Presidential aspirant and film maker Dickson Iroegbuin this chat with Dr. Uzor Ngoladi deliberates on the appointment of newservice chiefs and the security situation in Nigeria. He recommends the sack of Buhari for failing to provide security and welfare for the citizens. Excerpts:
Let’s have your perspective on the performance of theservice chiefs that just lost their jobs.
Their performance is out there in the public domain.Buhari promised to lead from the front and tackle insecurity in Nigeria. Herewe are, the security situation in Nigeria has taken a new dimension. People arebeing slaughtered like chicken every day. We have been calling for the sack ofthese service chiefs but Buhari kept a deaf ear. The National Assembly calledfor their sack. On my show, Nigeria Right Now, several guests called fortheir sack. They have overstayed the civil service age limit and Buhari stillkept them. The institution is shattered by the approach of president Buhari.The service chiefs gave their best but we know that their best was no wheregood enough. It took a long time to rejig the security architecture of Nigeria.Almost six years! If the people you are leading are complaining, you look atthe merits and engage. How can the president order the IG of police to relocateto Benue State during the crises there and the IG disobeyed and nothinghappened? It is the height of insubordination and incompetence.
Who takes the blame for incompetence of the servicechiefs?
It is the Commander in Chief ofcourse!
But he has provided all the logistics required tofight insurgency?
What did he provide? What about the morale andencouragement? The soldiers in the field want to be appreciated. We saw videosof Nigerian soldiers lamenting that the ragtag enemy was overpowering them inthe battlefield. They were not inspired to fight Boko Haram. For me, the bulkstops at the table of the president and it is obvious that the Commander inChief of the Armed Forces has failed. If there is anybody who should be firedfrom office, it is the Commander in Chief. By sacking the service chiefs Buharihas admitted failure. What is the primary duty of government? Security andwelfare of the people. If you cannot provide security and welfare for Nigerians,you have failed!
So, you recommend that Buhari should resign?
Not just resign, if he refuses to resign, the NationalAssembly should commence impeachment proceedings because they called hisattention to the security situation but he did not listen to them. The carnagecontinued. Now that he has finally bowed to pressure, he ought to be punished.It took him a long time to fire incompetent service chiefs and that is a clearconfirmation of failure.
Did you see the video of soldiers jubilating over thesack of the service chiefs?
If you keep officers whose tenure has elapsed inservice, you have killed the morale of the junior ones. That is why they arejubilating. It means that their expectation has finally been met. We thank Godthat Buhari also has minimum years to stay in office. It gives soldiers somerelief that their senior officers are finally out of the way. We need freshideas to move the country forward. An army general made a video to call theattention of the authorities to what is happening in the field and he wasdemoted. There are so many cases where soldiers are court marshalled becausethey complained. It’s rather unfortunate that we have a Commander in Chief whoonly commands soldiers to kill Nigerians as we saw during the EndSARS protest.However, we still say, ‘Well done Mr. President for waking up by 6pm instead of6am.
Are you of the school of thought that the sackedservice chiefs should be probed?
Of course, everybody should give account of theirservice after stewardship especially when you are occupying a public office.People lost their lives during this period. I subscribe to anything that will makethem account for how they served Nigeria, if they are found wanting, theyshould go in for it. Every public office holder should submit himself willinglyto probe and scrutiny after office. The former governor of Ekiti, Ayo Fayosewas calling for International Criminal Court to step in and I totally supporthim. If I were the former service chiefs, I will submit myself to scrutiny.
What are your expectations from the new servicechiefs?
The expectation is very high. In fact, we cannot waitto hear that the issue of insurgency in Nigeria has come to an end. They mustperform magic since the commander in chief has provided them with all thelogistics they need. This has to do with the life of Nigerian citizens. Theservice chiefs should be at the forefront of the fight not in Abuja. If theyneed anything, they should make it public. Nigerians are looking for servicechiefs they can trust. Its all about information sharing. They must win thetrust of Nigerians. We are tired of citizens being slaughtered everyday and thearmed forces appears to be compromised. The army has a very negative image inNigeria right now. They should get to work and work with Nigeria. The media iskey. They must carry the media along and inform them about their challenges.The movie industry also has a key role to play in redesigning the approach ofsecurity in Nigeria. It should not end with arms and ammunition.
If you occupy Aso Rock today as president what willyou do differently?
If I eventually become the commander in chief, I willensure that everyone is carried along. For instance, if you look at the servicechiefs appointment, a particular region has been left out. The eastern part ofNigeria has been left out. There is no way you can have justice. I will placejustice on the table as CinC of Nigeria. Anybody who does not perform hisduties will be shown the way out. Intelligence gathering cannot be by arms andammunition. You must reach out to the communities and media. Work withNigerians.
Can you compare what happened in Imo State and Ondostate in terms of security?
What happened in Orlu Imo State is a shame. That iswhy the call for restructuring is thickening. How can we have a governor in Imostate and the army will storm a community in the state shooting people? It doesn’tmake sense. In Ondo state we saw the governor as chief security officer give amarching order to Fulani herdsmen to leave the state forest reserve. That isthe right thing to do as a responsible governor. What happened in my state, Imostate is very unfortunate. I sent the governor, Hope Uzodinma a text message.Under your watch, the army invaded your community and killed people. It issimply a case of failure of leadership. Then we see the opposite in Ondo whereAkeredolu took responsibility. The governors must be there for the people. Thatis what is missing in the Orlu case. The governor gave consent if not by now hewould have had a meeting with the president. What stops Hope Uzodinma from havinga one on one with Mr. President and address his people? He just declared acurfew and that’s balderdash. Even if you came through the Supreme Court, showthe people love and let them accept you as their leader. Ngige did it in AnambraState. He abandoned the Godfather and pitched tent with the people. HopeUzodinma missed the opportunity to align with Imo citizens. He is my governor. Iam disappointed that Hope does not see the need to earn the trust andfollowership of the people. Imo State presently is in ruins, the roads areterrible, no light, the people are living in abject poverty and then you still
inflict terror on the people. It is really sad!