Insecurity: Details Of What Retired Generals Told Service Chiefs Emerge

Ex-servicemen have told the new Service Chiefs what they need to do to tackle the menace of insecurity ravaging the country.

According to them, the new Service Chiefs need to work together as a team, they also need to study their predecessors and improve on their weaknesses.

Naija News reported on Monday that President Bola Tinubu, in his first gathering with the recently appointed security chiefs, advocated for a united front to combat the country’s security issues.

The meeting took place on Monday and it was the first time Tinubu engaged with the security chiefs since their appointment on June 19.

Guided by Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser (NSA), the attendees of this crucial meeting included top security officials.

Among them were Christopher Musa, the chief of defence staff; Taoreed Lagbaja, chief of army staff; Emmanuel Ogalla, chief of naval staff; Hassan Abubakar, chief of air staff; and Kayode Egbetokun, the acting inspector general of police.

The retired general admonished the service chiefs hours after they met with the President.

They were speaking against the backdrop of the insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West and other criminal activities and killings across the country.

According to The Punch, the Retired Brigadier General Bashir Adewinibi urged the service chiefs to consolidate on the achievements of their predecessors and improve in areas of their weaknesses.

He said, “I will advise them to consolidate on the achievements of their predecessors. There is no doubt about the records of the immediate past service chiefs, they did well in the ongoing fight against terrorism and other forms of criminalities in the country.

‘’They should X-ray their activities and they must consolidate what needs to be consolidated, improve on where they think needs improvement, and ensure they improve on where there are lapses. Doing this would make the security of the country effective and efficient.”

Also, Brigadier General Peter Aro (retd,) urged the new service chiefs to work as a team, while appealing that they should be given free hands to work with their plans without interference.

Aro submitted that “I want to commend the president for putting a round peg in a round hole. The officers he chose are seasoned and crack and they know their onions. They should have what we call jointness; by this, they should be committed to integrated planning and their execution should be coordinated to have good operational output.

“As God will have it, the three service chiefs are coursemates; this is going to work well in their favour. Let us not forget that primarily, internal security is the responsibility of the Nigeria Police, it is only when the military is called on through the president that they intervene.

‘’I know the service chiefs, they are seasoned. They know what to do and there won’t be sentiment, they would tackle matters the right way if they are given a free hand to operate. Sometimes politicians can be very funny, they might say something they don’t mean to put pressure on them. But I know these people, they are rugged officers. They would rather prefer to put their uniforms down than to compromise.”

Similarly, Major General Anthony Atolagbe recently urged the new service chiefs to be receptive to ideas while surrounding themselves with constructive strategists.

He said, “It will be nice for the system to give equal opportunities to their juniors. Their juniors may even criticize them. They should take it in good faith and see how they can address the issues, especially if the criticism contains some elements of good reasoning. The officers under their command also need a lot of international exposure. 

“When they go out, they learn a lot of ideas from other militaries and the places they are working and they can bring some of these ideas to bear to improve our system.

‘’This is something I have benefited so much from to the extent that I can speak on almost every aspect of military undertakings in combat, peace-keeping and any field of research. Currently, I consult for the African Union part-time in some areas of security sector reform, review of African stand-by force and so on. The exposure I have is giving me that ability to do some work.’’