Three factors may have been responsible for the appointment of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as National Security Adviser (NSA) by President Bola Tinubu.
The President believes that the Adamawa State-born lawyer and a retired police officer has the experience, competence and ability to do the job. It is never a matter of trial-and-error or job for the boys. It is another clarion call to national duty.
Also, President Tinubu, a strategist in his own right, may have taken cognisance of the compelling need for a paradigm shift in the anti-terror war and pursuit of general security in the national interest.
Experts say that the clean break from the past, as underscored by the choice of a security adviser from a non-military background, has closed a gap in history. Nigeria, it can now be said, has gone far in its post-1999 democratisation process as reflected in the legitimate subjection of the military to civilian authorities.
Africa’s most populous country now mirrors the mature democracies, particularly the United States of America, which leads in the global practice of picking experienced intelligence officers, not necessarily Generals, to coordinate its security infrastructure and efforts.
As Nigeria continues to wax stronger in democratic maturity, and in an atmosphere of political stability, there is bound to be an increasing appreciation of security role-demarcation among security agencies as well as inter-agency synergy and collaboration, and the displacement of inter-agency discord and feelings of superiority and inferiority among security agencies.
The NSA is the eye and ear of the President and Commander-in-Chief in that critical and crucial frontier. Times are changing and challenges are mounting. The country thirst for security and peace. Therefore, much is expected of Ribadu and those people and agencies he will coordinate.
The appointment of a police officer as NSA is not new. The position has not been the exclusive preserve of the military. For example, Gambo Jimeta, a former Police Inspector- General, was saddled with the responsibility by former Military President Ibrahim Babangida.
Also, Ismaila Gwarzo, former Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), also played the role under the Interim National Government headed by the late Chief Ernest Shonekan, and later, under Head of State, Gen.Sani Abacha.
Other predecessors, but mainly military officers, are Gen. Aliyu Gusau, Col. Kayode Are, Gen. Abdullahi Mohammed, Gen. Sarki Mukhtar, Gen. l Andrew Azazi, Col. Sambo Dasuki, and Gen. Babagana Monguno.
Ribadu’s job is not merely about coordinating a fighting force on behalf of the Federal Government. The scope includes intelligence gathering, processing and dissemination of security information, and more importantly, the coordination of the various intelligence agencies working for the attainment of national security objectives.
These agencies are the Army, Navy, Airforce, police, Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the DSS. Even para-military apparatus-Customs, Immigration and Civil Defence Corps-have important roles to play. Inter-agency cooperation, collaboration and synergy are critical to success.
Like his predecessors, Ribadu is expected to properly advise the President on intelligence activities of these agencies. Automatically, he occupies a strategic position in the National Security Council and the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
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The major challenge now is combating terror. According to the Terrorism Prevention Act 2011, as amended in 2013, “the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) shall be the coordinating body for all security and law enforcement agencies and under this act shall provide support to all relevant security, intelligence, law enforcement agencies and military services to prevent and combat acts of terrorism in Nigeria”.
Under the law, Ribadu is expected to “ensure the formulation and implementation of a comprehensive Counter-Terrorism Strategy and build capacity for the effective discharge of the functions of relevant security, intelligence, law enforcement and military services.”
There has been an emphasis on a military-led Counter-Terrorism Strategy, with the allocation of tasks to intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies. This should always be complemented by the non-military strategy of counter-insurgency. The goal is not to replace the efforts of troops in fighting terrorism but to also pay attention to the aetiology of insurgency and terrorism, particularly the sociological and psychological factors-the dimensions of poverty, social injustice, isolation and sectarianism.
If these are considered in the general security plan, the scope of solutions to the challenges will have to include poverty alleviation, redress of inequality and injustice, economic development, peace talks and public enlightenment.
Intelligence gathering, which is part of the security framework, entails increased responsibility for the police, which, according to the constitution, is charged with the maintenance of internal security in the country.
The antecedent of Ribadu shows that he is a man of action; diligent, focused, and goal-oriented. The attribute of ‘team spirit’ He had displayed at his previous duty posts, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), is required as he now coordinates the security apparatus.
He is prepared by sound training, as a police officer, crime fighter and lawyer. He joined the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) immediately after his national youth service in 1984. In 2008, he was also at the Harvard Business School where he did a programme on the strategic management of law enforcement agencies.
He had become a household name as the pioneer chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), where he exhibited patriotism and courage. Before then, he was sighted as a star prosecutor at the Oputa Panel set up by the Obasanjo government. He was also the chairman of the Petroleum Special Revenue Task Force (PRSTF).
The anti-graft agency successfully investigated allegations of corruption against important persons, who ended up in jail. Under his leadership, the fear of EFCC by the symbols of graft, sleaze and fraudulent practice became the beginning of wisdom. In three years, it secured over 200 convictions. It also built the Crimes Training and Research Institute. Unfortunately, there were allegations of using the anti-graft body to witch-hunt perceived opposition elements of the government that set it up. Ribadu did not leave when the ovation was loudest.
In 2007, Ribadu, in recognition of his achievements, was promoted to Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG). The African Union (AU) later made him a member of its advisory board on anti-corruption matters. He also became a board member of the Friends of the World Bank/UNODC initiative on Stolen Asset Recovery.
Ribadu’s scorecard also led to the delisting of Nigeria from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) List of Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories, its admission into the Egmont Group, and the withdrawal of the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) Advisory.
Ribadu was a fellow at the Center for Global Development, a TED Fellow, and a Senior Fellow at St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
Under the Yar’Adua administration, the anti-graft czar ran into turbulence. The hunter became the hunted. He went into exile.
On his return in 2010, he joined the political fray. In 2011, he contested for president as the candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), led by Asiwaju Tinubu.
Ribadu has inherited an unfinished business of tackling insurgency and warding off threats to national peace and sovereignty. Many innocent Nigerians are still in captivity. There is a threat to freedom of movement and transportation. Villages are still being set ablaze and people are killed at home by invaders and terrorists. Kidnap for ransom has not abated. Nigerians seek an end to violence.
Ribadu’s tenure will be assessed based on the anticipated success his team will record as Nigeria intensifies the anti-terror war.
