Four security experts have scored President Bola Tinubu’s anti-terrorism and banditry fight in the last one year as “below average”.
The experts — Victoria Ekhomu, Shehu Sadeeq, Kurfi Garba and Alfred Ononugbo – were guests on Channels Television’s May 29 Special programme on the first anniversary of President Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu, who was sworn in on May 29, 2023, made a string of promises to Nigerians including the security of lives and properties of citizens and residents of the country. The former Lagos governor took some reforms within the security sector including a rejig of the security architecture of the country which saw a new set of service chiefs.
However, one year down the line, many seem not to be impressed with the President’s results in the area of security with kidnapping-for-ransom still ubiquitous in the country, whilst insurgents and bandits continue to wreak havoc in Nigeria’s North-East and North-West geopolitical zones respectively. Oil thieves haven’t also spared the South-South zone as the roads in the Southern region of the country become more unsafe just like the highways in the Northern region bombarded by marauding insurgents and kidnappers.
Despite the seemingly overwhelming situation, the Tinubu administration, according to verifiable data, successfully neutralised over 20 terrorist commanders, rescued 4,641 kidnapped persons, arrested 7,000 terrorists, with 9,300 terrorists killed, and 85,000 assorted weapons plus ammunition recovered.
‘Below Average’
The Managing Director of Transworld Security Systems Limited, Victoria Ekhomu, who rated the administration as “below average”, said though “the administration is trying but not there yet”.
She said though agitation by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has subsided under Tinubu, a lot of work still needs to be done by the administration to keep the dark-hearted enemies of Nigerians at bay.
Ekhomu backed state police as a panacea to the menacing security challenges, saying the amount being spent on tackling security has not translated to justifiable outcomes so far. “If the money is being spent well, there should be prompt reinforcements when atrocities are committed,” she said.
‘I Give Tinubu 45%’
In his submission, Retired Group Captain Shehu Sadeeq scored Tinubu’s anti-terror war as 45%. “To rate the administration, I simply look at the Renewed Hope agenda of what the government said it would do and at this time, that is one-quarter of the time gone, I will give it 45 per cent,” he said.
Unlike his colleague, Ekhomu, the retired group captain said caution should be exercised in the establishment of state police which has gathered momentum in the last few months with 16 governors expressing their support for the creation of state police and the amendment of the 1999 Constitution to allow for same.
Sadeeq said state police should be established in a way that makes it both controlled by the federal and state governments to allay the fears in some quarters that governors would become emperors and abuse the outfits. He said such a federal-and-state-controlled model would also curb the inefficiency associated with security agencies strictly controlled by the government at the centre.
Sadeeq also said more men should be recruited into the security forces to get more boots on the ground against nefarious elements.
‘Not Much Improvement’
Similarly, Kurfi Garba, the Chief Executive Officer of APT Securities, agreed with both Sadeeq and Ekhomu that there hasn’t been much improvement in the last year, security-wise.
According to him, even if we say there is success, it is of little impact to people on the streets as they cannot go to their farms. “Honestly, I am from Katsina State, if you go to front local governments, they will tell you there wasn’t any much improvements,” Garba said, adding that there hasn’t been coordination of security responses to tackle banditry in the North Central.
He called for a holistic response to combat banditry, terrorism and other security challenges as the marauders have moved from the North-East to the North-West and the North Central zones. He also urged the government to employ and deploy more boots at the theatre of war.
Garba was against state police, saying the local government elections in the states have shown how the state governors appropriate and arrogate powers to themselves, expressing fears that governors would weaponise state police and use it against opposition politicians and groups in their states.
For Alfred Ononugbo, the Chief Executive Officer of Bell Protocol and Security Support Services, the security situation in Nigeria, predated the Tinubu administration. He encouraged investment in the acquisition of better weapons to combat the menace.
Ononugbo also urged the government to better motivate security agents. He said motivation is everything, noting that insurgents are more financially motivated than security agents, a situation that he said could be demoralising to the troops.
The security expert also lamented the poor welfare of security agents and the lack of scholarships for their children, saying the terrorism fight in the country will be given a boost when these incentives are put in place for security agents at the theatre of war.
