Emmanuel Umohinyang was the Convener, Re-elect Buhari Movement (RBM). He speaks on why the opposition should emulate Governor Wike’s example of extending hands of fellowship to the opposition in order to move Rivers State forward and other contemporary issues, including the upsurge in crime rate and PDP’s recent criticisms of Mr. President.
How do you view Governor Wike’s call for the opposition to join hands with him to stop the crimes bedeviling the state?
Governor Wike’s example of waving the olive branch and calling on the opposition to join him to stop the crime bedeviling the state is worthy of emulation. If I were a member of the PDP, I would advise it to come together and assist the government of President Muhammadu Buhari in order to move the country forward. Just like what we had in Rivers, where the governor waved the olive branch, calling the opposition to join him to stop the crime bedeviling the state. You saw how the All Progressives Congress (APC) responded. The country is for us all; we have no other as the President has always said. It’s not time to play politics with human lives. It’s not time to score political points. We should all rise and ensure that those bandits do not disintegrate our state.
What are your thoughts on the upsurge in post-election violence in the country?
Before the 2019 general elections, we were more or less like a country that was domesticated in Rome because the crime rate was so low.
The farmers’/herders’ crisis subsided drastically. But what we experience currently is man-made insecurity. They are artificial in nature, induced from some quarters and we cannot divorce this from politicians. This is because politicians arm thugs with all manner of weapons just to secure electoral victory for them. But after the elections, they were unable to retrieve the arms and ammunition from the boys.
So, the upsurge in banditry, kidnapping and robbery is not unexpected. We have always seen politics from the angle of winner takes all and you know politicians don’t think about the country. They are more interested in the next election rather than in the next generation.
As soon as they get what they want, they don’t care about the people. All they care about is their interest; how to line their pockets with available resources meant for development of the country. I am not surprised that there in an upsurge in crime. You know we did not experience this prior to the election because they were all busy trying to fix themselves in their political platforms.
An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. So, these people have ventured into crime with the available materials in their hands. I thing we must blame the political actors in the last election for the rise in crime in our country.
Critics, especially the opposition, have blamed the present administration for the rising crime rate, even as they maintain that it smacks of governance failure. What’s your take on this?
Each time you mention the opposition, I want to believe you are making direct reference to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). When you look at section 14 (2) of our constitution, it makes provision for the security of our people and general well-being of Nigerians.
May be the opposition is speaking from experience because they were there before. Under President Muhammadu Buhari, we have a different perspective on the issues of security and well-being.
From the time he assumed office in 2015, the President has done his best in the area of security. We know how things were before the 2015 general elections. Even we had to suspend election for six weeks so that some mercenaries can be brought to clear the remnants of the Boko Haram in the Northeast.
When President Buhari took over the mantle of leadership, his first step was to solicit the co-operation of our neighbouring countries to key into his ideas to tackle this menace. At present, there is no part of our country that is being controlled by the insurgents.
When you look at the record of Mr. President in the area of security, you cannot but say he has done very well. He has been able to galvanise the little resources at his disposal to ensure that Nigerians; whether in the North or the South are safe.
The PDP is not supposed to be given attention by Nigerians because, for 16 years it ruled Nigerians, there were threats of Boko Haram in several places such as Abuja and other states, including the Southern part of Nigeria.
So, the opposition lacks the moral right to talk about insecurity. Coming from where we were four years ago, we know there is substantial progress. The security agencies are not sleeping as they are continually strategising.
Even the Acting Inspector-General of Police recently launched “Operation Puff Ada” and they are doing excellently well in the Kaduna-Abuja axis.
We, the citizens also have the responsibility to ensure we give them necessary information for optimum performance.
Some people had the view that Mr. President should have called off his private visit to the United Kingdom (UK) to attend to issues in the country. What’s your reaction to that?
Mr. President just finished campaigns for the 2019 general elections which took him to the 36 states of the federation and Abuja. Even the candidate of the PDP could not attempt what he did, and it is normal that the President takes a rest.
Remember that the President does not have to go to the battle front, though he is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. It is not for the President to take up arms and go after the bandits. He has military chiefs who are directly under his command. Even while in UK, the President was receiving reports and giving directives. So, when they talk about coming back to the country and taking charge of the incident, it does not make sense to an average Nigerian. I don’t see any sense in the noise that the President should come back home. Don’t forget that we have a Vice-President. So, there was no vacuum. The PDP is only trying to come into the news, and they have done that wrongly. It has miscarried.
Do you agree that kidnapping has heightened under this administration?
I don’t think so. It will be correct to say that kidnapping and its twin brother-robbery have been with us, as long as I could remember. So, it would not be right to say it has escalated under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
I would rather say that there are new dimensions in the act of kidnapping and the government is also rising up to that challenge. I think that is the major reason the Acting Inspector-General of Police launched the Operation Puff Ada.
Currently, the Abuja–Kaduna Road which was formerly haven for kidnappers has become passably safe. Of late, several kidnappers were arrested on that road recently. I think it will be very difficult to say a particular crime has increased under a particular administration. We need to be very clear about the statistics that have been put forward.
I listened to the figures on Nigerians that have been killed recently in Kaduna by the Acting Inspector–General of Police. When you put those figures side by side with what we used to have, you will agree that it has even reduced.
Are you in support of calls for sack of service chiefs?
Well, I know that it is only in Nigeria people take delight in having somebody removed from office, not because the person is incompetent, but just because people want the person’s downfall.
Calling for the removal of service chiefs is as old as the administration itself. None of them has been able to give a cogent reason for them to be sacked. The question we should ask is: Have these service chiefs performed well? Have we seen relative improvement under their watch? I think they have done relatively well. The call is not because they have underperformed. I do not think we should change a winning team. So, I do not buy the idea that service chiefs should be removed. I will rather call on Nigerians to support our armed forces, police, immigration and civil defense, among others. We should give them all necessary supports.
How would you assess the performance of the Acting Inspector-General of Police?
The Acting IGP Mohammed Adamu was appointed in January to succeed the former IGP, Ibrahim Idris. I will say so far, so good. He has introduced some very laudable policies in an attempt to re–define the Police Force. He has also introduced elaborate reforms, mostly into the operations of the Commander of the Police Mobile Force to the rank of an Assistant Commissioner of Police.
He also recently launched Operation Puff Ada, which has also recorded some success. My take is that Nigerians must learn to appreciate what they have. The Acting IGP had been one of the best Nigeria can boast of, just like his predecessor, Idris, who is also a UN – trained policeman.
He believes less in talking and more in action. Under him, you have very quick response to citizens’ complaints against the police. Some policemen who crossed the red line have been disciplined. I will say the Acting IGP Mohammed Adamu is discipline–personified.
Leave a Reply