*Says authorities must go beyond issuing threats
*Declares everyone is vulnerable
*On PDP crisis, vows to bring party together under a formidable umbrella
Chuks Okocha, Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja and Hammed Shittu in Ilorin
Presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, said killings by raiding assailants and general insecurity across the country had continued unabated because culprits from previous incidents were left unpunished, and this naturally generated more criminals.
Atiku said the situation might remain, except the authorities went beyond mere issuance of threats to actually punish those behind the killings. Arguing that not dealing decisively with the killers creates an atmosphere for others to plan future attacks. He declared that with the current state of the country, everyone was vulnerable.
But the former vice president believed the fate of the country depended on happenings within the main opposition party, saying when PDP gets better, hope for a better Nigeria is rekindled.
In a related development, the military high command, weekend, said it would take appropriate steps to address the issue of ambushment of soldiers, which had hindered military operations in the North-west and North-east over the years. It stated that in spite of the ambushing of troops by terrorists, the military had been able to roll back insurgent activities, forcing them to surrender in their thousands.
The military attributed the recent Shiroro attack to difficult terrain.
Posting on his verified Twitter handle, Atiku, who reacted to recent attacks on security personnel in some parts of the country, also stated that the conflicts in PDP had provided an opportunity for the party to not just come together, but also get stronger together.
He stated, “The attacks in Niger and Taraba states that led to the loss of scores of lives of soldiers, police personnel and civilians are worrisome. This is yet another attack that further exposes how vulnerable we are.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased, even as I condole with the Nigerian military and the Nigeria Police. –AA.”
But when THISDAY exclusively approached the former vice president to expatiate on the security situation and the options before the country, he said, “The key to ending these spate of attacks on our military formations, from the point of view of civil authority, is to end impunity.
“These killings keep recurring because previous killings have not been punished. We need to go beyond the rhetoric of mouthing that those behind these killings will face the full wrath of the law.
“The fact remains that those behind such previous killings have not been dealt with. That is why these killings keep happening, and even as we speak, these belligerents are likely planning future killings. So, we must end impunity. That is one.
“Secondly, from a military standpoint, I am of the view that the president should not talk at the military. Quite the opposite. The holder of that office has to listen to them. They know their strengths and weaknesses. They know better than anyone the threats facing Nigeria. They know where the shoe pinches.”
Atiku said, if elected president next year, “I intend to listen to them and provide them with everything they need. To that end, our soldiers have to be motivated. And I am not just talking about their wages. They have to know that their lives are important to their Commander-in-Chief.
“Under my watch, such losses of lives will be minimal. However, where even one soldier is killed, it is the duty of the C-in-C to personally empathise with their families, so, those left behind are motivated, because they see that their service to the nation matters.
“If you join the military, you should have financial and social security. At the barest minimum, if you die in service, then your family becomes the responsibility of the federal government.
“Our troops need the right leadership, the right weaponry, and the right conditions of service. When our military know that the nation and the C-in-C are behind them, these incidents of insecurity will also soon be behind us.”
In yet another statement, Atiku, while addressing current concerns in the party, said, “ when party gets better, hope is higher, Nigeria’s rescue is imminent.”
He called for a united party, adding, “As a presidential candidate of the PDP, I shall ensure that I do my all to bring the party together under a formidable umbrella.
“We must not lose focus of the bigger purpose of rescuing the country from the hardship that fellow Nigerians continue to endure under the ruling party.
“One of the characteristic attributes of democracy that I admire a lot is that it is a system with an intrinsic asset of crisis management. It becomes even interesting that, perhaps, the most noteworthy outcome of a democratic process is the greater possibility of conflict generation.
“So, a remarkable lesson that I have learned in politics is that in some instances, conflicts are healthy realities. I know, for instance, that when conflicts arise out of genuine concerns about having an inclusive political process, it signposts the viability of that process and, more importantly, the eagerness of stakeholders to be active participants in the success of such process.
“As leaders and stakeholders in the Peoples Democratic Party, the simmering agitations in our party are a reflection of our credential as a democratic party. Whatever our agitations are, I believe it is borne out of a collective concern for the growth of our party and the country. Therefore, I don’t see a divided house in the PDP. I see an opportunity for us to come together stronger and united.”
‘Military Taking Steps to Tackle Troops’ Ambushment, Killing’
Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya, at the weekend, vowed to track down the terrorists behind the killing of troops in Shiroro, Niger State.
Speaking in a chat with THISDAY, Director, Defence Information (DDI), Maj. Gen. Jimmy Akpor, who admitted that the military suffered casualties in Shiroro, attributed the development to the difficult terrain, where the attack took place.
Akpor stated, “It is not a conventional terrain, where you know what is where. If the road is not good that you cannot traverse within 30 minutes and, instead, takes two hours and your vehicle is a marked military vehicle and it is a difficult terrain.
“And if you receive a distress call, you have to respond, which was what happened. It is unfortunate we suffered casualties but it’s because of the difficult terrain, bad roads. A bitter lesson learnt, moving forward, we will find appropriate measures.”
Some security experts also spoke with THISDAY on ambushment of troops in Niger State and the North-east.
Assistant Regional Vice President, ASIS International, th world’s largest association of security management professionals, Dr. Kabiru Umar, said poor operational planning was responsible for the persistent ambushment.
Umar said, “There have been numerous cases of ambush of military and other security convoys in all parts of the country. These ambushes occur against well-protected military and other security convoys, who are travelling between locations for either routine duties or for special missions and on convoys that have been deployed for reinforcement following distress calls involving civilians or other security personnel.
“These are some of the reasons for the ambushes: poor operational planning and operational security that does not guarantee the security of the operation. These may be because of poor intelligence, a non-secure means of communication (our troops still communicate via GSM lines), fifth columnists that have infiltrated the rank and file, unaddressed grievances that provide incentive for sabotage, and no visual oversight of the mission.”
He also identified, “Defective intelligence that did not properly situate the capacity and capability of the enemy thereby not properly informing the mission of the likely expectations in terms of the strength of the adversary and dominance within the threat environment.”
Umar explained that the key to preventing further ambushes included correcting the above lapses.
“Technology can be force multiplier and a quick win towards solving both challenges,” he added.
In a similar vein, Executive Director, Rule of Law Accountability and Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Mr Okechukwu Nwangwuma, said the military had failed to deploy resources appropriately.
According to Nwangwuma, “It is scandalous that in spite of huge budgetary allocations and huge borrowings ostensibly to equip the military and strengthen the operational capabilities of the security forces to tackle terrorists and bandits, who are daily kidnapping and killing Nigerians across the country, the terrorists continue to have the upper hand in terms of the sophistication of their arms and operations.
“They now even operate with helicopters. Every now and then, our soldiers are ambushed in operations, abducted and killed in their numbers by better-armed terrorists. When disgruntled soldiers complain about not being adequately equipped and motivated to face the terrorists or complain about the consequent high casualties on their part, military authorities arrest, court-marshal, imprison, dismiss and/or disappear them.”
He also accused government of suppressing information on its operations, stressing, “Yet, government spokespersons continue to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians by continuing to lie that the military is making progress in tackling banditry and terrorism, and that the state of insecurity is better than the situation they inherited.
“If it is so, why are they making it a policy of government to suppress information and hide the truth about figures of casualties on the part of soldiers in the field? Why are they not able to rescue kidnapped victims even when their locations are well-known and families are, therefore, left to negotiate and pay ransom to kidnappers to secure the freedom of their kidnapped family members?
“Even with numerous cases of ambush, abduction and killing of our soldiers reported on a daily basis, including the recent Shiroro incident, government continues to live in denial.
“Many Nigerians, who have called on President Buhari to resign on account of the incompetence and failure of his regime, have been vindicated by calls by two state governors in the north on the citizens they are elected to govern to buy arms to defend themselves from incessant attacks by terrorists. It is obvious that the Buhari regime is incompetent to provide security to Nigerians. If citizens have to protect themselves, do we still need the government? Certainly not!”
Find Lasting Solution to Insecurity, ACF BoT Chair Tells Buhari
Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) in Kwara State, Dr. Alimi AbdulRazaq, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to intensify the war against terrorism and find a lasting solution to insecurity in the country. Alimi, a legal icon and Mutawali of Ilorin, however, called on the leadership of ACF and all Nigerians to join hands with the federal government to halt insecurity in the north, in particular, and Nigeria, in general.
Speaking during a meeting with executive members of the Kwara State chapter of ACF, led by the chairman, Dr. Mohammed Ghali Alaaya, Alimi noted that the government needed the support of all Nigerians in tackling the hydra-headed security challenges facing the country.
He urged the government to do more in funding the security agencies, adding that more still needs to be done in the area of intelligence gathering in the fight against insurgency, banditry and other violent crimes across the country.
Alimi identified unemployment as one of the causes of insecurity. He applauded the federal and state governments’ efforts to create employment opportunities for the unemployed youth through implementation of robust agricultural policies.
He described the federal government’s strides in the development of the agricultural value chain through the interventions of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as a step in the right direction.
Earlier, Alaaya had intimated the BoT chairman with the prospects and challenges of ACF in the state and sought his support in the areas of policy and project implementation.
He appealed to Alimi to use his good offices to reposition ACF in Kwara, stating, “The need to unify and integrate our people is paramount, but priority should be given to curbing insecurity in the north. We need to promote dialogue across ethnic and religious lines.”
Alaaya pledged the commitment of his team to not only reinvigorate ACF in the state, but also provide the platform to evolve policies and programmes that would meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people of the state and complement the efforts of government at all levels .
