Recently when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced his Special Advisers and named Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as the adviser on security, many were confused if this designation would be the same as that of the National Security Adviser (NSA).

In my previous article titled, The person needed as President Tinubus NSA, I mentioned that while most past holders of the position were retired Army officers, national security issues are actually beyond the exclusive ken of the military. Security has evolved to largely encompass developmental issues, which now involves more holistic approaches that could be non-kinetic and essentially strategic in nature, beyond the mere prosecution of armed solutions and deployment of boots on the ground in counter-attack operations.

On the nomenclature of Ribadus designation, whether this is as a Special Adviser, a National Adviser or Presidential Adviser, there has only been one Security Adviser in the country, who is also a member of the National Security Council.

Born on 21 November 1960, Nuhu Ribadu was an intelligence police operative, who came to the national limelight as a star prosecutor at the Oputa Panel which was created to investigate human rights abuse during the military era.

He was thereafter Chairman of the Petroleum Special Revenue Task Force (PRSTF) before he became the pioneer Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the agency of the Federal Government tasked with countering corruption and fraud in the country.

Ribadus pragmatic approach to intelligence gathering and crime-fighting while in EFCC earned him global recognition and awards, leading to the de-listing of Nigeria from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) List of Non-Cooperative Countries and Territories, its admission into the prestigious Egmont Group, and the withdrawal of the US Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) Advisory on Nigeria.

Once a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development, a TED Fellow, and a Senior Fellow in St. Antonys College, University of Oxford, UK, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu was in exile during President YarAduas administration, before he returned to the country in 2010 and declared his intention to run for President of Nigeria under the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). In 2011, the retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) was adopted as the presidential candidate of the ACN, a party sponsored by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Before Ribadus recent appointment, other former retired police officers had been appointed as National Security Advisers in the country. They included Gambo Jimeta from Adamawa State, during the tenure of Military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, and Alhaji Ismaila Gwarzo (also first DG DSS/SSS) from Kano State, during the period of and then Chief Ernest Shonekan and General Sani Abacha.

Yet, a number of retired officers of the Nigerian Army though never from the Navy or Airforce have equally held this post, from General Aliyu M. Gusau, to Colonel Lateef Kayode Are (who functioned in the capacity briefly), General Abdullahi Mohammed, General Sarki Mukhtar, General Owoye Andrew Azazi, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, and currently General Mohammed Babagana Monguno.

Unlike many who easily construe the remit of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) as one coordinating a fighting force on behalf of the government, its essential mandate however consists of intelligence gathering, processing and dissemination towards warding off threats to the wellbeing of the nation. These the NSA does while harnessing the potential of the various intelligence agencies of the country to work together in attaining national security objectives.

It is necessary to point out that the National Security Agencies Act (CAP 278) established three principal agencies: the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the State Security Service (now known as the Department of State Services (DSS).

Section 4 of the National Security Agencies Act, 1986, which disbanded the erstwhile Nigerian Security Organisation and created these three intelligence agencies in its place, specifically empowered the President, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, to appoint a Coordinator on National Security. Section 4(2) of the Act states that: The Coordinator on National Security shall be a Principal Staff Officer in the Office of the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Similarly, Section 4(3) of the Act defines the roles of the Coordinator on National Security to include advising the President on matters concerning the intelligence activities of the (created) agencies; making recommendations in relation to the activities of the agencies to the President as contingencies may warrant.. and doing such other things in connection with the foregoing provisions of this section, as the President may determine.

Section 1 of the National Security Agencies Decree, 1986 (INSTRUMENT NO. NSA 1) specifically transfers the functions of the Coordinator on National Security to the National Security Adviser.

Therefore, from the foregoing, the primary responsibility of the NSA, who is a statutory member of the Presidency, the National Security Council and the Federal Executive Council is to advise the president on matters concerning intelligence activities and making recommendations to him on issues of national security.

Meanwhile, in response to the challenges of Boko Haram terrorism, the Terrorism Prevention Act 2011, as amended in 2013, was signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan. The document in its Part I, Section 2(1) states that, The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) shall be the coordinating body for all security and law enforcement agencies and under this act shall (a) provide support to all relevant security, intelligence, law enforcement agencies and military services to prevent and combat acts of terrorism in Nigeria, among other tasks.

The Act also gives ONSA the mandate to ensure the formulation and implementation of a comprehensive Counter-Terrorism Strategy and build capacity for the effective discharge of the functions of relevant security, intelligence, law enforcement and military services.

In line with the foregoing, the former NSA Sambo Dasuki established the Counter Terrorism Centre (CTC) in 2012, which is located in the ONSA and he followed this up with the unveiling of the National Counter Terrorism Strategy Document (NACTEST) in 2014. The soft approach document details the national strategy for the fight against terrorism while allotting tasks to every intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies in the country, alongside other government bodies having any role to play in this battle.

The non-military strategy to counter-insurgency was to complement, not replace efforts of troops in fighting terrorism. The soft approach strategy identifies poverty, social injustice, isolation and sectarianism are among the causes of insurgency, while the solutions included prison reform, economic development, peace talks and educating the public.

It is necessary to reaffirm the fact that inter-agency cooperation and synergy are central to the objectives of the ONSA. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CRFN) 1999, as amended, spells out the roles of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), the Police and other security and paramilitary agencies in assisting the civil authority to maintain law and order. The Nigeria Police Force is recognised as the lead agency in the maintenance of internal security in Nigeria, as enshrined in CFRN 1999, Section 214. However, the AFN is usually invited to restore law and order where the NPF is overwhelmed.

The Armed Forces Act, the Nigeria Police Act, National Security Agencies Act and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Act, among others, further define the roles and administration of these agencies. Therefore, these laws provide the institutional framework for inter-agency collaboration between the AFN and other agencies in internal security operations in the country.

The roles of the NSA, as contained in the National Security Agencies Act, transcends that of the mere coordination of the three major intelligence agencies, as the establishment Act for the office empowers the Adviser to act in such other matters on security as the President and Commander in Chief may deem fit.

The President is empowered by the Constitution, under Section 218 (1) to superintend over all affairs of the armed forces. He is further empowered by Section 218 (2) of the legal ground norm to delegate powers to any member of the armed forces concerning the operational use of these forces. This power, therefore, gives the Minister of Defence or Chief of Defence Staff responsibility over the armed forces on behalf of the Commander in Chief.

The Constitution equally empowers the President or any other minister he may empower, to direct the affairs of the Police in the maintenance of law and other. Therefore, at the discretion of the President, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) reports to him directly or to a minister.

In situations of national emergencies, the NSA retains the coordinating power and uses its instruments, resources and other means available to coordinate the activities of security services, including other components of government that are required to bring about stability to the situation. The NSA briefs the President on the outcomes of operations and in liaison with the various constituents of the national security architecture, advises the President on the next courses of action.

At the strategic level, inter-agency cooperation is fostered by intelligence shared at the monthly sittings of the Joint Intelligence Board (JIB) at the ONSA. It is a melting point of intelligence sharing, involving all players in our national security system. This includes the intelligence arms of the armed forces, intelligence agencies, police and other para-military agencies and indeed the heads of key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) of government that are tasked with the maintenance of law and order.

While President Ahmed Bola Tinubu has named Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who undoubtedly has acquired the wealth of experience necessary to discharge this remit, as his Special Adviser on security, it remains to be seen if the chosen nomenclature would play any significant role in enabling or restricting his ability to carry out the designated obligations of his new office.

Yushau A. Shuaib is the author of An Encounter with Spymaster and Award-winning Crisis Communication Strategies yashuaib@yahoo.com

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It was a tactful foresight, the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari in appointing people from Borno State into strategic positions in government, especially in sensitive areas that could address the challenges of terrorism in the country.

Nigerians expected that the Boko Haram insurgency would be history within fours years, with the appointments of the late Abba Kyari as the Chief of Staff to the President; Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd.) as the National Security Adviser and Lt. General Tukur Buratai as the Chief of Army Staff, because they are all from Borno State, the epicentre of Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria.

Yet, the seeming rivalry between these top officers from the same state is an open secret. It would be recalled that before his death from COVID-19, Abba-Kyari was at the centre of a leaked memo from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), as well as the alleged redeployment of military personnel attached to Monguno’s office, on the order of Buratai.

Following the death of Abba-Kyari, one would have expected a smoother relationship between the brethren from Borno who are at the top of the Nigerian security architecture, especially in tackling the menace of terrorism and armed banditry, which not only impacts gravely on the situation in their home state but also that of the North and larger Nigeria.

The ONSA is statutorily empowered by the Terrorism Prevention Act 2011, to co-ordinate and support “all security, intelligence, law-enforcement agencies and military services to prevent and combat acts of terrorism in Nigeria.” On the other hand, the Nigerian Army by convention is the lead agency on counter-insurgency operations and other joint military operations involving the deployment of ground troops. Therefore, Monguno and Buratai have unique roles to play in ensuring safety, security and stability in Nigeria through a collaborative battle against criminal elements and other nefarious malefactors.

It was therefore not surprising that after spending two months with the troops in the North-East, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukuru Buratai held a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari and his Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari at the Presidential Villa on June 8.

Immediately after the meeting, Buratai told journalists that there have been “tremendous” achievements in the fight against the insurgents, and he expressed the hope that the security situation in the country would soon improve.

He said, “the troops are putting in their best and that has resulted in the tremendous successes we are recording. The fight is still ongoing and over 1,429 of this Boko Haram terrorists have been neutralised and we have arrested over 166 Boko Haram terrorist informants, their spies, couriers on logistics and their coordinators in the villages, the towns, and even the forest.”

Surprisingly, a few days later, over 80 people were killed, including soldiers and citizens, while hundreds got injured when the seemingly degraded Boko Haram terrorists invaded Gubio Village and Monguno, the hometown of the NSA in Borno.

Concerned about the unfortunate development, President Muhammadu Buhari had to quickly summon the Nigerian security chiefs to an emergency meeting on June 18.

Speaking on behalf of the President after the meeting, General Monguno castigated the service chiefs over their weak strategy and coordination in tackling insecurity. He also expressed displeasure at the lack of synergy amongst the security forces and charged them to work together in solving the security challenges.

Monguno stated that: “Mr President expressed great concern over the declining security situation in the country. He is extremely unhappy about what is happening and he feels that, even though the security agencies are doing their best, their best is not good enough for him and (he) wants an immediate reversal of the current trend and immediate reversal of our misfortunes in all their dimensions.”

In a similar interview in Hausa, Monguno specifically made a reference to one of the service chiefs as being ‘egocentric.’

Surprisingly, a few days later, a newly formed group, the Military Writers Society of Nigeria (MWSN), lashed out at Monguno over his attack on the service chiefs, especially the Army Chief, Lt. Gen. Buratai.

The group, led by one Dr. Abubakar Mohammed Sani from Borno State said that despite receiving billions of naira from the national treasury, many Nigerians still do not know what the NSA and his office have been doing to engage insurgents and terrorists, particularly through the identified carrot approach to bringing the present security challenges in the country to an end. It therefore asked Munguno to account for how security funds have been utilised under his stewardship, as this is barely impacting on resolving the security situation in Nigeria.

While one may question the rationale behind the NSA’s indictment of the service chiefs publicly, over a mission he is expected to coordinate, yet the seemingly sponsored attacks on him by those who appear to be supporters of the Army Chief are an addendum to the unnecessary distractions to the ongoing war on terrorism.

It is quite painful that while the blame-game went on unabated, Boko Haram fighters allegedly abducted some women and girls in a village in Biu Local Government Area, which is a mere stone’s throw from Buratai’s natal town. A day later the terrorists killed 9 soldiers in another attack on a military convoy on Damboa-Maiduguri highway

Despite the foregoing, the war on terror requires the sort of inter-agency collaboration that would ensure the effective formulation and implementation of comprehensive security and counter-terrorism strategies to address the protracted crisis.

Just as I clamoured in one of my recent articles, and for the sake of emphasis, towards addressing the seemingly intractable rivalry, the NSA and Service Chiefs need to devise a strategy that would involve the burying of their various differences and evolving a new collaborative security effort in the national interest, going forward. This is a period in which we need all hands on deck and to guard against unnecessary bickering within the security enforcement community.

In strategic communication, golden silence is apt, when actions become louder than words. Equally, credible bodies are better third-party endorsers, other than the recourse to charlatans parading as media consultants who merely aggravate a crisis.

Yushau A. Shuaib
Publisher PRNigeria and Author of Crisis Communication Strategies
yashuaib@yahoo.com

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“Our country is bedevilled… (by) multifarious security challenges by which each agency must bring its wealth of experience and comparative advantage to compliment the effort of another”- DG DSS

The current Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi Magaji made the above remarks in his keynote address, while hosting the meeting of the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA) on April 24.

The Forum was established in 2013 by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to enhance synergy and collaboration amongst critical institutions that deal with issues of security and its challenges in Nigeria.

As a sensitive security organ, the ONSA is statutorily empowered to coordinate the activities of military, security, intelligence and response agencies in combating terrorism, cybercrime and major issues affecting the wellbeing of the state in Nigeria. It is a known fact that during the previous administration, the ONSA hosted regular meetings of security and service chiefs in addressing issues that could create conflict in society.

While the meeting of the security chiefs was held almost every other week in ONSA, the meeting of FOSSRA was held rotationally among member-agencies every month until June 2015.

It is of utmost importance to highlight some instances when FOSSRA’s interventions doused tension and stabilised the polity within a climate of heightened agitations and security concerns in the country.

In June 2014, the then National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki officially tendered an apology to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Aminu Tambuwal, who was allegedly harassed by joint-security operatives at an international summit on Farmer-Herder Crisis in Kaduna. Both the former NSA and the Speaker are from the same royal family within the Sokoto sultanate, even if of different statuses. (Link: http://bit.ly/31HNERy)

Similarly, in one of the Army-Shi’ite altercations in Zaria, also in July 2014, during which some members and children of Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky were killed by Nigerian soldiers, the Chairman of FOSSRA, who was then the Director of Defence Information, General Chris Olukolade, promptly issued an empathic statement, expressing regret over the incident and announcing that a panel would be constituted to unravel the remote causes of the fracas. The statement played a magical role in nipping the controversy in the bud. (Link: http://bit.ly/2TycxMD)

The following month, the Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and two operatives of the Corps were allegedly disrespected and manhandled on different occasions by the Police. As the media were feasting on the controversy, the then spokesperson of the Nigerian Customs Service, Wale Adeniyi hosted the monthly meeting of FOSSRA in September 2014, where the erstwhile Police spokesperson, Emmanuel Ojukwu walked to the NSCDC spokesperson, Emmanuel Okeh and issued a joint statement which doused the tension. (Link: http://bit.ly/31G3eNg)

Meanwhile, since the appointment of Major General Babagana Monguno (Rtd) as the National Security Adviser (NSA) by President Muhammad Buhari in 2015, he has neither shown keen commitment to nor hosted the meeting of the FOSSRA to guard against inter-agency rivalry. The meeting of the Forum, which has become occasional, is now being hosted by the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) and other security agencies that value synergy and collaboration in information management.

If FOSSRA, which is domiciled under the ONSA, is very active, the current acrimony between the Nigerian Army and the police over the killing of the Police’s Intelligence Response Team (IRT) operatives by soldiers in Taraba State could have been averted. There would most likely have been an existing synergy and a more cordial relationship between these two prominent actors within the Nigerian security architecture and system.

It was alleged that soldiers of the 93 Battalion shot the IRT operatives – including Inspector Mark Ediale, Sergeant Usman Danzumi, and Sergeant Dahiru Musa – dead after they had arrested a notorious kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala Wadume, who is now on the run. The Army claims that the police officers were shot after being mistaken for “suspected kidnappers” and blames the attack on a communication gap.

The initial statement from the Police spokesperson, DCP Frank Mba and immediate response by the Army spokesperson, Colonel Sagir Musa, would have been needless if an effective mechanism of inter-agency collaboration, as exemplified by FOSSRA, had been adhered to.

There are trending videos, audios and sponsored stories on the fracas that need to be contained before they further exacerbate the present situation and persist as drivers of tension. It is quite unfortunate that many Nigerians on the social and mainstream media have continued to react to the incident through inciting, inflammatory and embarrassing innuendoes.

It may not be surprising if the two public relations officers of the security organs involved were actually taking orders from their principals, rather than abiding by the ethics of crisis communication management, which guide professionals on their temperament, conduct and how to shape their messages during periods of high volatility.

As spokespersons of security agencies, they are expected to be courteous, restrained and conscious of the need to show great human understanding and empathy in their public communications, at this sort of time when such really matters. It is also very important that their messages, like press releases, should be clear, concise, concrete, correct and complete, without allowing for any form of ambiguity in communication.

In all these, the absence of strategic leadership in dousing the tension, beyond the critical levels of the individual service chiefs, merely escalates the inter-agency antagonism and fuels the heated debates and fury pervading the media from visible and anonymous sources.

Is it not embarrassing that different panels were allegedly constituted to investigate this incident? While one is said to be chaired by a military officer in the rank of a major general, the other is noted as being headed by a security officer in the rank of an Assistant Inspector General of Police.

As the coordinating organ of government on security matters, ONSA should step in and manage this crisis, more professionally and with experience, especially in the absence of a federal cabinet, as the Ministers of Defence or that of Interior are yet to be sworn in. The NSA can advise the Army Chief Lt General Tukuru Buratai and Police Boss IG Mohammed Adamu on the need to urge their officers to exercise restraint. In the alternative, the Presidential Media Adviser should intervene by calling on the spokespersons of the agencies to sheath their swords in this attrition and highly unfortunate media war.

Yushau A. Shuaib
Author of An Encounter with the Spymaster
yashuaib@yahoo.com

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“Terrorists Now Disguise as Fulani Herdsmen” – President Goodluck Jonathan June 2014

The above quote was the news headline after a speech by former President Goodluck Jonathan at an international conference on Fulani Herdsmen in Kaduna in June 2014 before they now become major kidnap kingpins.

I must admit from the onset that I would deliberately avoid discussing other bewildering developments, especially in Northern Nigeria. I won’t delve into the appointment of a retired operative of National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Abubakar from Katsina who is now the Director General of the foreign secret service when a retired Director Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura also from Katsina was also appointed and currently the boss of the internal intelligence agency.

Why should I even talk of odd appointments of ghost political office holders when sometimes ago, a widow and a chartered accountant from Borno State, Mrs Maryam Danna Mohammed was unlawfully and arbitrarily removed from her position as General Manager Audit of NDPHC without any justification. The media, including Foreign Hausa Service radio stations which we learnt President Muhammadu Buhari listen to, expressed their misgivings over the plight of the innocent woman who was victimised for being a whistle-blower in the organisation. Not even a memo from Justice Minister Abubakar Malami recommending her reinstatement and campaigns by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), were enough to assuage the high and mighty on all the entreaties on the plight of the incorruptible woman.

I will also deliberately avoid discussing the mass burial we have witnessed in Northern Nigeria, when the country is not in a state of war. From the Massacres in Zaria of Shiite members to families of Farmers in Benue, Families of Herdsmen in Taraba and Plateau genocide among others.

It is, therefore wrong for anyone to claim that some of the incidents are motivated by religion, ethnicity, tribalism and elitism when we are living witnesses to the fact that Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky of Islamic Movement of Nigeria and Sambo Dasuki, the former National Security Adviser are both Muslims and Northerners, who have been in detention for more than two years against all conventional laws and court orders.

Back to the issue of Fulani Kidnappers. In the last one year, at least, the Police Spokesperson, Moshood JImoh has pushed out several press releases on the arrest of “vicious, murderous, deadly, dangerous kidnappers” where he provided the names and pictures of the suspects. The spokesperson is magnanimous in allowing journalists to interrogate the suspected kidnappers. Apart from the list mostly bearing Northern names, I won’t say Islamic, they are mostly Fulani men from their confession and accents.

The arrested Fulani criminals in their chilling and graphic confessions admitted to raping, killing and even drinking the blood of some of their victims, sometimes after collecting the ransoms.

My concerns as a Northern Muslim is how come Fulani people have now taken over the job of kidnapping which prior to the arrival of President Buhari’s administration was common with militants in the Niger Delta and occasionally armed robbers in the South-East and South-West? What influenced the Fulanis to take into this kidnapping profession? What happened to their business of husbandry/pastoral? What motivates them into killing some of their victims after collecting ransom? Where did they acquire the intimidating skill of handling sophisticated weapons? How do they get the supply of the weapons? What intoxicates them into raping their victims including pregnant women? How can all these be addressed by the people and the government?

The answers to some of the questions above can be found at the event addressed by President Goodluck Jonathan in Kaduna in June 2014. The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) under Sambo Dasuki (Dasukigate?), funded and organized the International Conference on Security and Development Challenges of Pastoralism in West and Central Africa, with the theme ‘The Role of Pastoralists in Preventing Insurgency and Conflicts for Sustainable Development.’ The conference which was attended by Fulani herdsmen and policymakers from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, identified the key challenges facing herdsmen and other stakeholders, and their consequences on national security. It also encouraged synergy among stakeholders to tackle the menace of terrorism, insurgency, cattle rustling, communal clashes and other threats to national security.

As the Special Guest of Honour at the Conference, President Jonathan said terrorists and criminal elements masquerade as Fulani herdsmen in order to inflict maximum damage on the peace, stability and security of the country. Represented by his deputy Namadi Sambo, Jonathan argued that insurgents were hiding under the umbrella of herdsmen to exploit the conflict between pastoralists and farmers in Nigeria to propagate their activities.

Also speaking at the event, Sambo Dasuki as the NSA urged government at all levels, traditional rulers, mass media and other relevant institutions to work together in finding solutions to violence saying, “peaceful coexistence requires compromises.”

In his remarks, the then Speaker of the House of Representative Aminu Tambuwal commended ONSA for organising the conference and urged stakeholders to collectively find a solution to the crises which if not properly handled, could degenerate into very serious security situations in the country.

The then Agriculture Minister, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said Fulani herdsmen were facing a lot of pressure with the increase in population and desertification, adding that the increase in criminality had made livestock production a risky business. He called for regional solutions to the menace of rustling because most of the cattle raiders have the affinity with others in neighbouring countries that often ignore international boundaries.

A leader of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Ahmadu Suleiman said the frequency of livestock theft was increasing. He claimed that thieves attack herders with weapons and often inflict heavy casualties on herders’ camps.

Recommendations from the conference, which was well attended by traditional rulers, service chiefs, political leaders and the diplomatic community, were forwarded to federal and state governments for action. One of the major recommendations was on the need for security agencies to be proactive in recognizing and addressing security challenges involving Fulani herdsmen and farmers to avoid the manipulation and hijacking of the situation by violent actors which could further exacerbate and worsen the conflicts. The implementation of that report could go a long way in addressing some of the challenges Nigeria faces now.

Yushau A. Shuaib, Author of An Encounter with the Spymaster
yashuaib@yahoo.com
https://yashuaib.com/

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babagana-munguno-nsa

General Monguno: Tackling the Inter-Agency Rivalry
By Yushau A. Shuaib

On July 13, 2015, General Babagana Monguno (rtd) was announced as the new National Security Adviser (NSA) by the current administration. He replaced Sambo Dasuki who had acted in that position in the new regime, for over a month after serving as substantial NSA to the regime of President Goodluck Jonathan for about three years.

General Monguno was widely known as a fine, unassuming army officer during his active service years. During occasional visits to my kind in-law, General Garba Wahab and military press officer, Mohammed Yerima at the Army Headquarters about a decade ago, soldiers and officers did refer to Monguno as a Perfect Gentleman in the military uniform. In fact, it was around that period that I learnt he married his anticipated perfect woman, Nafisah Munir while he was an Army General.

Monguno attended King’s College, Lagos and enrolled in the Nigerian Defence Academy 21st Regular Course. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Masters in International Relations.

Some of the positions he held in the military included the Chief of Logistics at the Defence headquarters, Commandant of the Nigerian Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC); Commander, Guards Brigade; Deputy Commandant, National Defence College, and Chief of Defence Intelligence. He voluntarily retired from the Nigerian Army in September 2013 at the age of 56. He left some legacies behind especially on infrastructural development.

On assumption of office as the National Security Adviser, I had the privilege of meeting him and during our encounters, he was very attentive and receptive to good ideas. He is a man that believes in positive and rapid changes on various national and security issues.

Nevertheless, it is obvious that Monguno is neither a typical Nigerian politician nor act like one, especially on issues that require diplomatic manoeuvrings and assertiveness. Probably, as a retired army officer and an architect, he may be looking at things from the precision of architectural designs and military mentality.

The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), is statutorily empowered by Terrorism Prevention Act 2011 to coordinate and support “all security, intelligence, law enforcement agencies and military services to prevent and combat acts of terrorism in Nigeria.” Therefore, the office is the most powerful after the Presidency in ensuring effective formulation and implementation of comprehensive security and counter-terrorism strategies through synergy.

There is therefore, a greater expectation that ONSA, must be at the forefront in ensuring an inter-agency collaboration. There is no reason to pretend about the prevailing inter-agency rivalries among security organs, even while they record successes on some fronts, notably the war on Boko Haram insurgency.

Some recent developments are quite worrisome: the heated arguments between the NIA and the EFCC over Ikoyi money; the arraignment in court of Air-Force Chiefs of corruption while shielding past chiefs of other security sectors; the laughable tit-for-tat public parades of members of the Police and NSCDC on flimsy excuses by the same sister agencies; the damning DSS reports on Magu among others are clear signs of intense rivalry amongst the security agencies.

Deeply concerned over the development, the Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) recently called on security agencies in the country to avoid inter-agency rivalry which could damage their individual reputation and the government as a whole.

The Executive Secretary of CCC, Air Commodore Yusuf Anas (rtd), made the call at a special meeting of the Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA) in Abuja sponsored by Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP).

Anas said: “We have observed some disturbing trends, blame games and breaches in information disclosures among agencies of government in the media. We have also noticed conflicting information, disinformation and rivalries among respective organizations through the media. These developments can damage the reputation of the agencies involved and give Nigeria a bad image.”

Also, the new Chairman of FOSSRA, who doubles as the Director Defence Information, Major General John Enenche urged members of FOSSRA as the spokespersons of their respective organisations to work in harmony and handle information activities professionally and responsibly.

One fact that is of utmost importance is that spokespersons of security agencies have consistently used their meeting platforms to synergise and collaborate in harmonising security information. Through their interactions, they share professional ideas towards eliminating incidences of conflicting sensitive information released to the public by their organizations. However, and unfortunately too, at their level, there is a little they could do to eradicate the conflict.

It is an open secret that, the surest way of getting damaging and destructive information in the guise of classified information, is to look beyond the officially designated spokespersons to the bosses of the organisations who are frequently cited in the media as ‘highly reliable sources.’

For the sake of emphasis and to address this intractable rivalry, General Monguno as the National Security Adviser should devise strategies and method in bringing the leadership of the agencies to a round table for mutual understanding. It doesn’t even need to be elaborate engagements, reaching out to each agency with sincerity of purpose, can play the magic. This is a period where we need to guard against all unnecessary bickering within the security milieu.

Yushau A. Shuaib
www.YAShuaib.com
yashuaib@yahoo.com

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Dasuki-Buhari

Spymaster: A Memo to President Buhari on Sambo Dasuki
By Yushau A. Shuaib

Your Excellency, Mr. President, permit me to use this open letter as an appropriate channel to convey this message to you for the obvious reason of reliability. For fear of being misunderstood, I should state from the onset that I have been your hardened fan since the 80-90s while I was a student and contributing articles featuring the famed incorruptibility and discipline of you and your former lieutenant, the late General Tunde Idiagbon. (Link: https://yashuaib.com/1991/11/haba-governor-madaki/)

It may interest you to note that immediately after your election, I was approached by well-wishers requesting my services on communication strategies for your wife, Mrs Aisha Buhari. While I recognised the fact that such request to work with the first family is a great honour, I nevertheless politely declined for fear of conflict of interest because I had served the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) during the tenure of Sambo Dasuki which is being probed by your government.

I wish to therefore implore you to read this memo with open-mind as coming from an admirer who means well for you and the nation because of some disclosure I would make here for the record.

Immediately after I was prematurely retired from the public service for writing against a serving powerful minister during the previous administration, Sambo Dasuki invited me to serve the same government as a consultant on crisis communication and a major intermediary between the media and the critical stakeholders i.e. the military, security, intelligence and response agencies in Nigeria. The assignment was designed to counter terrorists’ propaganda and other campaigns on security consciousness which we successfully executed in the last three years. (Link: https://yashuaib.com/2014/03/sambo-dasuki-on-security-media-relations/)

In the course of my assignment not only did I relate closely with the ONSA and other security agencies, I also enjoyed interaction on valuable information about your past relationship with Sambo Dasuki. Your Excellency, you may recall my first article on his travail which I titled ‘An Encounter with the Spymaster’ in July 2015. In that article, I narrated his visit with other officers to you in Jos while you were GOC over the coup that ousted President Shehu Shagari which you later emerged as the Head of State. I also stated his denial of ever arresting you or detaining you after the Babangida coup that ousted you. In fact, few weeks after my publication, your town man, retired Colonel Abdulmumini Aminu corroborated the same story by insisting that it was him (AbdulMumini and two other officers –John Madaki and Lawan Gwadabe) and not Dasuki that arrested you (Link: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/188069-how-we-arrested-buhari-during-1985-coup-abdulmumini-aminu.html or http://bit.ly/2fK4jQv

In the same article, Dasuki whom I learnt is your in-law, narrated his brotherly supports for your candidacy for the Presidency in 2003, 2007 and 2011 before he was later appointed the NSA by Goodluck Jonathan. Apart from mentioning names of people privy to those efforts in that article who are still alive, he also mentioned how he pleaded with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande on your behalf to allow you fly the joint ticket of the Presidential candidate of the then CPC and ACN in 2011. (Link: https://yashuaib.com/2015/07/sambo-dasuki-an-encounter-with-spymaster/)

Your excellency, from the foregoing, I can say that Sambo Dasuki is an honourable man who respected you and can do no harm. In fact, he confided in me when he was acting as your NSA that many people were asking him to run away because you would deal with him. He said “I can never be a fugitive after past Abacha’s attempt on my life in the 90s. I will remain in Nigeria and face any consequences.”

While serving as the consultant to ONSA and other security agencies, we created a most cohesive and organised platform for top security spokespersons under the platform of Forum of Spokespersons of Security and Response Agencies (FOSSRA) to counter the narratives and propaganada machinery of the insurgents and their sympathizers. We succeeded in establishing and sustaining mutual understanding and synergy among all the agencies, especially in coherent and coordinated interface with the media. We also eliminated inter-agency rivalry and dichotomy as we also checked and controlled embarrassing information leakages that might be injurious to national security. (Link: https://prnigeria.com/2014/08/fossra-foster-interagency-security-collaboration/)

It should be stated here that during the critical period of the war on terror, the western powers deliberately refused to sell required weapons and armaments to Nigeria to prosecute the war on flimsy excuses of human right abuses. When they embargoed the supply, the then government had to resort to Eastern Block for required arms and ammunition. Though the arrival of the equipment were late which necessitated the postponement of the 2015 election, the subsequent operations were successful. In fact, Your Excellency, some of the acquisitions arrived after you came into office. (Link: https://prnigeria.com/2015/04/military-to-liberate-sambisa-forest-may-29-nsa/)

Dasuki also confirmed the acquisitions of Alpha jets, Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, advanced artillery pieces, assorted arms and ammunition, sophisticated surveillance drones, T72 Battle Tanks and modification of F7 supersonic jet fighters. (Link: https://prnigeria.com/2015/08/we-acquire-sophisticated-weapons-against-terrorism-ex-nsa-sambo-dasuki/)

Your Excellency, you may be aware that the military during Jonathan’s administration also secured the cooperation of reluctant neighboring countries to confront terrorists after funding the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF). You may also be aware about other strategies that were deployed to tackle the Boko Haram menace when Special Technical Advisers from friendly countries intelligently assisted our air powers to clear the occupied territories from the sky while the ground troops moved in to consolidate the clearance of the remnant of terrorists. (Link: https://prnigeria.com/2015/03/so-called-mercenaries-are-technical-advisers/)

Your Excellency, as you may probably know, average Nigerians can be forgetful. Before the handover to you as the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria on May 29, 2015, when Sambo Dasuki was still the NSA under the Jonathan administration, Nigerian military had successfully liberated dozens of towns and cities from terrorists in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe State. Some of the liberated towns including these 24 towns: Abadam, Askira, Baga, Bama, Bara, Buni Yadi, Damboa, Dikwa, Gamboru-Ngala, Goniri, Gujba, Gulag, Gulani, Gwoza, Hong, Kala Balge, Konduga, Kukawa, Marte, Madagali, Michika, Monguno, Mubi, Vimtim among other communities with pictorial and video evidences provided by the Defence Headquarters. In one day alone April 30, 2015, at least 234 abductees (Women and Children) were rescued by the military who had stormed sections of the Sambisa Forest. (Link: https://prnigeria.com/2015/05/another-set-of-234-women-and-children-freed/)

Some of the finest and courageous military commanders who led our troops to recover those territories are still in active service and can bear witness to those great moment of the military’s accomplishments. I must commend your Excellency for assigning some of them to higher responsibility and for providing the nation with the current courageous Service Chiefs who have performed exceeding well in the mopping and clearance exercise.

You may also be aware that it was Sambo Dasuki as the NSA who introduced the Soft-Approach programme that gave birth to Presidential Initiative on North-East (PINE), which later metamorphosed into Presidential Committee on North-East (PCNI) which you recently inaugurated. In fact Dasuki also launched and implemented the National Counter Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST) which your Vice President Osinbajo and current humble NSA Mohammed Monguno relaunched recently too. These are obvious facts your excellency. (Link: https://yashuaib.com/2016/09/nactest-osinbajo-and-the-revised-counter-insurgency-campaign/)

Mr. President, I raised some of these issues to let you know that there are a lot of alarming and toxic misleading information in the public domain. You may recall my alarm over the AVM Jon Ode Panel on arms procurement and advise I gave you to always conduct thorough and due diligence search on those to be appointed into any organisation, committee or panel to ensure their incorruptibility in line with the change mantra of your administration. I warned that wrong people in sensitive positions may capitalise on your sincerity to engage in proxy wars without your knowledge. I mean this sir. (Link: https://prnigeria.com/2016/03/yashuaib-resigns-fossra-say-jon-ode-panel-misleading-president-buhari/)

May I appeal to Your Excellency to simply review the fact that Sambo Dasuki has been granted bails by three High Courts in Nigeria and that even the ECOWAS Court has also ordered his release yet he has remained in custody. I know you can do it because you single-handedly intervened in saving careers of some senior military officers when you refused to be misled by some reports. Surprisingly, the public are not even aware of your magnanimous gesture but some of us are, as the saved security officers remain grateful to your kindness and fatherly role. (Link: https://prnigeria.com/2016/10/ecowas-court-orders-immediate-release-dasuki/)

The obvious disobedience to court order on Dasuki’s bail is quite disturbing. Since his arrest and detention on December 1, 2015, Dasuki has observed Christmas, New Year, Islamic Festivities of Ramadan, EidKabir and Moulud in captivity. In less than a month time, he will have clocked one year in detention against the law.

With consolidation of some of the charges against Dasuki, the judiciary should also be encouraged to ensure that the Court Trial is open to the public rather than through Secret Trial. Open trial may provide factual realities of stewardship against occasional imaginary fictions of media trials.

Your Excellency, as an admirer of your discipline and incorruptibility, I pray you lead the country to the path of political stability and economic recovery. I also pray that at the end of your tenure, your aides and loyalists would have the same courage to stand by you without being hypocritical ingrates as we have seen today.

I wish you success sir. Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Yushau A. Shuaib
Blogger: www.YAShuaib.com
Founder: www.PRNigeria.com (The Press Release Platform)
yashuaib@yahoo.com

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Dasuki Osinbajo Monguno

By Yushau A. Shuaib

The Vice President of Federal Republic of Nigeria is not just an ordinary person. Professor Yemi Osinbajo is an accomplished scholar, award-winning legal practitioner, a respected Church Pastor and man of seeming impeccable character. He and his family have displayed enviable character of humility and simplicity.

As the second most powerful citizen in the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, Osinbajo serves as the Chief Coordinator on the Economy akin to Coordinating Minister on the Nigeria’s economy. He heads the economic team and to some extent, largely endorses and appoints members into the team.

With such fantastic attributes and excessive power, especially on the economy, one should have expected that he would not behave typical of Nigerian politicians, who, rather than facing and addressing the real economic realities would accuse oppositions or previous administrations for every fault.

While representing President Buhari at the launching of the revised National Counter Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST), Professor Osinbajo repeated the blame-games, the feature of the administration by claiming that the escalation of war on terror was the handiwork of corrupt military officers and political leaders in the previous administration. (www.goo.gl/V212XF)

The blame game as usual continued as he said little in his speech about NACTEST. While castigating previous governments of sabotage, the media is currently awash with a report that a Brigade Commander and some soldiers were selling arms and ammunition to Boko Haram terrorists in the current dispensation. Such reports do not mean that the ongoing military operations are failure. (www.goo.gl/XnPdzx)

It is nevertheless interesting to note that the current National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd) went straight to the point to disclose the benefit of the revised NACTEST strategy. He explained what organisations and individuals could do to help in its implementation in order to reduce the risks of terrorism and ensure that people go about their lives freely and with confidence. (www.goo.gl/rUyQz1)

According to Monguno, “NACTEST is organised around five streams aimed to forestall, secure, identify, prepare and implement with key objectives and indicators to effectively ensure monitoring and evaluating successes at each stage.”

Also speaking, the Coordinator, Counter Terrorism Centre (CTC), Commodore Yem Musa, said that ONSA in furtherance of the national counter terrorism efforts, developed the “National Terrorism Levels” document to guide MDAs on measures to be taken on receipt of information on a likely terrorists’ attack.

Musa said that the document, which outlines the alert levels and the actions to be carried out when a terrorism alert level is declared is in 5-levels including: Critical (Red) – Attack is imminent; Severe (Orange) – Attack is highly likely; Substantial (Yellow) – Attack is a strong possibility; Moderate (Blue) – Attack is possible but not likely; and Low (Green) – Attack is unlikely.

What was not disclosed at the launching is the fact that NACTEST was a programme conceived and introduced in 2014 by the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki to counter terrorism under soft-approach programme. While unveiling NACTEST in March 2014, the then NSA Sambo Dasuki said the strategy was developed by his office in collaboration with international partners, experienced academics and selected non-state actors. He said that the strategy was developed taking into account the root causes of terrorism, adding that the approach was to understand the problem in order to apply appropriate solutions.

Dasuki added that NACTEST focused on key points including increasing the capacity of government institutions and relevant agencies in handling extremists. The strategy was developed to offer a key blueprint for law enforcement agencies to combat terrorists.

During an interaction with the media, Dasuki had said that “What we have learnt is that there is not one particular path that leads to terrorism; rather, there are many often complicated paths that led to terrorism. The NACTEST seeks to prevent attacks before they happen by preventing our people from becoming terrorists in the first place.”

The soft approach to counter terrorism developed a Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) programme that is vertical and involves the three tiers of government -federal, state and local. The programme is also horizontal, involving civil societies, academics, traditional, religious and community leaders.

The NACTEST programme utilises existing structures within and outside government to deliver targeted programmes and activities that further the overall objective of stemming the tide of radicalism. The soft approach programmes provide the country a framework that identifies roles and responsibilities of every segment of the society.

With the revised NACTEST document under current NSA Babagana Monguno, there should be a sustained monitoring and evaluation framework that would track the implementation of each stream of the CVE programme.

The revised document is a further consolidation of counter terrorism efforts. It should also ensure that the measures being adopted on counter-terrorism processes conform to dictates of the law and adhere strictly to the rules of engagement and human rights norms as was canvassed in the past.

The current Office of the National Security Adviser must be commended for not only initiating new direction in intelligence gathering and coordinating counter insurgency campaign but also for revising the content of NACTEST to ensure its effective deployment.

It is necessary to caution political office holders to be conscious of their utterances in their blame-games campaigns, especially on security issues. It is also a crime to criminalize innocent officials that are not convicted by a competent court of law. Majority of officers that served in the previous administration are also serving in the current administration diligently and responsibly unless they are recently retired. Terrorism issues should not be politicised, because history is the best judge even if some are forgetful.

Yushau A. Shuaib
yashuaib@yahoo.com
www.yashuaib.com
Abuja

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