with a ragtag army will have been obliterated since. But at a stage President Jonathan had a very erroneous feeling that Boko Haram was put up as an army to undermine his government, forgetting that the sect started fighting the Nigerian state at a time a northern Muslim, Yaradua, was president.
President Buhari, being a retired army general, is professionally competent to assess if his service chiefs are functional or not. Sacking of the service chiefs will not change anything considering the fact that those that are qualified to take over from them have all along been integral parts of the decision making processes. There is therefore nothing new they could offer, that they are not offering at the moment.
As for those citing our laws to explain that the tenure of service of the chiefs have since elapsed, they are either ignorant or have deliberately chosen to ignore the fact that when the country is at war, even elections – the fulcrum of democratic processes – can constitutionally be postponed.
The Nigerian legislature, which calls for the resignation or removal of the service chiefs, should not allow itself to be used by politicians that are at daggers drown with the current service chiefs, especially since the reelection of President Buhari to a second term of office.
In any case, the main reason insecurity has been on the rise in Nigeria is far beyond the reach of the military. Any discerning Nigerian knows the main cause of insecurity globally is poverty. This obviously explains why President Buhari is determined to lift one hundred million Nigerians out of poverty.
Our legislators receive the highest salary and allowances in the whole world. A good start is for the two chambers of the National Assembly to unite and do as little a task as slashing their humongous allowances even if by half. With that alone, millions of cottage industries would be established, and tens of millions of jobless Nigerians, some of who the terrorists readily recruit to unleash terror, will in no time be lifted out of poverty. There is even a suggestion that the National Assembly is trying to divert attention from Senator Abdul’Aziz Nyako’s grievous accusation that politicians are the real causes of insecurity in Nigeria.
Of course another way the legislators could help in stemming insecurity in Nigeria is for them to stop over stretching our police force, DSS and the military as their orderlies and security guards. Right now about half of our policemen are serving our politicians, most of them in the National Assembly. Yet, they have the temerity to talk about rising insecurity without removing the speck in their eyes to see that they too, are playing a major part in making it so.
If the service chiefs had failed, the federal legislators will not have found the peaceful atmosphere to engage in the kind of debate they did last Wednesday. Recall that until Buhari became President, Boko Haram was threatening to take over Abuja, with bombings right in the city centre, and in many other cities of the country. It is amazing we have forgotten so soon.
If Nigeria should die (which we don’t pray for), then hatred killed her. Done in by hateful hearts and lying tongues. People who hate others for no just cause, and they want to recruit you into the hatred binge. But I have news for them: I won’t inherit anybody’s enemy. Never! These people, filled with bile and malevolence, in the gall of bitterness and bondage of iniquity, are everywhere; worship houses, homes, offices, in the media (social media particularly), on talkshows, phone-in programs, the academia, anywhere and everywhere. They hate their country, its leadership, anything good, and I dare say, they even hate themselves. Last week, on this platform, I wrote on how the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) mixed bias with sympathy in its handling of the sad execution through decapitation of Rev Lawan Andimi, of Michika, Adamawa State, by Boko Haram. I stand by every word written in that piece. No apologies. The column last Friday generated a lot of ruckus from some quarters, and it was very revealing. Some of those that we call ‘men of God’ are nothing but ordinary men, subject to the frailties of the next man. But the standard of God remains sure, having this seal: God knows those who are His own. So, what am I really writing about? Haters, who want you to inherit their hatred. Those who have antipathy and animosity towards others, and who want to recruit you into their ranks. And when you don’t budge, the accusations are legion: he has sold his soul to the Devil. His god is now his belly (and what corpulent belly mine is!). What he would eat has rendered him blind to reason. And so on, and so forth. After all that, what? I simply tell them. No, I won’t inherit your enemies. I even join Timaya to sing: Leggo I can’t kill myself o I can’t kill myself Allow me to flex o This life I can’t kill myself Maka Chukwu I can’t kill myself o. Yes, if I begin to hate anyone at this point of my life, I am killing myself. I am swallowing poison. Hatred is poison. And you can’t swallow poison, and expect it to kill your neighbor. On Sunday this week, one female Christian leader tried to reach me. She didn’t get through. She then called my friend, Emmanuel Bello, a Christian from Taraba State, also serving in this government. What was her message, as conveyed to me later by Bello: “All you Christians, serving in this Muslim government…” Really? Muslim government. What a hateful heart! Sinister mind. Because the President is a Muslim, the government is a Muslim one. Is it a crime for a man to be committed to his religion? In the first cabinet assembled by President Buhari in 2015, Christians outnumbered Muslims by one, until James Ocholi sadly died, and he was replaced by a Muslim, which I believe was not a deliberate design. The number then became even. Yet, it is a “Muslim government.” I have always said it. God has placed Christians and Muslims in almost equal numbers in the country, and one faith cannot wish the other away. We must stay here and salvage it together. In almost five years of working closely with President Buhari, I have not seen the slightest hint of religious bias. I remember that first Christmas season in 2015. I had approached the President, telling him I wanted some days off, to be with my family at the Yuletide season. He told me: “The Vice President is a church person. You are also a church person. All of you Christians, go, we Muslims will stay behind. When you come back, I too will go for a few days.” We laughed. And that is the way it has been every year. Yet, it is a “Muslim government,” and the President doesn’t want to hear about Christianity at all. So I must inherit the enemies of those who lack understanding. I can’t kill myself o I can’t kill myself Allow me to flex o. It has got to a point that when I say anything, haters turn it upside down. They distort it, give it a negative slant, and post in the media. I say A, they scream: he said B, C, D. What is the intention? To generate hate and opprobrium towards me. I just laugh, and begin to pick my teeth. They do not know that on that Great Day, that awesome day, man will account for every careless word, including all evil rantings on social media. That Great Day is coming, that Great Day is coming , that Great Day is coming by and by… I have news for those who want me to inherit their hatred for President Buhari, because he is not of their ethnic group or of their religious persuasion. I have been following the man from 1984, when I was a third year student in the university. I became a Christian of the born again stock in 1988. It still did not change my opinion about Buhari. He was , still is, and will remain my hero. It’s not because I serve in government. I could have done without the job, and can still do without it, though it’s always a privilege to serve one’s country. But President Buhari will remain my man. Any day. It’s a futile exercise then to try to recruit me into the ranks of his enemies. No, I won’t inherit anybody’s enemy, because as weak a man as I am, I want to be a better Christian. I strive for it daily. If I falter and stumble, I rise up and get going again. Christianity has no room for hatred. I tell you, no matter the title you parade; Archbishop, Apostle, Prophet, Reverend, Founder, whatever. If you hate, that Great Day will fish you out. There will be great surprises on that day. Weeping and gnashing of teeth, because you hated your country, its leader, people of other religions, ethnic groups, and you even hated yourself. “Absolute and entire ugliness is rare,” says John Ruskin, the art critic and writer. Between last week and now, don’t think only the wailing wailers have had a field day. No matter their ululation on social media, they are still a tiny though vocal minority. Nigerians of goodwill have been in touch with me, offering solidarity and prayers. And they include bishops, clerics, Christian groups and associations. They see absolutely no malice in what I wrote. They equally know the vile effects of hatred, so they have encouraged me to stay the course, no matter the noise of the market. I must thank Philip Agbese, whom I don’t know, and never met. (Been trying to source his phone number, so I could express my appreciation to him). He wrote an article titled ‘Between CAN and Adesina; who is really wrong?’ Balanced, even-handed piece. I saw some malicious comments that I hired him to do the write up. Do you hire a person you’ve never met? I thank all people of goodwill, who have been able to truly divide the word. I bear no malice towards CAN leadership, I only stand by every word I’ve written and said. Hatred may kill Nigeria if we are not careful, and to think church leaders would be part of the culprits, makes me shudder. Resentment is a poor prop for anyone to lean on. But the leadership of Christianity in Nigeria is sadly manifesting resentment against a man who has only come to serve, and empty himself for the country. Nigeria is not there yet in terms of security, economic revival, fighting corruption, but we are firmly on the way there. I say it again. I have chosen the course I want to follow, and I have a right to it. Like Shakespeare wrote, if you hate me, I will always be in your mind. But if you love me, I will always be in your heart. And like Timaya sang; Many many years me I don dey go Still dem go say me I no dey try I can’t kill myself o I can’t kill myself…
. Adesina is Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Buhari.
Many big time companies and industries are currently closing shops in China as a result of the outbreak of CoronaVirus that has so far killed several people and affected thousands.
Apple today, February 1 said it is closing all its corporate offices, stores and contact centres in mainland China based on the latest advice from leading health experts. Oher companies, such as Starbucks and McDonald’s, have also temporarily shut stores in China. This is even as those which have not totally closed down their offices howeverother called for employees in China to work from home and avoid non-essential business travel. Sweden’s Ikea, Walmart and other companies have also restricted travel and operations. Many factories in Hubei province, including plants run by AB InBev and General Motors Co, have temporarily suspended production due to the virus. In a recent earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company was working out mitigation plans to deal with possible production loss from its suppliers in Wuhan. The city where the virus outbreak originated is home to several Apple suppliers. Source: Reuters
Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas has announced a cut in all ties with Israel and the United States, including security cooperation.
Abbas said that the peace plan unveiled by US President, Donald Trump on Tuesday was in “violation of the (autonomy) accords” launched in Oslo in 1993 by Israel and the Palestinians. He told an emergency Arab League meeting in Cairo, Egypt today, February 1 that Israel will have to “bear responsibility as an occupying power” for the Palestinian territories. The summit of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo was requested by the Palestinians, who responded angrily to the American proposal. The Arab League also rejected Trump’s controversial Middle East plan, calling it “unfair” to Palestinians. The pan-Arab bloc said in a statement that it “rejects the US-Israeli ‘deal of the century’ considering that it does not meet the minimum rights and aspirations of Palestinian people.” Abbas said that he told Israel and the US that “there will be no relations with them, including the security ties” following the deal that Palestinians say heavily favours Israel. There was no immediate comment from US or Israeli officials. The Palestinian leader said that he’d refused to take US President Donald Trump’s phone calls and messages “because I know that he would use that to say he consulted us.” “I will never accept this solution,” Abbas said. “I will not have it recorded in my history that I have sold Jerusalem.” He said the Palestinians remain committed to ending the Israeli occupation and establishing a state with its capital in east Jerusalem. Abbas said that the Palestinians wouldn’t accept the US as a sole mediator in any negotiations with Israel. He said they would go to the United Nations Security Council and other world and regional organisations to “explain our position.” The Arab League’s head, Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, said the proposal revealed a “sharp turn” in the long-standing US foreign policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “This turn does not help achieve peace and a just solution,” he declared. Aboul-Gheit said that the Palestinians reject the proposal. He called for the two sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians, to negotiate to reach a “satisfactory solution for both of them.” President Trump unveiled the long-awaited proposal on Tuesday in Washington. It would allow Israel to annex all its West Bank settlements – which the Palestinians and most of the international community view as illegal – as well as the Jordan Valley, which accounts for roughly a fourth of the West Bank. In return, the Palestinians would be granted statehood in Gaza, scattered chunks of the West Bank and some neighborhoods on the outskirts of Jerusalem, all linked together by a new network of roads, bridges and tunnels. Israel would control the state’s borders and airspace and maintain overall security authority. Critics of the plan say this would rob Palestinian statehood of any meaning. The plan would abolish the right of return for Palestinian refugees displaced by the 1948 war and their descendants, a key Palestinian demand.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has condemned the new immigrant visa restrictions imposed on Nigeria and other countries by the government of Donald Trump.
The group said,in a statement today, February 1 that three years after the initial ban, the administration is continuing and “expanding its scope.” “President Trump is doubling down on his signature anti-Muslim policy – and using the ban as a way to put even more of his prejudices into practice by excluding more communities of color,” the ACLU said in a statement. “Families, universities, and businesses in the United States are paying an ever-higher price for President Trump’s ignorance and racism.” Source:AFP
President Buhari and foreign minister Geoffrey Onyeama
Despite the announcement yesterday, January 31, by the United States of America, of immigrant visa suspension on Nigeria among other countries, the Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama is scheduled to lead delegation to the Nigeria-US Bi-National Commission (BNC) holding between Monday, February 3, and Tuesday February 4, in Washington DC.
A statement today, February 1 by the foreign affairs ministy’s spokesman, Ferdinand Nwonye, confirmed that the Minister would lead the Nigerian delegation to the meeting with the theme: “Mutual Prosperity through Innovation and Ingenuity.” “Deliberations at the session will focus on areas of mutual interest, including good governance and anti-corruption, trade and investment, development and food security and security and counter-terrorism efforts. “The Ministry wishes to recall that the Nigeria-US Bi-National Commission (BNC) was established in April 2010 in Washington DC as a platform for closer cooperation between both countries. “The BNC has continued to serve as a veritable mechanism for sustained bilateral high level dialogue to promote and coordinate diplomatic, economic, military, technical, cultural and social cooperation between Nigeria and the US.” Source: NAN.
Presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the 2019 election, Atiku Abubakar has appealed to the United States of America to unban the immigrant visa ban on Nigeria among other countries.
In a statement today, February 1, Atiku who said that he received the US message with sadness, gave reasons why such policy should be rescinded.
He stressed that the ban does not take into account the pro-American sentiments of the Nigerian public and the solidarity previous Nigerian administrations have had with the United States.
“I urge the government of President Donald Trump to consider the history of US-Nigerian relationships. Nigeria was one of the few African nations that joined the US led coalition during Operation Desert Storm in 1990-1991, when the United States championed the liberation of Kuwait.
“The Trump administration may also consider the pivotal role Nigeria, in partnership with the US, played in bringing peace to Liberia, an American sphere of influence, that now enjoys democracy because Nigerian blood and money paved the way for peace in that nation.
“Nigeria has also consistently voted in support of the United States and her allies at the United Nations and other multi-lateral world bodies. This is even as we are perhaps the biggest trading partner that the United States has in Africa, even where we had alternatives.
“Nigerians love the United States and have been a major force for the positive development of that great nation: 77 per cent of all Black doctors in the United States are Nigerians. Nigerians are also the most educated immigrant community in America BAR NONE. Surely, the US stands to benefit if it allows open borders with a country like Nigeria that is able to provide skilled, hardworking and dedicated personnel in a two-way traffic.
“The current Nigerian administration may have its deficiencies and deep faults, but the Nigeria people ought not to be punished for their inefficiencies.”
Atiku, who is Nigeria’s former Vice President, called on President Trump to consider adopting measures that individually target those in government who have failed in their duties, rather than target the entire Nigerian population.
“There are 90 million Nigerians under the age of 30 who require education, jobs, healthcare and social infrastructure.
“To put this figure in perspective, if this population were imagined as a country of its own, it would be Africa’s second most populous nation.”
These were the views of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, in a lecture he delivered today, February 1 at the National Defence College, Course .
Professor Osinbajo said that Nigeria is currently the 7th most populous nation in the world with an estimated population of over 200 million people, adding that in 30 years, “we will be the world’s third most populous country. After China and India. Nigeria is also a young country.”
He said that the main policy challenge which will shape the national security calculus both now and in the future is that of creating social and economic opportunity on a scale that not only matches the population growth rate, but also the aspirations of the youth.
Saying that the sole objective of man is to live, the Vice President said: “to live, he needs food, shelter, and clothing. To do so, he must have the means to earn enough. Where the means are unavailable, his natural instinct to survive brings about a desperation, an alienation from society which makes him potentially a risk to the security of the community, as he must then device ways to survive or to react against a system that he feels dehumanizes him/her by depriving him/her of a means of livelihood. “This is why the presence of a large young unemployed working age population is a threat to national security. The correlation between high levels of unemployment, poverty, crime and conflict has been exhaustively documented.
“In the context of a large multiethnic and multi-religious polity, the availability of a young population that is not productively engaged provides fodder for extremists, demagogues and a host of hostile non-state actors. “So, it is clear that our current security challenges are both a cause and consequence of socio-economic conditions. I say a cause, not the only cause. Improving human capital development, especially education, and providing more opportunities for earning a living, will reduce the numbers of young persons available for recruitment into the ranks of the Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists in the North East, and the bandits and other criminals around the country.”
Professor Osinbajo stressed however that the insurgency, banditry and other crimes are also harmful to economic activity. He noted that agricultural productivity in the North East and even parts of the North West and North Central have been hampered by terrorism and banditry.
“If you take a look at some of the figures, you’d see in those places, the production levels they recorded before insurgency and after insurgency. This has led to a situation where many are out of work.”
He argued that that unemployment is both a cause and consequence of poverty, adding: “the central question for us as a government is how are we addressing the challenges of creating wealth and opportunities? How are we addressing the problems of poverty and unemployment?”
Nigeria government has set up a committee to look into the immigrant visa suspension slammed on the country by the government of the United States of America.
A statement today, February 1, by the special adviser to the President on media and publicity, Femi Adesina confirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari established the committee in reaction to the US immigrant visa suspension which was announced yesterday, January 31.
He said that the Presidential committee is being Chaired by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.
The committee, according to Adesina, is expected to study and address the updated U.S. requirements.
“The committee will work with the U.S Government, INTERPOL and other stakeholders to ensure all updates are properly implemented.”
The U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had yesterday, announced temporary travel restrictions on six countries including Nigeria.
For Nigeria, the restriction is the suspension of the issuance of “immigrant visas” to Nigerian passport holders only.
This suspension shall come into effect on 21st February 2020.
It was confirmed that the suspension does not apply to other U.S visas such as those for official, business, tourism and student travel.
The DHS had said that the suspension of “immigrant visas” became necessary following a review and update of the methodology (performance metrics) adopted by the U.S Government to assess compliance of certain security criteria by foreign governments.
This resulted in certain enhancements on how information is shared between Nigeria and the U.S.
The statement from Adesina said that Nigeria remains committed to maintaining productive relations with the United States and its international allies, especially on matters of global security.
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Both the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila have withdrew the pressure being mounted on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the nation’s Service Chiefs over the lingering security crisis dodging the country.
Many big time companies and industries are currently closing shops in China as a result of the outbreak of CoronaVirus that has so far killed several people and affected thousands.
Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas has announced a cut in all ties with Israel and the United States, including security cooperation.
“There are 90 million Nigerians under the age of 30 who require education, jobs, healthcare and social infrastructure.
Here’re Reasons President Buhari Retains Service Chiefs
Desiderius Erasmus, the Dutch humanist and theologian who was also the leading renaissance scholar of Northern Europe, got it completely right when he aptly said that “war is delightful only to those who have had no experience of it.” There is also the African proverb that says, “he who wears the shoes, knows where it pinches.”
For President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired General of the Nigerian Army, he has worn the shoes of war and knows exactly where it pinches. And whereas millions of compatriots could afford to play politics with the war against terror, he is one of the last set of people to do so, because he did not, and still does not, find war delightful. In his prime, Buhari sacrificed it all to fight a battle to keep Nigeria as one. Let’s not forget that about a million lives were lost in Nigeria’s unfortunate civil war that was fought 50 years ago.
If he who knows what war in real terms means, who also knows more than everyone else the challenges the Nigerian military is facing in fighting the war against terror, insists on retaining the current crop of service chiefs, then there must be a reason. And knowing President Buhari very well, any dispassionate Nigerian could attest to the fact that the reasons must be very cogent.
If also, as President of Nigeria or any other country, you keep changing security or service chiefs on account of being asked to do so by mostly the opposition, then, in a four-year tenure you would end up with perhaps a hundred service chiefs. You can then be sure of reaping tons of chaos. And if you are the President of a vast country like Nigeria, who decides to pull the trigger just for the heck of it or because some people want you to do so, you would as well be the country’s undertaker, as the country would die in your hands and posterity would record you as a weakling who allowed himself to be negatively influenced and toyed with.
Permit me, from the outset, to make this categorical statement: I, for one, cannot dispute the fact that there are rising incidences of insecurity in Nigeria. Ten months ago, my grown-up daughter was kidnapped, and the family was fast losing all hope of ever reuniting with her, until the Nigerian Army intervened and rescued her without us paying a dime. Not to the kidnappers, not to the army personnel that rescued her, not to anyone else. It is a story I have narrated twice on these pages. So, I cannot deny that there are serious insecurity issues in Nigeria. But I also strongly feel it is uncharitable to fall for the temptation, as many compatriots are influenced to do, of condemning the security services, or in particular the service chiefs, just because that’s the narrative the bandwagon wants us to key in to. In my about 50 years of sojourn on planet earth, I have strived to always be my own person. I do not allow myself to be influenced by the bandwagon. And that’s how every Nigerian with any sense of dignity should be.
More than every other Nigerian, President Buhari knows the very reasons why the attack against the service chiefs is gaining more traction and momentum, more so in the last few weeks: First, some unpatriotic elements, for political and pecuniary reasons, have succeeded in dividing Nigerians along religious and tribal lines. There have been countless newspaper reports erroneously describing the service chiefs as coming from one religion and tribe. And in Nigeria, a country with the highest number of churches in the world, religion is good business.
Here, you see imams and pastors smiling to the bank every day. Some even own two or more private jets, all courtesy largely of their ability to manipulate members of their congregation. This is the truth nobody wants to hear, but denying it will not give it another name.
It doesn’t even take President Buhari to know that the distribution of the service chiefs is evenly spread between the south and the north, and between Islam and Christianity. The Chief of Defence Staff, who is the overall boss in the Nigerian military, is from the South. Same with the Chief of Naval Staff. Both of them are also Christians. On the other hand, the Chief of Army Staff and his Air Force counterpart are Muslims from the North.
If you want to be fair to President Buhari, you ought to discern that incidents of insecurity have been more pronounced in the North. So, even if the service chiefs are more from that region, there is little or nothing wrong because it is for strategic reasons. Countering guerrilla warfare, such as the one deployed by bandits and Boko Haram terrorists, entails an extensive knowledge of the local environment. That obviously also explains why the National Security Adviser and the army chief are both from Borno, the birthplace of Boko Haram. The air chief is also from the North-East.
The other reasons, much as some may deny it, have to do with the fact that many Nigerians from the South-West, the region that controls the media in Nigeria, are not happy that the government of the day had declared Amotekun, the local security outfit formed by governors of the region, as illegal. When the Attorney-General of the Federation made that declaration, a friend told me some hawks from the South-West would come up with something that would rattle the rest of Nigeria and force the rest of us into submission.
It cannot be lost to any discerning mind that attacks against the Buhari administration took a dimension for the worse after that infamous declaration, so much so that government was forced to meet with governors from that region on the same matter, during which some concessions were made. I am by no means blaming the South-West because that is what strategic planning is all about. If other parts of the country cannot see the wisdom in media investment, then they must be ready to have the national agenda set for them. For as long as the rest of the country remains aloof, the South-West will continue to dictate the tune for the rest of Nigeria, and we will have no choice than to dance to those tunes, good or bad.
Every week, the President receives intelligence reports showing the dangerous antics of some senior military officers, some of who erroneously feel the only reason they are not service chiefs is because the ones holding the offices are still very much there. Those ones sponsor negative newspaper publications and influence sermons in churches and mosques against the incumbent service chiefs, on one hand, and the President of the country, on the other. They feel that only by this wrong strategy would they pressure the government to drop the incumbent holders of the offices and have them announced as replacements. But this strategy only goes to show the narrow vision of those pursuing this dangerous path.
At most, only four people could be appointed service chiefs at any one time. And the President of Nigeria is at liberty to pick from hundreds of senior military officers, some of whom have never even dreamt or worked towards it, just as he did when appointing the current holders of the offices. Hardly does President Buhari appoint desperate seekers of political appointments, even career-based ones, like in the military. So, today, I have very bad news for those undermining the system in desperation to be picked as service chiefs: They will not succeed. If they want to bet on this, I am ready to do so with my last dime.
I also want to say that the existence of the current service chiefs has nothing to do with claims of stagnation in the various branches of the military. Even recently, hundreds of officers were promoted to the post of major-general and brigadier-general. The Chief of Army Staff even recommended to the President, who doubles as Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, the promotion of Lamidi Adeosun, a major general, to the post of lieutenant general, the same post held by the army chief. Welfare of troops is being improved, and, under the current service chiefs, especially that of the army that mainly constitutes the bulk of the military, not a dime belonging to those troops gets delayed in being paid. There was a time years back when troops were getting shortchanged. Under the current leadership, that has since become history.
There are reports that insecurity in Nigeria tends to increase because some of those desperate office seekers in the military deliberately sabotage the war against terror so as to cast the present holders in bad light. You may think that those engaged in this unpatriotic act would stop once the present crop of service chiefs are dropped. But they will not, inasmuch as they are not the direct beneficiaries. But there is no way President Buhari could pander to the wishes of some subversive elements and thereby destroy the armed forces. These are vested interests who are going to the ridiculous extent of undermining our security for personal aggrandizement. The intelligence services should do more to fish out all those commanders and senior officers that have not taken their job seriously, as well as those that make silly mistakes or encourage others to do so.
There are definitely many of them. And they should without delay be shown the way out.
I was surprised that Senator Ebaribe was calling on President Buhari to resign from office, citing rising incidences of insecurity as the reason. But the distinguished senator failed to take into consideration the fact that if security failure is the only reason why a government, or a president should resign, then many presidents globally will not be in office today. Or they will have been forced out of office midway. Chicago, in the United States, is reported to have one of the worst records of killings in the world. But I did not hear anyone asking President Trump or any president before him to resign on that score.
Chicago has recorded more homicides and shooting victims than New York City and Los Angeles, combined. It has been the same in Johannesburg, here in Africa. When there are incidences of surge in insecurity, the citizens are not expected to use it as political tool against any incumbent president. They rather have a responsibility to help the security services with intelligence to nip the matter on the bud.
I dare say that if all the people of Maiduguri will today decide to end Boko Haram, it will come to an end. Sadly, as it is true from the very beginning, there are still people in that city who regard Boko Haram members as their own, and who still do everything to support and shield them. This is just the bitter truth.
Terrorists also thrive in publicity. I recall the Chief of Army Staff telling the management of Sun newspaper recently that terrorism will come to a total end in Nigeria if the country’s press want it to end. He said the press can ensure that by stopping the free publicity it inadvertently accords terrorists, by publishing their atrocities on front pages of our national and regional newspapers. Other countries, for example Turkey, was only able to nip the dastardly activities of PKK in the bud because its press are united in according that terrorist group only a scant mention in their papers and radio/TV.
It is true that Boko Haram has been defeated. More than everyone else, President Buhari knows this. But what we have are two issues: one, the remnants trying to appear to still be relevant by hitting mostly soft targets. And the second, the African wing of ISIS, called ISWAP, which has access to sophisticated weapons and foreign funding. Let’s not even forget that some countries are being accused of sponsoring insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria. A lot of Nigerians do not also seem to know that the entire annual budget of the three branches of the military is not even up to the budget of New York Fire Service. Nigeria failed to utilize the great oil boom days when Jonathan was President to acquire modern weapons that will have wiped out Boko Haram in no time.
Rather, contracts were allocated to stooges who ended up acquiring obsolete equipment from Ukraine and Eastern Europe. And even though President Buhari has as far back as 2015 promised to see to the end of Boko Haram, his ability has been hampered by inability to fully give the military the kind of funding it deserves. The money has been stolen, shared to politicians by the then National Security Adviser to prosecute the 2015 presidential election for the then government in power to be returned to office. Instead of holding those people responsible for sowing the seeds of our ruination today, we are busy chasing shadows and allowing partisan and religious considerations to rest the blame on the wrong doorsteps. Before we open our mouths to condemn the military, let’s try to find out the billions of dollars the United States spends in Afghanistan or Iraq alone. Or the several billions spent recently by the United Nations for peacekeeping in Mali. Yet, the war in Afghanistan is still ongoing, even if the Taliban has largely been defeated, just like Boko Haram here.
President Buhari has made it very clear that changing service chiefs during war is a dangerous strategy. Firstly, you are encouraging the terrorist by giving them the impression they are winning. Secondly, the transitional period of handingover and taking over will be used by terrorists to inflict damage from which we may not easily recover. If, for example, the right thing was done at the right time by previous administrations, Boko Haram that started with a ragtag army will have been obliterated since. But at a stage President Jonathan had a very erroneous feeling that Boko Haram was put up as an army to undermine his government, forgetting that the sect started fighting the Nigerian state at a time a northern Muslim, Yaradua, was president.
President Buhari, being a retired army general, is professionally competent to assess if his service chiefs are functional or not. Sacking of the service chiefs will not change anything considering the fact that those that are qualified to take over from them have all along been integral parts of the decision making processes. There is therefore nothing new they could offer, that they are not offering at the moment.
As for those citing our laws to explain that the tenure of service of the chiefs have since elapsed, they are either ignorant or have deliberately chosen to ignore the fact that when the country is at war, even elections – the fulcrum of democratic processes – can constitutionally be postponed.
The Nigerian legislature, which calls for the resignation or removal of the service chiefs, should not allow itself to be used by politicians that are at daggers drown with the current service chiefs, especially since the reelection of President Buhari to a second term of office.
In any case, the main reason insecurity has been on the rise in Nigeria is far beyond the reach of the military. Any discerning Nigerian knows the main cause of insecurity globally is poverty. This obviously explains why President Buhari is determined to lift one hundred million Nigerians out of poverty.
Our legislators receive the highest salary and allowances in the whole world. A good start is for the two chambers of the National Assembly to unite and do as little a task as slashing their humongous allowances even if by half. With that alone, millions of cottage industries would be established, and tens of millions of jobless Nigerians, some of who the terrorists readily recruit to unleash terror, will in no time be lifted out of poverty. There is even a suggestion that the National Assembly is trying to divert attention from Senator Abdul’Aziz Nyako’s grievous accusation that politicians are the real causes of insecurity in Nigeria.
Of course another way the legislators could help in stemming insecurity in Nigeria is for them to stop over stretching our police force, DSS and the military as their orderlies and security guards. Right now about half of our policemen are serving our politicians, most of them in the National Assembly. Yet, they have the temerity to talk about rising insecurity without removing the speck in their eyes to see that they too, are playing a major part in making it so.
If the service chiefs had failed, the federal legislators will not have found the peaceful atmosphere to engage in the kind of debate they did last Wednesday. Recall that until Buhari became President, Boko Haram was threatening to take over Abuja, with bombings right in the city centre, and in many other cities of the country. It is amazing we have forgotten so soon.
Source: SUN news at www.sunnewsonline.com.