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

The post Persistent Insecurity: Monguno, Buratai and Inter-Agency Dilemma appeared first on YAShuaib.

My family members could not dissuade me from the trip that hopefully would provide me another opportunity to assess one of the Boko Haram worst-hit cities in Nigeria.

The flight was smooth from Abuja to Maiduguri but I was glued to the window to see if I would sight soldiers and terrorists engaging in shoot-out… At the same time, the dreadful feeling that Boko Haram members could shoot down our aircraft with their home manufactured rockets lurked in a corner of the mind.

Driving into the town, it was easy to observe that the city wasn’t bubbling as most roads were deserted, exotic mansions abandoned and fine hotels had low patronage even with their generous discounts on accommodation.

I used the opportunity of the seminar to interact with some of the highly patriotic and exceptional Nigerian journalists who have been covering the war on terror with great responsibility. For the national interest, they have observed self-censorship against sensational reporting.

On a visit to the Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps, the sights of orphans and widows were quite disturbing even though NEMA and other stakeholders are taking good care of them.

Passing through security check-points, the sacrifice of Nigerian troops, especially young soldiers in their zeal and determination to defeat Boko Haram terrorists was obvious from their faces. While some of them are bachelors with parents, others are married with children they left at home to defend Nigeria.

Incidentally, almost everyone was concerned about the Presidential directive for the military to end Boko Haram this December. During the inauguration of his service chiefs on July 13, 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the military to end the Boko Haram terrorism in three months.

Immediately after the directive, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno led service and security chiefs to the frontline to seek the cooperation of community leaders, traditional rulers and pressure groups to support the new drive against war on terror. He also visited and commiserated with IDPs and reassured them that the war would soon be over.

The Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai has not led from the back, he was in the warfront by actively participating in some of the operations where terrorists were either captured or killed. He has so far spent most of his time on the battle field. The Chief of Air Staff, Air Mashall Sadique Abubakar has personally commanded fighter jets in the war on terror to motivate fighter-pilots into putting in their best.

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin has ensured effective coordination and cohesion in the operation so far through mechanism of inter-agency collaboration, even as the Chief Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas has also confirmed that Special Forces from the Navy are actively involved in the operation.

The military has so far destroyed dozens of Boko Haram camps and freed more than 1,000 kidnap victims since inauguration of President Buhari. Nevertheless, there is the fear that the military may not be able to end Boko Haram by the deadline. The Executive Secretary of Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC), Air Commodore Anas recently disclosed that there is nothing wrong in imposing targets on the military but due to the asymmetric warfare which Boko Haram is prosecuting against civilian “soft targets” the December deadline is unrealistic.

There are also worrisome reports of fresh kidnap of dozens of girls and burning of buildings in Bam Village of Yobe State; reported missing and fleeing soldiers in Galtumari town in Borno State; destruction of military base in Gulak, Adamawa and media allegations that terrorists snatched military trucks, artillery guns that were bought by the previous administration.

During private conversations with stakeholders, many expressed beliefs that concerted efforts are required through credible intelligence to address the insecurity in the North-East.

Beyond ‘body languages’ theory and political grandstanding, others were of the opinion that some tougher actions taken by the past administration could be deployed in curtailing the excesses of terrorists. For instance, a journalist observed that even though many doubted the sincerity of the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki when he sought and obtained approval for postponement of 2015 general election to enable the military to degrade Boko Haram and ensure maximum security of voters, all known terrorists’ camps were destroyed before the emergence of new government on May 29; Sambisa Forest was stormed by “Special ‘M’ forces” and about 300 kidnapped women and children were freed; 22 terrorist occupied towns in three states were recovered; and Boko Haram could not disrupt the elections.

It is public knowledge that some of the towns recovered from terrorists during the administration of Goodluck Jonathan include Abadam, Askira, Baga, Bama, Biu, Damboa, Gwoza, Hong, Konduga, Kukawa, Marte, Madagali, Michika, Monguno, Mubi, and others. In fact an official statement by the Defence Headquarters on March 16, 2015, with reference no: DHQ/ABJ/901/32/DDI announced the routing of terrorists from Bama after massive casualty was inflicted on the terrorists before the remnant fled. The statement further stated that the Chadian partners in the MNJTF were mandated to pursue the terrorists who were heading for the borders after being dislodged from Bama. Gujba, Gulani, Goniri, Buni Yadi were all retaken by Nigerian troops within the month, the statement concluded. It seems Nigerians have forgotten all these.

If the military failed to meet the December deadline, we shouldn’t blame the previous administration of Jonathan or the current government of Buhari but should encourage the military to improve the tempo. Afterall, the Nigerian troops have succeeded in the past and are succeeding now. We should therefore avoid taking actions that would rubbish the integrity of critical institutions including security and the media.

The post Another Trip to Maiduguri in December appeared first on YAShuaib.