Insecurity: Gbajabiamila charges service chiefs to redouble efforts

.Says Nigerians are anxious over prevailing state of insecurity

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Wednesday, charged the service chiefs to redouble their efforts in tackling the rising level of insecurity in the country, declaring that Nigerians are anxious over the prevailing state of insecurity in the country.

The speaker said although the service chiefs were doing a lot, the anxiety among Nigerians was enough reason for the military commanders to redouble their efforts, challenging them to take the battle to the criminals.

Gbajabiamila spoke at the meeting of the joint House Committees on ‎Defence, Army, Navy and Air Force with the chief of defence staff, chief of army staff, chief of naval staff and the chief of air staff.

Disrespect From Public Servants

He said: “I thought I should be here to encourage everybody that we’re all on the same page. We all know the situation in Nigeria today; we can’t hide from it, we can’t shy away from it and we cannot pretend that it doesn’t exist.

“We spent practically the whole Wednesday discussing the security situation in Nigeria as expected. Simultaneously, the Senate was doing the same thing without us comparing notes.

“So, it was a natural reaction to what is going on in the country today. Back home, our constituents are on our necks. People are dying every day; they are dying callously in ways that you can only find in countries without security forces. But, we know that you guys are doing a lot.”

The speaker said as a country, the security chiefs must think outside the box, reiterating that “we must take the battle to these criminals whatever they are‎. Like I said at the State House the other day, Nigerians are anxious, but I do understand the limitations of the armed forces.”

The speaker, who commended the service chiefs as well as men and women of the armed forces for doing their best and sacrificing their lives for the country, said the House would continue to engage the armed forces to find a lasting solution to the security problem.

“My opening remarks on the floor of the House when we returned from break was to commend you guys, particularly, the ones that are on the frontlines, sacrificing their lives every day, our men and women in uniform.

“This is another one of those meetings, engagements, which we said would be continuous. We said it the last time; it’s going to be continuous to find out exactly what’s going on, what the issues are, what the problems are and hopefully, get some commitments from you.”

He expressed hope that moving forward, things would get better, stating further that “we know what the basic issues are; there’s funding, there’s equipment and there’s the recruitment of personnel.

“I believe the committee is well equipped to handle these issues. This is our priority. It’s the government’s priority and it should also be our priority in the House. It’s major in our legislative agenda and we must address is frontally, squarely and however and whatever needs to be done,” he said, and called all stakeholders to work towards ending the insecurity in Nigeria.

Also speaking to journalists after the parley with the service chiefs, the Chairman, House Committee on Defence, Rep. Babajimi Benson, said the meeting went well and that the House received first-hand information from the service chiefs.

“We were to a large extent satisfied with what they said. Like I said, we are also going to table what they said before parliament. We are going to discuss; we are going to have a very robust discussion on how to assist to end this war at the shortest possible time.

“There is probably an international dimension to what we see. There is ISIS, there is ISWAP. These are things that we need to discuss in a classified manner. But, what we want Nigerians to know is that we are committed to them 100 per cent,” the committee chair stated.

Asked if the House was making a u-turn in demanding for the sack of the service chiefs, he answered, saying that “it is not a u-turn, but the most important thing that Nigerians want is the security of their lives and for their properties to be protected.

“That is the meeting we are having today. Sacking the service chiefs is not…we can suggest but it is a function of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces; the buck stops at his table.”