TRACKING___says they would’ve willingly resigned in a saner clime
By Ibrahim HassanWuyo
A former member of House of Representatives, Shehu Bawa ABG has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Service Chiefs and allow those officers with fresh ideas of tackling banditry and insurgency to take charge.
He said in saner climes, those Service Chiefs would’ve abdicated their positions without being told to do so because failure in leadership should not be condoned.
He said in an interview on Tuesday, that Federal Government and governors of States facing rising insecurity, would only be fair if they take decisive actions to end the cycle of killings which had devastated most of the northern states.
” The callous manner in which armed bandits invade settlements, maim, kill, kidnap, loot and go scot-free, is extremely disturbing, ” he said.
According to him, during elections, security personnel were deployed in hundreds and wondered why such would not be replicated in areas bedeviled with banditry and insurgency.
“It is disheartening when helpless people including women are children who are not to be touched in war times, are slaughtered, maimed, raped and kidnapped, while elected officials go to sleep with their two eyes closed.”
“It has been reported that people in distress in the hands of these killers have called necessary security help but troops usually surfaced after bandits would have left after leaving behind sorrow and blood.”
“In saner climes, those in charge would have abdicated their positions without being told to do so because failure in leadership should not be condoned.”
” lIt is obvious we are faced with the dire situation that must be tackled urgently before the next round of carnage is reported.”
“The current set of elected and appointed officials have failed northern electorate in particular. I don’t think they have something tangible to offer despite their unending promises to safeguard the lives of their subjects,” he said.
Shehu ABG who was Special Adviser to Speaker Dogara on Special Duties, challenged states facing acute security challenges to form a joint community-based security outfit with the sole aim of confronting bandits and other criminals headlong.
“It is the only way they could save their people from gradual annihilation. The once peaceful northern region has now become killing ground and home of internally displaced people in several refugee camps.”
“There is a need for the affected states in the north to emulate the South West state security outfits introduced to curtail insecurity in parts of their regions.”
He called on states and agencies to think towards making local vigilante groups more vibrant and make it conducive for then to partner with the already existing security outfits to end the frequent killings in the northwest and northeast.
ABG queried the wisdom in keeping service chiefs in the face of rising insecurity and urged President Buhari to effect necessary changes in the security architecture of the country so that other senior officers with better ideas on how to tackle insecurity would take charge.
