Agency Reporter
The Coalition of Civil Society Groups Against Terrorism in Nigeria (CCSGATN), has described Tuesday’s call by the Senate for the resignation of the service chiefs as a diversionary and hasty tactic aimed at treating the symptom instead of finding the real solution to insecurity challenges.
In a statement issued in Jos, Plateau State and signed by its convener, Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi, the coalition said its unconstitutional and self-serving for the lawmakers to call for the resignation of the service chiefs whose briefs start and stop at the table of the President and Commander-in-Chief.
The upper legislative chamber made a resolution that the service chiefs should step aside after deliberating on a motion sponsored by the chairman of the senate committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume.
According to Odeyemi, who is a counter-terrorism expert, said the senate should rather be proactive by generating feasible solutions birthed through legislative instrument to face the challenge of insecurity, banditry and insurgency in the country.
The statement read: “Again, the senate has acted outside the purview of its constitutional rights. The call is not only hasty and unnecessary, but it is a crude means to stampede the service chiefs out of office and throw the gains of five years or thereabout out of the windows.
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“It is imperative for all Nigerians to know that the solution to our security challenges does not lie in changing a set of service chiefs for another. No! Clearly, many factors adduce for success but in this case, consistency and experience, are the standouts needed to get a clear headed victory especially in the fight against insurgency. Interestingly, the current leadership of the Nigerian Army and other sister agencies possess this in abundance.
“Our profound advice to the lawmakers is that issues of security are quite sensitive and in dealing with it, we should be circumspect so as not to jeopardize the success we have achieved bearing in mind that fighting insurgents is not conventional warfare and our common enemies are lurking around to take advantage.”
The coalition noted further that. “President Muhammadu Buhari is the right arbiter, and he knows where it pinches. He knows where the problems are. He should not be pushed, coarse or prompted in this regard. As a retired General, he understands what security formation and architecture is all about. That needed synergy within the intelligence community and military formations can’t be bought in the open market.
No doubt, the military, in the last five years, has conducted and subjected itself to the best practice standards, utmost professionalism and dedication to the protection of the sovereignty of our great nation from all forms of aggression, domestic or foreign. We cant afford to thrash those gains on the altar of politics.”
While berating and questioning the capacity of Senator Ndume, who represents Borno South in the Red Chamber, as the chairman of the senate Committee on the Army, the coalition said such a sensitive committee needs a forthright, patriotic, discreet and resourceful chairman to lead it, and not Ndume, which it said, speaks out of both sides of his mouth.
He noted further on Senator Ndume, “A servant cannot serve to masters, Nigerians clearly need to know where the Senator stands. Whether, with our Military or with the terrorist.”
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