By Lateef Adebite.
President Muhammadu Buhari and Commander -In – Chief, C-IN-C, of the Nigerian Armed Forces appears to be waiting anxiously for May 29, 2023, to come in order hand over to the next government and retire quietly to his home town Daura, Katsina state.
The Katsina state born Nigerian President has expressed discontent over the multiple challenges of terrorism, banditry and kidnapping facing the country .The Nigerian President is worried that the government has ‘’ stretched the utilization of the security agencies and other resources’’.
Sheik Abubakar Gumi, a Muslim Cleric had said that the Buhari Administration had spent $16 billion to fight insurgency in the north east states of Borno, Yobe and banditry in the north west states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna and Katsina, the President home state and Niger, home state of Ibrahim Babangida, a retired Army General and former military President, with incommensurate results.
The Nigerian President may have taken advantage of the Launch of the National Crisis Management Centre, NCMC, at the state House on Friday, August 12, 2022, to speak out his mind. He had alluded to the fact that due to the security challenges facing the country, the office of Babagana Munguno, a retired Army General and National Security Adviser, NSA, had revised the National the National Counter-Terrorism Strategy, NATEST, which he had Launched in 2016.
Buhari, who could not hide his feelings had said that the newly Launched Management Doctrine is aimed at ‘’bridging the gap created by the extensive deployment of security agencies personnel through fostering collaboration amongst ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAS’’.
The Katsina state born politician, may have been satisfied with the works of of Munguno, the NSA, that he has asked him ‘’to continue to play his Coordinating role amongst crisis response stakeholders to achieve greater success’’. He had told those that cares to listen that ‘’the NSA , had developed the NCMD with the relevant MDAs, geared towards ensuring greater success in tackling insurgency and banditry in the country’’.
Sani Musa, a Senator of Federal Republic of Nigeria and an indigene of Niger state, home state and one of the worst hit by the Bandits Group killer gangs and the Islamicc tate of West African Province, ISWAP, based in Borno state may not have been amused by the Presidents’s outpouring of accolades on the NSA, who he had said had failed in his responsibilities of Coordinating the country’s various security and intelligence agencies to tackle the national crisis.
The Niger state born Lawmaker who is not happy that ‘’the insecurity situation in Nigeria had grown from bad to worse over the last seven years, under the close watch of Buhari’’, had blamed the NSA. The aggrieved Lawmaker had said that the insecurity situation is a bad advertisement to the country since the end of the three year-old civil war in 1970.
He noted that if Munguno, a retired Major General, described in military circles as a ‘’security strategists’’ and who incidentally was a former Chief of Defense Intelligence, CDI, had been alive to his duties as a top security Aide to the President, ‘’the continued killings and kidnap of people in Zamfara, Sokoto, Kaduna, Sokoto and Niger states, particular would have stopped.
The bandits terrorising the four north western states and Niger, former military President Babangida, home state, may have extended their attacks to Taraba, home state of Theophilous Danjuma, a retired Army General and former minister of Defense, during Olusegun Obaanjo Administration in the recent time. Only recently, the bandits who had attacked in Karekuka village of Gassol Local Government Area were said to have killed 13 persons.
It was also reported that no fewer than six Vigilante members were killed in the attack that lasted for hours without any presence of security agencies personnel around the scene. The bandits had attacked Garin Gidado Community in the Local Government Area last Sunday.
The Nigerian President had said that the planned 2023 population and housing census would give better structure to the government’s fight against poverty and insecurity. According to him, ‘’the dearth of sup-to-date information since the 2006 census has impeded the country’s National Planning.
In spite of pressure on the Nigerian President to apply mlitary force to facilitate the release of the remaining victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack by theAnsaru terrorists, a splinter Group of ISWAP and BokoHaram, on March 28, 28, 2022, who are still in the terrorists custody, but the Nigerian President had said that it may not be an option to use military force to rescue the remaining 31 Passengers.
The Nigerian President was said to have told Representatives of thevictims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack on Thursday, August 11, 2022, that the government will do everything within its powers ‘’to ensure that the return of the remaining passengers to their families’’.
