The president should listen to Nigerians calling for sack of service chiefs - Rev Idowu
Reverend Sola Idowu of Ajayidahunsi Memorial Baptist Church, Ilasamaja, Lagos, in this interview with SEYI JOHN SALAU speaks on the level of insecurity in Nigeria and why the service chiefs should go for fresh ideas. Excerpts:
IWhat is your take on the current security situation in the country?
must confess that the security situation in the country is so pathetic and so bad, to say the least. It is so bad because the government seems not to have solutions. Almost everywhere there are always security challenges, even in the United States of America and other places. There are people that attack people with knife in the UK; there are people that attack people with gun in the US. But, you discover that in all of these places there are responses from the government and they are able to arrest the situation. But in our own situation, it is like the government is totally overwhelmed and there seems to be no response.
Now that farmers in Northeast must get clearance from the military to go to farm; can we say Boko Haram has been defeated?
For me, I think the government have not been truthful with us, or largely they have been playing around with us or they are just playing politics with the lives of Nigerians. Because it is obvious that the Boko Haram they told us about five or six years ago have been totally decimated, the same Boko Haram is growing in leaps and bounds, and when anybody talks; the person is considered an enemy of the state. It is so unfortunate that this government does not want to listen to common sense. Even in the days of President Goodluck Jonathan that they want us to believe that it was so bad - I beg to differ that it wasn’t as bad as this. Yes, the Chibok girls were kidnapped and all those things but it was not so bad that people are killed in broad day light. Even under this administration a general has been killed; that’s to tell us how terrible the situation has been. Attempts had been made twice on the life of a serving governor- that speaks volume. For me, I think this government is totally overwhelmed.
Is Nigeria not becoming a failed state?
To a large extent because a state is defined by the system, the government; so, if a state is defined by the system of government, and by what is working and not working. It is obvious that the system is not working but the government wants us to believe the system is working. It is obvious that the government has no response to the challenges facing common Nigerians; so, when you aggregate all of these together, you want to say the country is more or less a failed state. As it is today, except something is done the country is headed towards total collapse. Look at what happened during the #ENDSARS: a protest like that the security apparatus could not handle and it was not something that happens concurrently in all the 36 states. It spread from one state to another; not that it happened concurrently. And that is why up till today, we know that Nigeria cannot hold election on the same day and we have a free, fair election because the security apparatus cannot just handle the states as it is composed today. And, the president wants to stick to the people managing the security apparatus even though it is not working. To a large extent, you can say the state is like a failed state.
The president seems to have faith in the service chiefs?
For him to continue to have more faith in Burutai and all those who are managing the security apparatus for now for me is either of two things: is either the president is totally out of touch with reality or he is just playing with the lives of the people of Nigeria. And I want to think the first one that he is totally out of touch with reality. I don’t want to think that the president will be playing with the lives of Nigerians. I think that he is being fed with wrong information, and all of us are aware of the fact that our president no longer moves round the country. So, he doesn’t know what is going on. I don’t even think he moves round the FCT, Abuja, where he stays. So, he doesn’t even know what is happening in Nasarawa, a neighbouring state to Abuja. He doesn’t know what is happening in Kogi and all the rest. So, for me the president is totally out of touch with what is happening in the country and because of that he can continue to say he has more faith in the service chiefs and all the rest; when these people keep telling us lies. Soldiers are killed every day, they keep on showing us footages of how they killed bandits; they keep showing us footages of how they killed terrorists, and yet people are being killed on a daily basis in the northwest and northeast, and its spreading to north central. The allegation of the kidnapped syndicate in Abuja, Kogi and the rest; we only heard of the arrest and that is all, we never hear of what the military or the police are doing about it.
What would you advise the president to do now?
I will advise him to listen to people that he consider his enemy. Those who are telling him - there are people that are security experts; am a pastor but I watch what goes on, on TV; I have listened to several people who are security experts who have said the security of Nigeria as currently constituted cannot respond to the reality. And for me, these people have been in office for nothing less than 3/4 years; are they the only ones in the military? There is no harm in removing them, bringing fresh hands; people who have new ideas. It is obvious that Burutai and the Chief of Defense Staff have given their best, but their best is not brining solution - can we try other people.
In response to the current security challenges in the country, politicians seem more focused on 2023. What does this portend for the country?
For me it portends grave danger and I think it’s high time we began to examine ourselves. It’s high time we began to look inward, it’s high time we began to think deeply as an average Nigerian. It tells us that the people we elect into office are not going to those offices to serve us, they are going there just to amass wealth. That is why people who have barely spent a year and six months in office for a period they were elected to spend four years are already thinking of 2023. I live in Lagos State; you look around you and see bad road everywhere; terrible situation everywhere, and all you can see around you is people who have no interest in building this country. People who have interest in building their dynasty, people who have interest in building their political party, who have interest in selfish and whatever interest that they have. So, I think it’s high time we began to think deeply as Nigerians to ask ourselves - do we still continue to commit our political future to these same set of people in 2023 or begin to think on how to bring new people on board.
How do we celebrate Christmas amid the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic?
For me, I will first of all say there is a need to think of the essence of Christmas. During Christmas we receive the best gift from God - the gift of his only begotten Son, and that is the best gift to receive from God. We must not miss part of the essence of Christmas; we need to also appreciate the joy more than ever before. But, we need to cut down on the socials; we must still observe all the Covid-19 protocols - it is very important. Let’s maintain social distance; let’s use the face mask; let’s use hand sanitizer and continue to maintain good hygiene, not because Covid is still around, but even after Covid; let’s continue to maintain proper hygiene.