“No More Excuses From You”, Buhari Blasts Service Chiefs

…ask them to justify appointment, fight insecurities

By: Okosun Dennis

Pesident Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday lampooned the service chiefs for not doing enough to tackle the spate of insecurity in the country.

In a meeting with the heads of Security forces that started about 9am, President Buhari said he has had enough from them and would no longer tolerate and take excuses from them.

The meeting that was attended by the Chief of Defence Staff General Abayomi Olonisakin, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu, and Director General, Nigeria Intelligence Agency Ahmed, Rufai Abubaka, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj Gen Babagana Mungonu (retd), the National Security Adviser briefed the press and said that the president has mandated him to immediately have meeting with the governors of all northern states including Niger State with a view to identifying the security challenges of the region and find immediate solutions.

On synergy among the security forces, Buhari wasn’t happy and immediately ordered all the forces to work together and solve the country’s security problems.

Angered by the spate of insecurity, President Buhari told the service chiefs to wake up from their slumber and justify why each of them was appointed adding that their appointment was based on their achievements and should justify it on the field.

Gen Monguno during the briefing explained that “Mr President is extremely unhappy about what is happening and he feels that, even though the security agencies are doing their best, their best is not good enough for him and wants an immediate reversal of the current trend and an immediate reversal of our misfortunes in all their dimensions.

“Mr President also told us clearly in no uncertain terms, that he and indeed the administration campaigned to power on the platform of three issues, fighting insecurity, overcoming our economic difficulties and dealing with the scourge of corruption. More so, he noted that it takes common sense for anyone to understand that without security, the pursuit of the other two will just be an exercise in futility.

“He also stated, that no one was forced on him, he selected everyone individually based on what he feels their records had revealed and therefore, it is up to individual organisation to live up to the expectations.

“He also pointed out the immediate areas of concern and these areas are also interlinked and we must find a way out, especially the issue of proliferation of drugs, small arms and light weapons. These two issues also go hand in hand with the major issues of criminality in this country, be they banditry on one hand on the North-West of Nigeria or terrorism in the North-East.

“Added to this, is also another area which raises concern, is the use of unregistered SIM cards. In my own brief, I dwelt on that issue and I raised concern that whatever we intend to achieve, we will not be able to get to the promised land unless we wrestle this issue of unrestrained acquisition of unregistered SIM cards.

“Again my office is going to call on certain governors starting with the governors of the North-West zone including the governor of Niger State, to come over into Abuja, so that I meet with them and my colleagues in intelligence and security.

“Finally, is about the issue of lack of synergy within the security sector. This has to be addressed also and has left us in no doubt that unless we address this issue and form a single front, the convergence of efforts, the confluence of all ideas be they operational or intelligence, must be achieved so that we no longer if at all there was this notion that groups were working in silos or stockpiling, they desist from that with immediate effect. We must have a central platform to coordinate all the efforts, all operations and security,

“Mr President has said, everyone is doing his best but his best is not good enough, that should send a signal to all of us. But again, it is also incumbent on the wider Nigerian population, to key into whatever the security agencies are doing.

Gen Mungonu said on the possibility of changing the service chiefs soon, added that that was not within his purview to say but it was the only the President that could speak on that aspect.