‘Buhari Should Sack the Service Chiefs’
Victor Ogunje holds a discussion with Dr. Kunle Olajide, a Chieftain of the Yoruba Council of Elders, on the state of the country’s security architecture and concern on the level of insecurity
As a chieftain of YCE and insider in the sociopressure group, what is your impression of the Buhari administration? Whatever I say about this government will always be based on my personal observation about how Nigerians have fared since President Muhammadu Buhari came on board in 2015. If you observe very well, the president’s campaign rested primarily on corruption, insecurity and the economy. Going by the ways and manner he has been carrying on his anti- corruption fight, you will realise that he has made appreciable progress in dealing with corrupt individuals. Even the EFCC and ICPC have recovered large amounts of loot from plunderers of the commonwealth and returned same to the government. There were fears in some quarters, perhaps because of observation of some political players citing cases of lopsidedness in the fight. Some people raised doubt about the sincerity of the fight on the basis that it was one sided. Since these people are Nigerians, government must ensure that all the perceived looters, be you APC or PDP or any other party or apolitical individuals that are found engaging in the act must be prosecuted accordingly. There should not be sacred cows, because all Nigerians are equal before the law. Also, the Boko Haram fight that was in existence before President Buhari came into office has been emasculated in a way, but the banditry in Zamfara, Katsina, Niger and many parts of the North is dimming the hope. If you check your records, thousands of people have been killed by bandits in recent time. Even the kidnapping and killings in the southwest is gradually diminishing whatever credits President Buhari had in this sector and this needs to be addressed. Today, the southwest region is gradually becoming a safe haven for criminals, who kidnap people and get ransom. All these are issues that bother our people and threatens the land. In the area of economy, the president has been able to diversify the economy. The agriculture sector is now witnessing massive rice production and the solid mineral sector is raking in money unlike in the past when we relied solely on oil. These are commendable feats. But as lofty as these seem to be, they have not really impacted positively on the lives of the average Nigerian.
What do you mean that it has not reflected on the wellbeing of Nigerians?
You can attest to the fact that the level of poverty is increasing daily. Many Nigerians today are just struggling to live. Some states of the federation cannot pay salaries and pensions, these are indices that portray failure in the system. Apart from that, unemployment keeps increasing. Less than five percent of our graduates can secure well paid jobs, with many of them underemployed and struggling to make ends meet. These are issues President Buhari must tackle in his second coming for his presidency to be glorious.
What do you think can be done to end cases of kidnapping and other insecurity problems?
Following incessant kidnapping, killings and rising insurgency across many parts of the country, there must be overhaul of the Nigeria’s security architecture. I expect the military service chiefs, ranging from the Chief of Defence Staff to the Chief of Army Staff to sacked. President Muhammadu Buhari must restructure the country in line with advocacy for true federalism, saying the lopsidedness in the country’s structure was causing poverty among citizens thereby causing upsurge of crimes. I advise President Buhari to treat the alarm raised by Afenifere that the South- west region has been taken over by killer herdsmen and other criminal gangs with utmost attention. Nigerians are helpless due to geometric increase in the level of poverty and economic depression being witnessed, so the populace shouldn’t expect less crime under this harsh and annihilating condition. The present service chiefs started with President Buhari four years ago, still, they have not been able to totally eradicate insurgency in the North and kidnapping in the South. My opinion is that, they have run out of ideas and they should be sacked. They are fatigued already and have nothing to offer. The best thing for President Buhari is to bring in fresh hands to manage our security architecture to prevent these killings. I don’t share the view of Fulanisation or Islamisation agenda, but Nigeria has become the capital of poverty worldwide displacing India, so we should expect crime to soar. In Nigeria, the poverty level is high in the North, because the area is troubled. But these herdsmen and other bandits are moving down South and they see the South- west as a fertile land where they can make millions through kidnapping and ritual killing. So the threat is real and what I expect the Federal Government to do is to put security on red alert and be proactive. The six governors in the region should mobilise the traditional rulers, the youth groups and other interested bodies to work with the military, police and NSCDC through a Joint Task Force and comb all the suspected forests to dislodge these criminals from their hideouts. I want to give kudos to President Buhari for setting up different committees to examine some of the recommendations on the issue of restructuring, particularly the state police and other critical areas of our national life on how these can be implemented. I want to applaud the President for coming out boldly to align himself with the fact that the country needs true federalism and this will help in solving some of these inevitable challenges that lopsided structures has caused in our system.
Apart from these killings, are you not worried by reports of police brutality in our country?
We are all worried and I advise the Inspector General of Police ( IGP), Mr. Mohammed Adamu, to combat the rampancy of brutality that was common among the policemen in the country. The convention globally has been that the policemen must respect the dignity of every citizen by refraining from actions that can either dehumanise or demean humanity. Of specific mention was the recent injuries the police inflicted on some pro- democracy champions in Lagos, Oyo and Ogun states on June 12 this year. It was antithetical to democratic norms for peaceful rallies organised by those perceived to be opposition to mark June 12 celebration to have been disrupted by the cops under any guise. They disrupted rallies tagged ‘ O To Ge’ ( It Must Stop) held in the concerned states on democracy day. The policemen did not only disrupt the rallies in those states, they also inflicted injuries on some of the participants. One of the leaders of the rallies in Ogun, Dr. Tunde Amusat, was picked up and delayed for several hours. Democracy allows multiplicity of opinions, but police as an institution should not have botched a peaceful protest meant to commemorate June 12 celebration. The preoccupation of police men in the South- west must be how to curb the menace of kidnapping and killings being caused by suspected marauding herders. The level of insecurity in the South- west is becoming frightening and worrisome by the day. The IGP must beef up security and work with the governors in the region, traditional rulers and local hunters to checkmate these bandits.
Recently, a group called YCE Senior Elders Forum suspended you as General Secretary of the body. What is your take on the action?
My purported suspension by a group of handpicked senior comedians in YCE was a huge joke taken too far. Up till now, I have not received any letter from this innocuous body unknown to YCE. This reaction is to assure Yoruba race that this action was nothing but a joke and a nullity coming from these elderly comedians. The National Executive Committee ( NEC) will meet on the matter and brief the public over this ‘ illegal action. I won’t allow people seeking relevance to distract us, because the YCE is a honourable body. Let me give you a background to the whole scenario. Our national President, Chief Idowu Sofola ( SAN) died in February and the body decided to honour him by not electing another person for now and Col. Sam Ade Agbede was mandated to act pending the election of the President of YCE. Who has powers to suspend me and anybody in this noble organization? Using his powers, Col. Agbede has made it impossible for NEC to meet and elect a new leader. He selected a few elders called Senior Elders Committee unknown to YCE constitution to take actions. I will remain resolute and I will stand on that pedestal that due process must be followed in electing or appointing new officers in YCE. This body will not resort to unorthodox means to elect or appoint its council members or suspend anybody in a brazen manner without recourse to the constitution . Agbede and his ilk must embrace democratic culture and restraint from taking actions that can drag the body into the mud. Also, the Yoruba nation should please ignore the so called suspension by these jesters. Even the Ekiti Council of Elders and people of good conscience have condemned the step.
The present service chiefs started with President Buhari four years ago. They have not been able to totally eradicate insurgency in the North and kidnapping in the South. My opinion is that, they have run out of ideas and they should be sacked. They are fatigued already and have nothing to offer. The best thing for President Buhari is to bring in fresh hands to manage our security architecture to prevent these killings. I don’t share the view of Fulanisation or Islamisation agenda, but Nigeria has become the capital of poverty worldwide displacing India, so we should expect crime to soar