A veteran journalist, Mr Folorunsho Atta, has urged the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to, as a matter of urgency, rejig the security sector or sack some of the heads of security as a gift to Nigerians to mark the forthcoming June 12, Democracy Day.
It will be recalled that a former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, annulled the June 12, 1993 Presidential Election, which many adjudged as the freest and fairest election ever witnessed in Nigeria.
The annulment led to massive protests. The date is now tagged as Democracy Day in Nigeria, earning it even a public holiday.
According to Atta, the troubling insecurity wave across the Nigeria, does not only need a rejig of security ecosystem, but also a drastic measure, which can be done by Tinubu sacking some security chiefs and heads of security units, to serve as a special gift to Nigeria to mark the June 12 anniversary.
Atta, while commending the president for some of his economic reforms, opined that such reforms were beginning to yield fruit, stressing that much needed to be done in the area of security.
He said: “Armed hoodlums are holding virtually all Nigerians by the jugulars. The security agents are overwhelmed by bandits, kidnappers and terrorists. The heads of security agencies, daily, look the other way as if it’s a normal thing for bandits and other violent criminals to hold the people hostage. There must be a paradigm shift from the gory stories, which Nigerians are inundated with these days. The situation is getting worse day by day without those in authority blinking an eyelid with worry or anxiety.”
Atta opined that the reason the security situation in Nigeria has become abysmal is not unconnected with the calibre of persons appointed to lead the security agencies.
His said that a situation where a top security job is given to an in-law or a former boy without putting into consideration if such a person will perform optimally, will only end in a total failure!
He disclosed that if a man is appointed based on experience, credibility, integrity and pedigree, such a public officer will surely deliver.
He added: “I recommend that within the security agencies, such as NSCDC, DSS, Police, Army, Airforce and Navy, there should be a mass retirement of top officers, no matter whose ox is gored. Nigerians are getting disenchanted with the spate of killings every day in different parts of the country.
“Why would a head of security organ be running to the homes of Babalawo in Awori and Ijebu lands because he wants to retain his job? If such a person is proactive, he should have gone to the Babalawo to find solutions to the rampaging of killers and other hoodlums in the country. Most of these security chiefs and heads of security units lack ideas. This is one of their major problems. President Tinubu must do something drastic and urgent.”
He told Securitynewsalert that, except the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Gen Olufemi Oluyede and President Tinubu, for the sake of Nigerians, must sack all heads of security who do not perform a year after such a person was appointed.
He maintained that there must not be an excuse because these security heads have failed in the onerous task they were saddled with on their appointments.
Furthermore, Atta disclosed that most of the security chiefs have failed in their duties to respond decisively to security breaches and emergencies.
He stated: “Arresting pick-pockets termed bandits by some of these security heads is unacceptable to us as Nigerians. They must perform to our delight, or else, the option is for the president to sack them.
“If you look critically at the files of some of these appointees, you will agree with me that they never passed through sensitive sections within their organisations before they were picked as heads of our security agencies. The result is the maiming and killings we are witnessing these days in our dear country.”
According to Atta, under the leadership of the current heads of Nigerian security agencies, not only have corruption, ineptitude, and indiscipline become the order of the day, but these security chiefs have also failed to de-escalate the insecurity situation.
He said a case in point with regards to corruption was the recent arrest of 18 soldiers, 15 policemen over the supply of arms and ammunition to terrorists and other non-state actors.
Atta disclosed that several million Naira were discovered in the private accounts of these unpatriotic elements.
“If we are serious about fighting banditry and terrorism in our nation, shouldn’t some people at the top be held responsible for the lack of supervision? If President Tinubu takes the bull by the horns today to sack some of the security heads, the jubilation from their subordinates nationwide will not only save the President from embarrassment but will also be a panacea to insecurity. The President has to do the needful,” said Atta.
