…Why attacks have accelerated — Military Source
…FG aloof, detached from reality on the ground — CSOs
…No time for blame-game — Sultan of Sokoto
…How to end insecurity — Imumolen
This week, terrorists of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) cranked up the game when they attacked troops of the 7 Guards Brigade, which provides security for the Presidential Villa and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The ambush, which happened in the late hours of Monday while the troops were on patrol along the Kubwa-Bwari Road in Abuja, caused palpable fears among many residents of the nation’s capital including the federal lawmakers.
Consequently, both members of the Senate and House of Representatives reacted by threatening to raise and issue an impeachment notice to the President, if the situation does not improve after six weeks.
To them, it is a worrisome reality that the violence and mayhem engulfing the entire country are getting closer to the country’s seat of power.
When terrorists blatantly confronted the Presidential Guards in an attempt to overrun them, the finest part of the nation’s military strength, all claims that the country is safe and secure fell face down as they were punctured by the reality of the attack.
More discomfiting is the fact that the attack claimed the lives of two officers and six soldiers and left many others dead.
According to security experts and public affairs analysts, the audacious militancy by the terrorists epitomises the collapse of Nigeria’s security architecture.
A serving army captain, who spoke to Saturday Vanguard under the condition of anonymity, described the ambush against the presidential guards brigade as sad, adding that it was avoidable if the military high command had woken up to the reality of a country and executed better operational planning.
“The recent attack on troops of the 102 guards was depressing. However, it could have been avoided. The unfortunate incident simply showed poor operational planning at all levels (of the security structure),” he said.
Admitting operational failure, the top brass of the nation’s Armed Forces, during Thursday’s National Security Council meeting assured President Muhammadu Buhari of adopting a new strategy to deal with terrorists and bandits who wreak havoc across the country.
Meanwhile, the army captain blamed the recent acceleration of the spate of audacious terrorism, banditry and kidnappings around the Federal Capital Territory on corruption within the circles of government and the military high command.
According to him, “The lack of political will to curb the menace and also the lack of commitment from the military high command are responsible for the recent acceleration of attacks by terrorists. Insecurity has become a big business in Nigeria.
“We can’t shy away from the fact that the nation has not overcome the challenge of mismanagement of the huge budgetary allocations to security. Most of the funds find their way to private pockets.”
The source pointed out that the Federal Government should allow the military to take the fight to the terrorists, stressing that the security agencies should be allowed to flush the terrorists out of Nigeria’s forests and border territories.
According to him, a state must have control over every inch of its own territory.
Frustrated by the situation, he said: “The government negotiates with the terrorists, sending delegates to discuss with them (in the forests). The most annoying part is giving them amnesty without asking them to disarm. In some places, soldiers are asked not to attack them (terrorists).”
On the other hand, embarrassed by the attack on the presidential guards brigade while they were returning from the Nigerian Law School in Bwari Area Council, the military killed over 30 terrorists the next day.
The military operation conducted by troops of 7 Guards Battalion and 167 Special Forces Battalion in conjunction with the air component of “Operation Whirl Punch” successfully cleared Kawu and Ido villages, neutralising the terrorists and destroying their enclave and hideout.
They also recovered six motorcycles, two AK47 rifles, and one fully loaded LMG magazine amongst others during mop-up.
Nevertheless, the announcement of the successful operation on Thursday coincided with another bloody clash between the military and the terrorists who attempted to breach the security near the Zuma Rock checkpoint along the Kaduna – Abuja highway around the country.
Early Friday morning, threats of attacks on FCT residents allegedly coming from the terrorists began to circulate via WhatsApp, prompting the police to release the Police District Contacts in all the districts of Abuja to the public through the same platform.
One of such threats reads, “No stop and search. Attention!!! Remember we warned you. Tomorrow, Friday is the D-Day.”
With hindsight, some civil society organisations say the Buhari administration has been primed for failure by refusing to act swiftly to events.
According to them, terrorism, insurgency, and banditry did not start under Buhari, however, they say it is to his eternal discredit that all have escalated almost beyond control on his watch.
The civil society groups say the major and persistent posture of Presidency officials has been to live in denial, and blame his predecessors.
They accuse him of not taking responsibility and failing to provide strong leadership either to his team, the security agencies or to Nigerians.
For them, President Buhari appoints a succession of unimpressive defence ministers and security chiefs, stressing that as some fail, he refuses to replace them promptly in line with global standards.
They also accuse him of rarely empathising physically with grieving communities as every other head of government does; his visits to afflicted communities are few, content with unemotional statements issued on his behalf by aides.
Speaking with Saturday Vanguard, the Executive Director, Adopt A Goal Initiative, Ariyo Dare Atoye, said: “Unfortunately, in all of this, President Buhari has continued to appear calm and aloof from the reality of the dangerous storms that have made landfall on our shores.
“The security situation in the nation’s capital territory has deteriorated to an embarrassing level, but not beyond the knowledge of the government in power, which has refused to act to the full extent of our law enforcement powers.
“It is becoming evident to Nigerians that terrorists and their sympathisers have infiltrated our security architecture, making intelligence gathering a shitshow.
“The threat of terror attacks in the FCT sends a wrong signal to the entire country and the International community, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty among the people.
“It is now difficult to dismiss insinuations that there could be an inherent plot to allow insecurity to fester to truncate the 2023 elections with the declaration of a state of emergency.”
The FCT Administration also seems to be aware of the people’s fear that Abuja is under siege, because, during the week, it swiftly ordered the immediate closure of all schools in the nation’s capital, citing the increased security threats by bandits in Abuja and its environs.
However, royal fathers and religious leaders are of the view that all stakeholders in the Nigerian project need to shun the blame game and rise together to prevent a total descent into anarchy.
At the valedictory/welcome dinner for the new/old presidents of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Abuja on Thursday night, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, said: “Just yesterday (Wednesday) 20 innocent souls drowned in Sokoto while running away from attacks by terrorists.
“The fact that we have been talking about insecurity should be enough for us to wake up, come together and face our challenges, because it will consume all of us, if we fail or if all we do is sit down and blame one another.
“Blame-game can never help anyone. The earlier we know the truth about this insecurity issue, the better for all of us.”
Recommending a practical solution, he said: “I think the issue of unemployment across the country is a time-bomb. So many youths who are hungry are hanging around and doing nothing. We know that a hungry brain is a very angry one. So, we have to find a way to take unemployment out of our lives.
“I will like to assure you that we have a lot to do together and will do our best with all honesty and sincerity and the fear of almighty God.”
Nevertheless, President Buhari needs to replace key security chiefs and source competent hands, because the anti-insurgency campaign cannot succeed without a coordinator and a realistic, intelligence-led strategy.
There should be a strategy, pooling all policing, intelligence, military, and political assets to defeat criminality and terrorism.
For the 2023 presidential candidate of the Accord Party, Prof. Chris Imumolen, the government’s war should be intelligence-led and technology-driven; noting that the failure of the domestic intelligence service is glaring and should be reformed.
“If we must conquer insecurity, we must tackle economic hardship, our unmanned porous borders, and we must begin to use technology, especially artificial intelligence to fight insecurity,” Imomulen told Our Correspondent.
VANGUARD
