Insecurity: Should President Buhari sack serving security chiefs?

In my candid opinion, it is time Buhari sacked security chiefs; the level of insecurity in the country is high. The professional thing these security chiefs should have done in light of the incessant killings is to resign, and make room for others to take over their duties. This is how it is done in developed countries. It is the president’s responsibility to ensure the safety of Nigerians; to do otherwise amounts to gross miscarriage of power and negligence. Since the current security appointees have failed woefully in carrying out the prioritized safety of lives, President Buhari owes it to Nigerians to bring in the right people for the job. The onus is on the President to ensure that life and properties of citizens are safe. We can’t have a president who’s a retired General and the country is experiencing incessant massacres like this. It’s really a shame. I hope he acts fast.

With the level of insecurity in the country, it is time President Buhari sacked some of the security chiefs and appoint new heads in their place. Security challenges in the North central region of Nigeria is alarming and sad. The President needs to appoint experienced security chiefs from all tribes or region of the country. Having only a region, tribe or religion as security chiefs gives negative impression to some people. He needs to balance the appointment and make the security chiefs proactive in their jobs. The people of Benue and Plateau are experiencing killings which doesn’t speak well for the country and even for the 2nd term ambition of the President. So he must act fast by laying offthe current crop of security chiefs and hiring the right persons.

I am not in support of it because there is more to the issue of insecurity in Nigeria than meets the eye. So much is involved and many people are disheartened with the way things are. The security chiefs for crying out loud are to protect the country but these officers are supposed to be motivated through promotions but that is not happening. It is a general consensus that our security architecture needs a total overhaul; it must be redefined and redesigned. I listened to a recent debate in the British parliament online; I was so ashamed that our security situation was the subject of discussions on the floor of the British parliament. It is as if the only thing they didn’t say is that they should re-colonise Nigeria. I listened more to the unspoken word; our President needs to act and act fast. The value of the lives of Nigerians has been cheapened. The killings, kidnapping and different atrocities have gone on for too long and it needs to stop; we cannot continue like this. It is sad that we no longer ask if somebody has died but how many people. However, when it comes to making peace, no price is too much to pay. If it means asking the generals to go in order to restore peace, it is not too much a price to pay for the safety of our nation.

Yes he should. If the general purpose of governance in itself is to secure lives and property and the same lives are lustfully taken, then we all know that this happened because some people have failed in their responsibilities. So why can’t they be relieved of their jobs?It is disturbing that the President is the one going around looking at the situation and doing an on-the-spot assessment; he does not control the policemen on ground. There is an Inspector-General of Police (IGP) whose responsibility it is under sections 214 and 215 of the constitution to see to the solution of any crime, prevent it if possible and carry out investigations.So, if he has failed woefully, and he has been given enough room to prove himself, but has consistently failed, there is the need for his removal. I do not think that the IG has any reason to remain in office but the issue is not about replacing one incompetent hand with another. The issue is that the President must look for competent hands to replace his security chiefs.We did not vote for President Buhari because he has full knowledge of the economy, we voted for him to tackle insecurity, given his background.The call for the removal of the IG and service chiefs is legitimate, it is even overdue.Then, a painstaking effort must be made to have credible replacements.

Daniel Isibor
Port Harcourt

The primary duty of every good government is to protect the lives and properties of citizens. So if the service chiefs, starting from the Inspector-General of Police and others, cannot protect the lives and properties of Nigerians, they ought to go and allow competent people who can do the job come in. If they are not capable of doing the work for which they were appointed, the President should sack them. The President asked the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to go to Benue and he refused, but the President said he didn’t know that the IG did not go there. At that point, he should have sacked the IG. If the nation is still facing the issue of killings, then it means the service chiefs have failed and deserve to go, let new people do the job, maybe they can resolve the issues.I am of the opinion that if the service chiefs are facing any challenge that is hindering them from doing their duty, they should complain, they should tell Nigerians why they cannot do their job. Look at the thousands of lives that have been lost to the killings across the country; the President can’t be everywhere at the same time, that is why he appointed them to be his eyes and ears, but if they have failed to do the job, they should simply go. Lives are being lost, whole communities wiped out. If the service chiefs were competent, they would know what to do to stop the killings. If there are things we need to know, they should inform Nigerians. For instance, when the IG failed to visit Benue as directed by the President, he should have told Nigerians the reasons he did not obey the order, but there was no explanation, no apology or reasons for not going there. The rights of people living in those areas where the herdsmen are operating have been violated; the duty of the government is to protect them.

The government needs to pay more attention to the security issue in the nation and provide the necessary funds and motivation for the service chiefs to perform their duties. If these service chiefs are removed and replaced and we still don’t get the required result, what next? I feel the service chiefs should be properly retooled, motivated and encouraged; provide for them the enabling environment to do their job. The services need holistic reform; it is not the service chiefs alone that are the cause of the problem. There is also the issue of followership and materials to work with. It needs to be a comprehensive overhaul. If the President wants to get the best of the security chiefs, he should be advised on the proper steps to take because as it is now, I don’t think the security chiefs have got all they need in terms of skills, materials and equipment. Our security forces need to identify the routes through which terrorists have been infiltrating the country and their job is to block such routes and cooperate with neighbouring countries to deal with the bad elements. I believe if this can be done, then the insecurity problem in Nigeria would be a write-off.

The President has a duty to implement the mandate given to him by the Nigerian people; the persons that have been appointed to do the job should do it. The President cannot be in Maiduguri, Sokoto and Plateau at the same time; if his security chiefs cannot do the job; they should be fired. It is for the Nigerian people to demand their replacement. The President made a public statement in Benue to the effect that the Inspector-General of Police disobeyed his orders. I expected the IGP would be fired not only for disrespecting the President’s order but also for not performing his duty to the nation. But the mere fact that the President could tell the whole world that he gave his Inspector General of Police an instruction and the instruction was not carried out, this calls for concern. It means there is a problem; we need to look athow these people were appointed. Who are those behind them, why they are still there when we are in a complete logjam? All these questions need an answer which only the Buhari administration can provide.

Absolutely yes. They have not lived up to expectations considering the prevailing insecurity in the country. Boko haram is still a threat, no intelligence gathering, selected arrests and extra judicial killings, extortions, brutality, ill-trained security operatives etc. These are the reasons why the service chiefs must be sacked.It shows they are not capable of tackling the security challenges the nation is facing.