Despite high spate of insecurity and growing calls for the sacking of service chiefs, President Muhammadu Buhari delivered what appeared to be a vote of confidence on the country’s security apparatus.
The president recognises the need for reengineering of the nation’s entire security but insists that he along with the Service Chiefs is doing a lot to handle the insecurity in the northwest and north-central state.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, who briefed journalists on Tuesday after the President’s meeting with the service, said that Buhari appreciated the efforts being made by the chiefs to tackle the security challenges.
According to NSA, “The President said to the Service Chiefs, ‘you are doing your best as far as I am concerned but there is still a lot more to be done. I am more concerned about the promise we made to the larger Nigerian society and I am ordering an immediate re-engineering of the entire security apparatus.”
The President’s position is coming against calls for their sack by Nigerians which got additional impetus with the call by the Nigeria. Senate for the sacking of the service chiefs to bring fresh people with fresh ideas, as whatever the incumbent chiefs are doing are not working.
According to a report by Premium Times from the meeting, the NSA said President Buhari ordered the security chiefs to reorganise their strategies.
“He has also directed that we must rejig our strategies both in terms of operations and intelligence. We must rejig our strategy to prevent further catastrophe; that we must bear in mind that we owe a duty that elected his government and at the end of the day, without securing the nation, all other things like revamping the economy and fighting corruption cannot be addressed.”
Monguno also said the defence minister, Bashir Magashi, is currently working on a strategy that will help resolve the security challenges across the country.
The NSA said, “Based on the marching orders given to us by the president form the last time till now, basically, these are operational matters that are best dealt with by the Minister of Defence.
“I know there is something he is working on which has led to this meeting being delayed slightly because it was actually supposed to take place before the sallah break but I think one or two things have come up which I don’t want to disclose but I want Nigerians to be comfortable that something is being done since the last marching order.”
The meeting was third National Security Council meeting in 2020 chaired by President Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja,
Monguno said that apart from the security situation in the country, the issue of drug addiction and trafficking was high on the agenda of the meeting, saying that the government is concerned that Nigeria has moved from a transit hub to a drug production centre.
He noted that 17 meth labs were recently shut down in the country and called for a wholesome national approach to stopping the drug menace.
The minister said, “We considered the widespread use of these substances and their dangerous impact on our socio-economic situation. I also briefed on the security situation in the North-West and North-Central, looking at kidnapping and banditry in killing of innocent people. The Service Chiefs and Inspector General of Police also gave their various synopsis on what their outfits are doing on the matter.
“For the issue of drug trafficking and abuse of same, I told the council that this has taken a worrisome dimension because Nigeria’s perception in the drug trafficking index has changed from the status of a transit hub to a production centre,”
On the recent attack on the Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum and his convoy, and the accusations of sabotage in the war on terror by the governor, the minister said he was displeased with the situation and that the governor would be attending the virtual NGF meeting the same day after which a more a more concise picutre picture the matter be given.
The meeting was attended by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, and the National Security Adviser, NSA, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd).
The Service Chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar were all in attendance.
