During his Senate confirmation interview as the new Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, General Olufemi Oluyede made far-reaching recommendations towards restoring the efficacy of the Nigerian armed and security forces to enable them effectively defend the nation and protect its people as they used to do.
At a time when the country is besieged by security challenges unlike any other time, only the Nigerian Army, Air Force and, to a lesser extent, the Navy are defending us. The Directorate of State Security Services, DSS, is largely involved in securing the government. The Nigeria Police Force, NPF, the primary law enforcement authorities, have become so weak that they hardly play any visible role in protecting Nigerians beyond the level of robberies and kidnappers. The Police Mobile Force, PMF, created to contain riotous situations before they deteriorated is still very able to confront protesters but almost absent in the current fight against terrorism. The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, which is supposed to secure the nation's infrastructure and assist with useful intelligence is also not in the picture in the fight against terror.
In addition, there are severe dysfunctions within the military and security system which make it difficult for them to contain our domestic enemies. Poor equipment is one of them. Because of our economic challenges and import dependency, these expensive inputs are not readily available in desired quantities. After 65 years of independence, the Nigerian indigenous defence industry remains under-developed. This lack of a strong military-industrial complex, coupled with poor inter-force synergy, corruption and divided loyalties, is largely responsible for the inability of our armed forces to defend the nation.
In February this year, President Bola Tinubu declared a "state of emergency" on national security. That President Donald Trump would find reason to threaten Nigeria with invasion over unrelenting slaughter of Nigerians termed in some quarters as "Christian genocide", is a clear indication that Tinubu's "emergency" flopped. It is time we stopped grabbing inchoately at issues surrounding our insecurity and making mockery of "state of emergency". We need a comprehensive template where all the institutions of state, the various levels of government and the Nigerian people will unite against insecurity.
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The Nigeria Police Force must be fully restored to enforce the law. The dependence on the Army for duties constitutionally mandated on the Police while the latter is neglected is backfiring and must be checked. The Army is seriously overburdened to breaking points. So is the Federal Government. We fully support Oluyede's "whole-of-society" approach towards restoration of security. Apart from boosting the armed forces and security agencies' synergy, the states, local governments, communities and the people must be factored into a new, all-society security system. Let's stop pretending: the touted "federal might" is nothing unless the people fully back it.
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