At very early stage of the former service chiefs, they boldly declared that the militants has been Technically Defeated. But the “Technical Victory” apparently, became a great cost for the victor. This acclaimed victory came with the renewed wave of attacks by the insurgents on soft targets.
The appointment of the new service chiefs came at a period when the country was facing serious security challenges. Nigerians received these changes as something long overdue. If we recall, Mr. President expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of his former Service Chiefs when he told them Point-Blank that their “best is not good enough” and National Assembly were not left out as they passed a vote of no confidence on the Service Chiefs. Nigerians from all walks of life have called on President to sack the former Service Chiefs for Non-Performance.
Challenge Before Newly Nigeria’s Service Chiefs.
Much are expected from them, therefore, they need to hit the ground running by tackling the worsening insecurity across the country which is making life difficult for Nigerians.
Nigerians expect a total victory against all form of insecurity across the shore of the federation not Technical Victory. Nigerians want to see a different approach in terms of choosing the right personnel to dispense the responsibilities of safeguarding the country.
The intelligence gathering structures, efforts of all the security and law enforcement agencies have made the war ineffective, due to lack of critical role of intelligence sharing in ongoing efforts to overcome security threats in the country among all the securities agencies. There is need for them to have good synergy between them and ensure professionalism in handling of sensitive intelligence gathering’s as there is deficiency and non coordination in handling sensitive intelligence so as to avoid the infighting of supremacy we witness between NSA and others.
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Last year there were trending videos of high-ranking military officer and some soldiers criticising former Chief of Army Staff, for not supplying them with needed weapons and ammunition to combat the terrorists which contributed to the dismal performance in the fight against insurgency. Therefore, the same mistake should not be repeated while federal government should properly equip the army, arrest and prosecute individuals found guilty of aiding and sponsoring of insurgents, kidnappers and bandits.
On their part, they need to bear the onerous task of restoring the nation’s security. They should deal decisively with all forms of threats to the security of the people.
Chief of Defence is a veteran and former commander of the counter-insurgency operation in the Northeast and Multinational Joint Task Forces, this has brought a feeling of optimism, particularly in the Northeast. He will need to focus on improving coordination between the Armed Forces in furtherance of military operations currently going on in the different geopolitical zones — comprising ground, air and naval components, including the Defence Headquarters Special Operations Force. Chief of Army Staff, a one-time Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, will be facing a difficult task of rapidly rebuilding the morale and recalibrating the operations of the army.
There is need for the new leadership to focus on welfare and begin immediate relief for troops in all theatres that have been deployed longer than two years. Rotate units first and then open a channel for individual soldiers or officers who may have been missed in the exercise to rotate out. To achieve desirable result they need to fix the operational tour to minimum of one year.
Overall, the military alone cannot provide long-term security and stability or replace the role of effective law enforcement and political will to solve the social, economic and developmental drivers and amplifiers of insecurity across the country.
Dukawa can be reached at [email protected]
