Some retired high-ranking military commanders have endorsed General Lucky Irabor (retd), a former Chief of Defence Staff, in his request for a state of emergency to deal with the Boko Haram insurgency.
In his recent book, “Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum,” Irabor said that Nigeria’s reaction to the insurgency had been slow because there was no political will. He stressed that an emergency declaration endorsed by the National Assembly would bring together all of the country’s resources to finish the war.
Irabor, who was the CDS under the Buhari administration, remarked, “The government didn’t have the political will or the tools to declare war on Boko Haram yet.” The government will pay more attention to the conflict and get all the parts of national power working together with the help of an emergency declaration from the National Assembly.
“It should be clear that strategy is about all the parts of national power put together. These include military, economic, political, social, diplomatic, and information.
“The political authority is at the top.” If you fail at the strategic level, you will never win, even if you do well at the tactical and operational levels. In political situations, tactical activities by themselves don’t always lead to the intended goal.
Boko Haram’s attacks in the North have been worse lately, causing a lot of damage and forcing people to leave their homes. This is despite the fact that the military has damaged the group by killing many of its senior commanders and arresting hundreds of its foot soldiers.
The PUNCH says that last week the group took over the border town of Kirawa in Borno State, making thousands of people escape to Cameroon.
The attack destroyed a military barracks, dozens of residences, and the district head’s palace. Reports say that more than 5,000 individuals fled to Cameroon because of the latest atrocities.
Boko Haram gunmen also attacked an army base in Borno State, killing four soldiers and setting military equipment on fire.
Joint security forces stopped a planned attack on security formations in Banki. One police officer was hurt but not badly.
Governor Babagana Zulum has asked for more troops to be sent to border towns, saying that they need more security.
More than 2.2 million people in Nigeria are still living in temporary housing.
Security forces are stretched thin because the gang can plan and carry out strikes.
The attacks are still having a bad effect on people’s lives, and many villages are still without basic needs.
Brigadier General Peter Aro (retd.) said that Irabor’s idea was good and came from a lot of military and strategic expertise.
He argued that a properly declared and legally supported state of emergency will make the struggle against insurgency more coherent and urgent.
Aro said, “General Lucky Irabor’s position is both appropriate and based on a lot of experience.” He has worked at the operational, strategic, and geo-strategic levels, so he knows what he’s talking about when he talks about his area.
“But there has to be a real state of emergency, not one where governors and local government chairmen act like everything is fine. When politics takes a back seat and security takes charge, things work better together, resources move faster, and the chain of command is clear. This kind of approach, devoid of political meddling, would let the military and other agencies function with accuracy and honesty.
Major General Dayo Olukoju (rtd) also backed Irabor’s viewpoint, saying that while a state of emergency was needed, it should be part of a wider, multinational effort to deal with the core causes of terrorism.
“I agree with him,” Olukoju said. But as I said, it needs to be more than just one-sided. We caught one of them in Maiduguri, and the terrorist didn’t feel sorry for what they did. We have leaders from the elite, the military, the traditional, and the spiritual. Each of them has a job to do.
“The root causes are there. Have we been able to dig at them? Some of these causes are problems with freedom, identity, and other things. I hope we don’t have a revival if these things aren’t looked into. I’m not saying that the state of emergency can’t work; it’s great; but we can do more to do what I said before.
Col. Saka Folusho (rtd.) also suggested that it was okay to declare a state of emergency because of safety concerns.
He did say, though, that this alone will not fix Nigeria’s security problems unless the government does anything about the illegal trade in weapons and ammunition that is fueling the bloodshed.
“The problem right now is the state of emergency, and yeah, it’s OK. There is nothing wrong, but there are certain things we haven’t talked about yet. If you decide to sell ammo, it signifies that the people you are selling to are very interested in it. Folusho remarked, “If someone sells what is supposed to be used to protect themselves, it’s like they want to kill themselves.”
He said that commanders should be given clear duties and that soldiers should be paid fairly and given the right tools.
“When you pay someone N50,000, you don’t give them all the tools they need to do their job.”
He also said that the Nigerian Army’s recent efforts to improve local manufacturing and skills are good, but they need to keep going.
The Northern Elders Forum spoke out again about their need for a state of emergency because of insecurity in the north of the country.
Prof. Abubakar Jiddere, the forum’s spokeswoman, told one of our reporters, “We called for this in one of our press releases.” We called for it twice, the second time. So, for now, the government needs to declare a state of emergency for security.
“That doesn’t mean stopping any government or doing anything else. But instead by putting a lot more security agencies to work. The police, the military, and all the armed cops should then take extremely serious action.
“Places that are likely to have a lot of trouble, like Zamfara, Katsina, Niger, Kwara, Benue, and even Borno, where Boko Haram has been active.
“So, this problem will keep happening until the federal government does something about it and sends in a lot of security personnel. It is a problem of national security. The state of emergency must be declared because of the insecurity in Nigeria, which will need sending in a lot of police.
We couldn’t get in touch with the federal authorities to ask about Irabor’s plan. Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information, said he would answer, but as of the time this article was filed, he had not done so.
Prof. Usman Tar, the Borno State Commissioner for Information and Internal Security, said that Irabor has the right to his opinion about the state of emergency because of the lack of security.
“He has the right to his opinion. If you want to know more, ask him.” Tar responded, “We have nothing to say about that.”
Meanwhile, Kwamoti Laori, who represents the Demsa, Numan, and Lamurde federal district in the House of Representatives, says that only state policing can make Nigeria safer.
The Peoples Democratic Party federal politician told our reporter in Yola that state police are the greatest way to make the country safer. He claimed that it was tried out in the 1960s and worked well.
“In the 1960s, there were state police in my district, Numan. They were nicknamed Friday police because they only worked on market days to help the federal police keep crime under control on those days.
“When criminals see the Friday police, they get scared because the Friday police know their names and where they live, so if they do something, they can be found and arrested.” “People were afraid of breaking the law,” he said.
He argued that the statute setting up state police should give communities the ability to choose who the recruits are, so that politicians can’t abuse the system.
“That’s because they know the criminals in their communities, so they won’t nominate those young people. Everyone who is hired will stay in their own community, where they know everyone.”
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has also criticized President Bola Tinubu for what it says is his administration’s lack of concern over the country’s growing insecurity.
Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, said yesterday on X that the ADC accused the President of not doing his job as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces while crime rates continue to rise across the country.
The party called Tinubu’s regular attendance at social and political gatherings “unacceptable and irresponsible” because of the rise in attacks and killings.
Abdullahi added that armed bandits recently assaulted nine local government areas in Kwara State, which used to be regarded for being peaceful. Residents were allegedly compelled to give up food, drinks, money, and other things as ransom.
He went on to say that a similar attack happened in Kogi State, where travelers were slain and a number of others, including women and children, were taken hostage.
The ADC said that more than 180 schools in northern Nigeria had to close because of safety concerns. They also said that kidnappings, murders, and forced relocations were becoming more common in states including Plateau, Zamfara, Benue, Niger, Kaduna, and Kwara.
The party said that the federal government was wrong to keep declaring that it was making “progress” in fighting insecurity, as innocent Nigerians were being killed every day.
It also said that the president was “cruelly indifferent” to the suffering of citizens because he didn’t visit villages devastated by violence, especially in Plateau State, where hundreds were slain earlier this year.
Abdullahi added, “The president’s claim of progress in the fight against insecurity is a sad denial of reality.” He said that Tinubu’s actions had made the country even more divided.
The ADC asked the Federal Government to recognize the seriousness of the security problem, talk directly to the communities that are affected, better the coordination of military and police deployments, and make sure that the public can see how security operations and spending are being handled.
“Nigeria is being attacked.” This government needs to quit acting like it’s not true. The statement ended with, “It’s time to stop making symbolic gestures. What the country needs now is responsible leadership, operational urgency, and measurable results.”
The All Progressives Congress, on the other hand, disagreed with the ADC, saying that Nigeria is moving steadily from a time of insecurity to greater national security. They pointed out that the recent arrests of high-profile kidnappers and gang leaders showed the government’s unwavering commitment to protecting citizens and stabilizing the country.
Bala Ibrahim, the APC’s Director of Publicity, remarked that the ADC is confused because it hasn’t won over the people.
In an interview with our reporter, Ibrahim said, “We don’t expect anything different from them.” The truth is that they haven’t been able to get people to accept them. They will keep attacking whatever the APC is doing. But Nigerians know better. Nigerians know that the country is going from being unsafe to being safer.
“Yes, there are problems here and there, but the fact that the APC is dealing with them so quickly shows that they care about security. The APC administration just announced the capture of the most wanted kidnappers and gangsters who have been terrorizing the whole West African region.
“These criminals have been caught and are in jail. Their admissions are helping the security forces stop these things before they get out of hand. Whatever the ADC is saying, it’s out of desperation because they haven’t been able to win over Nigerians.
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