In Makurdi, the Benue state capital, mixed reactions have greeted the sack of Service Chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari with majority of the people The Next Edition interviewed describing the new development as a welcome relief.
President Buhari on Tuesday, January 26, 2021, in a sweeping shake up of the country’s security sector, had announced the immediate sack of the Service Chiefs, and appointment of their replacement.
A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said the president had accepted the immediate resignation of the Service Chiefs and their retirement from service.
The statement also provided details of those affected read in the exercise: “Those involved are the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.“
It also announced the appointment of new service chiefs. “The new Service Chiefs are Major-General Leo Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff; Major-General I. Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral A.Z Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff; and Air-Vice Marshal I.O Amao, Chief of Air Staff.”
The announcement was, however, greeted with cheers and indifference as many residents described the sack as long overdue saying the new set of Service Chief will inject new ideas to address the security situations in the the country. While others are of the opinion that the new appointments were lopsided.
The Chairman Nigerian Bar Association, Benue State Chapter, Barr. Justin Gbagir, said “It’s a welcome development. It’s long overdue. I had supported the call for the sack of the Service Chiefs several times.
“A new set of Service Chiefs will bring new ideas to address the security challenges. The new Chiefs should swing into action to justify their appointment.
In his reaction, a public analyst, Austin Onuoha, also said the sack was long overdue saying “We still don’t understand why he kept them for so long. Anyway, better late than never. I hope they get to work and nip insecurity in the bud.
“I don’t like to sound clannish but the appointments don’t meet the federal character principle.”
Also speaking, the Public Secretary of the All Progressive Congress (APC), in Benue, Mr. James Ornguga, said the sack was a welcome development.
He pointed out that there is need to inject new blood in the Nigeria security architecture saying “the outgoing service chiefs aside serving their tenures, played their roles fully, recording some degree of success.
“It is normal for others to take over from them and I hope it will bring better results in tackling the security challenges bedeviling Nigeria.”
Also reacting, the Executive Director of CORAFID Centre For Innovation and Research, Nathaniel Awuapila, expressed some displeasure over the new list of appointees.
READ ALSO: Buhari Accepts Resignation Of Service Chiefs, Appoints New Ones
In his words, “Personally, I am not impressed by the list of new names. Not because I have any grudge against any of them. The security challenges facing Nigeria require, not names or faces or titles but, adequate and efficient strategy. So, I will have a more exhaustive answer after I become aware of the overall strategy and tactical approaches of the new service chiefs.
“Apart from that, a whole lot of security risks and threats to citizens and Nigerian States have emerged during the past years that are more disturbing and frightening than Boko Haram.
“The farmer-herder challenge is a problem of grave importance across the Sudano-Sahel region. Nigeria is both a transit and host country for this problem. It is a worse problem than the Boko Haram issue which many people know has become a source of self-enrichment for those with means and taste for blood money.
“So I will be watching out to see how the new security chiefs try to address this problem. At the same time, the farmer-herder issue will remain unresolved if approached as a matter of State security.
“The farmer-herder issue is not a defence issue, but an overarching problem that entangles livelihood issues, food security, a feeling of cultural entitlements, poverty, climate change impact, and the survival of communities and nations.
“I hope Government will understand this and not expect the new security chiefs to use a magic wand to wish the problems away or with their land, sea and air arsenal.”
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has hailed the sack of service chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari with a call on the newly appointed ones to, as a matter of urgency, improve the security situations in the country.
The party said the action by the president, though long overdue, is a welcome development, considering the general view which had grown among Nigerians that they needed to be changed since the security situation in the country under their watch wasn’t getting any better.
The PDP in a press statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Bemgba Iortyom, said “For the people of Benue State security has become an issue of paramount concern in the face of the ravaging menace of herdsmen attacks against the land, mostly the rural areas and the attendant devastation being visited on its agrarian economy.
“The people have over the years now been living under heightened state of insecurity which adversely affected their economic mainstay of agriculture, thereby weakening their food security base.
“As a party, PDP in Benue State charges the new service chiefs to ensure rapid improvement in the security situation under their watch such as will make our towns and villages safe and displaced persons return to their homes and normal way of life.”
