Monarch describes calls for service chiefs’ sack as misplaced
A traditional ruler, the Olowu of Kuta in Osun state, Oba Adekunle Makama, Tegbosin 11, has counselled the National Assembly and Nigerians calling for the sack of the service chiefs to have a rethink.
The monarch said rather than calling for the sack of the service chiefs, the Nigerian security architecture requires a holistic appraisal instead of the fix it quick approach that has been adopted to tackle insurgency in the past.
A statement issued by the media office of the traditional ruler on Thursday, said the call is hasty and indicates a transfer of aggression to the service chiefs who have sacrificed a lot to defend the territorial integrity and combat the internal security challenges of the country.
The monarch who maintained that though the security of the country needs to be overhauled for optimum performance, said people should know that the military alone should not be blamed for the lapses, adding that “how far has the country pursued the political option in resolving the internal security challenges?”
He however, advised that stampeding the service chiefs out of office will not be the best way to appreciate their efforts.
The statement reads in part “The Senate and House of Representatives motions that the service chiefs should resign or be sacked is not the best way to appreciate their efforts.
“The danger inherent in such a motion is that it will not only demoralize the officers and men who would feel let down by such decision, while those coming to take over from them may be reluctant since it is the same military considering the monumental impact the present military leadership has made towards professionalism in the army that we are now talking of.
“I think when dealing with the issue of security, we should be circumspect so as not to jeopardize the success we have achieved in the past bearing in mind that fighting insurgents is not a conventional warfare.
“Again, what’s the budget of the defence this year? How will a military that is fighting insurgents, fighting armed banditry, kidnapping and other several operations within the country cope with such meagre budget?
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“What’s the role of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the police, immigration and customs in a situation like this? Are they equipped to compliment the military gains in the war fronts?”
The monarch said it is crystal clear that the military is overstretched, adding that “to support the military in fighting the insurgents viz- a-viz political options should be our collective responsibility.”
He also counselled that once the military rids an area of Boko Haram elements, the onus is on the police and NSCDC and other security agencies to occupy the area to secure it.
