By Okangla Stephen Peter
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Introduction
It is truism that the Armed Forces as established by section 217 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended 2011 is saddled with the following responsibilities as contain in section 217 (2) (a) (b) (c) (d) as follows:
- Defending Nigeria from external aggression;
- Maintaining its territorial integrity and securing its borders from violation on land, sea or air;
- Suppressing insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore order when called upon to do so by the president, but subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly;
- Performing such other functions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.
In view of these responsibilities, it is not out of place to submit that our safety and that of our properties in face of threat and danger is to be taken care of by the Armed Forces and other security agencies alike.
However, the pace at which insecurity runs in Nigeria is dreadful and alarming. The pace in which death flows is heartbreaking. It is as a result of these, that I submit that the military as a responsive Government Institution should be accessed and score by Nigerians and not the ‘Chief’ nor the president. It is self-evident that the chief of Army Staff is responsible to the president as his employee, but the president in turn is responsible to Nigerians.
No one can deny the fact that terrorism, banditry, Herders-Farmers clash and kidnapping has shown and expose the weakness and decay in our security architecture and a summary of the fact that things have gone out of hand.
More disturbing is the publicity, I read on social media almost every day how military dislodge and neutralize scores of terrorist in the North Eastern part of Nigeria only to read devastatingly how the members of Boko Haram and the breakaway Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) murder and kidnap military personnel and civilians alike. Similar situation prevail in Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina and Sokoto states respectively. In fact, Nigerians are at the mercy of these faceless criminals and terrorist. Truth be told, things are not getting any better, neither is the military doing well on security issues. The security of Nigeria have long been an eyesore and seems not to improve in any way.
Year in year out, billions of naira is voted into the defense ministry solely for the procurement of arms, military hardware and for welfare of military personnel in troubled zones but nothing significant seems to prevail.
Still, commanders at different location in North East Nigeria lament of poor weapons, soldiers and officers lament on daily basis of poor remuneration and welfare services. One of those who boldly came out to air his dissatisfaction is the former commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Olusegun Adeniyi who was seen in a video lamenting about poor military equipment which resulted in the loss of numbers of gallant soldiers and officers who dedicated their lives to serve their father land. Adeniyi equally condemn the military for poor remuneration of personnel which has resulted in no little to dampen their morale. It is evident that corruption has find its way in the military and has laid a solid foundation therein, as a result we now bear the pain and consequences.
The question that pops out of my mind is: who will rescue us? Who will savage this situation? Now that we have become lame at birth and thrown out of our houses by criminals, who will help us? Little wonder, that Corporal Martins was recently arrested and thrown into guard room for bemoaning military leaders for poor equipment and welfare packages for soldiers. The truth is that the spirits of these soldiers are broken and their moral dampen by what they see on daily basis.
Although, well-meaning Nigerians including former president Olusegun Obasanjo have in different times and at different occasion decried the decay and deterioration in our security space while calling for overhaul, review, rejig and restratagizing in order to defeat criminality and terrorism in Nigeria. However, all these pleas and suggestion fell on deaf ears which as a result have further claimed the lives and properties of vulnerable Nigerians. Our roads are not safe, our farms are not safe, no place is safe. Nigerians are murdered on daily basis by members of the Boko Haram sect, Bandits, Kidnappers and Herdsmen. Just recently a bank was rubbed in Kogi state and scores of policemen lost their lives, till date no trace of the robbers nor their whereabouts was reported.
Only recently, the chief of Army Staff Lt. General Tukur Buratai in statement marking their five year stay in office said they (service chiefs) have not failed the president neither have they failed Nigerians.
However, I see this statement as a confrontation, embarrassment and a mockery on Nigerians who sleep with one eye close, whose source of livelihood is rustled and taken, whose only companion is the inimical sounds from guns and the terrible explosions from Improvise Explosive Devices (IEDs). With due respect sir, your work is commendable but the output is not productive, it is the reverse of our expectation. We are sitting on gun powder sir.
In a nutshell, all Nigerians know the state of our security architecture and need no military Czar to tell them. Nigerians are in no doubt in better position to access ad score the military and other sister security agencies. Nigerians are the leg in the shoe, they are the victims of the fractured security structure. Just as the Latin maxim states: Nemo judex in causa sua: No one is Judge in his own case. I therefore submit that the chief of Army Staff Lt. General Tukur Buratai should not tell us they are doing well but allow Nigerians access their paper and score them.
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Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe Esq., ACIarb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
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