Insecurity: What Nigerians expect of the new Service Chiefs

*President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday appointed new security Service Chiefs following the resignation of the former officers

*Nigerians expect more respect for human rights and innovation in the fight against insurgency, banditry and kidnapping in the country

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

After several prompts by scores of Nigerians for the Federal Government to effect changes in the top echelon of the country’s security management due to worsening spate of insecurity over the years, President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday, January 26, 2021, appointed new Service Chiefs following the resignation of the former officers.

The replacement of the Service Chiefs by President Buhari comes after numerous calls for their sack over the increasing insecurity in the country.

As far back as July 2020, the Nigerian Senate had called on the Service Chiefs to step aside, report stated.

The Senate reiterated its call in December after 43 farmers were killed in Zabarmari, Borno State, by Boko Haram terrorists.

ConsumerConnect reports Major-General Leo Irabor now replaces General Abayomi Olonisakin as Chief of Defence Staff; Air Vice-Marshal Isiaka Oladayo Amao replaces Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar as Chief of Air Staff; Rear Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo replaces Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas as Chief of Naval Staff; and General Ibrahim Attahiru replaces Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai as Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

Below are brief profiles of the newly appointed security officers.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS): Major-General Leo Irabor

Major-General Leo Irabor was born October 5, 1965, and hails from Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State.

He is a trained Engineer from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, and holds two Master’s degrees from the University of Ghana and Bangladesh University of Professionals, Dhaka.

A one-time Theatre Commander of the Operation Lafiya Dole, Major-General Irabor later took over as the Commander, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).

He replaces General Abayomi Olonisakin who served as Chief of Defence Staff since July 2015.

Chief of Air Staff: Air-Vice Marshal I.O. Amao

Air Vice-Marshal Isiaka Oladayo Amao was born 14 September, 1965, at Enugu. He hails from Osogbo in Osun State.

Amao was enlisted into the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) January 19, 1984.

After several years in service, he replaces Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, who has served as Chief of Air Staff since July 2015.

Chief of Naval Staff: Rear Admiral A. Z. Gambo

Rear Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo was born on April 22, 1966, and hails from Nasarawa Local Government Area in Kano State.

Gambo was enlisted into the Nigerian Navy September 24, 1984, as a member of Regular Course 36.

Until his recent appointment, he was the Director of Procurement at the Defence Space Administration.

Rear Admiral A.Z Gambo, replaces Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas who served as Chief of Naval Staff since July 2015.

Chief of Army Staff: Major-General I. Attahiru

General Ibrahim Attahiru was born August 10, 1966, and hails from Kaduna North Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

Maj.-Gen. Attahiru Ibrahim was appointed to lead the offensive against Boko Haram in the North-East in May 2017.

He was later replaced by General Nicholas Rogers.

Before his appointment as the new Chief of Army Staff, he oversaw the 82 Division, Nigerian Army.

He replaces Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai who had served in that office since July 2015.

Meanwhile, in setting agenda for the new Service Chiefs, Nigerians have said they expect more respect for human rights and innovation in the fight against insurgency, banditry and kidnapping.

The National Assembly, governors, leading political parties, major socio-cultural groups, and other eminent Nigerians have expressed their desire for the new Service Chiefs to “hit the ground running.”

The National Assembly (NASS), Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) expect renewed urgency in the fight against insurgency from the new military chiefs, The Nation report stated.

Sen. Surajudeen Basiru, Spokesman of the Senate, commended the previous Service Chiefs on their efforts, and expressed hope that the new appointees will do better.

Basiru said: “The former Service Chiefs are commended for their service to this great country, and coming at a time of security challenges they have creditably performed to the best of their ability.

“For the newly announced appointments, we hope that by the time the Senate scrutinises their record they would be fit and proper for appointment under the law.

“We also believe that it is part of the continuation of facing the challenge of insecurity in Nigeria which the Senate has dedicated its time and energy to see how we can tackle the problem headlong.

“So we hope that by the time the requirements of their appointments are finally laid, the new Service Chiefs will dedicate themselves to squarely tackle the problem of insecurity, particularly the Boko Haram insurgency, the problem of banditry and the general security of the territorial integrity of Nigeria.”

Benjamin Kalu, House of Representatives spokesman, also called for support for the new security Chiefs.

He stated: “We want to thank the former service chiefs for serving the nation to the extent they did and wish them well.

“We also want to thank Mr. President for listening to the people and for accepting their resignation.

“The question then is, what does that hold for us? It does not automatically mean that these are the messiah of Nigeria security architecture.

“What it means is that there is a new injection into the security architecture and there is a new task and a new speed to be expected and a new strategy, new leadership culture, new leadership style all of which will be hinged on the code of the armed forces.

Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe, Senate Minority Leader, stated it is left to be seen how the new Service Chiefs would turn the tide on insecurity in the country.

Abaribe said: “Better late than never. We had been calling for this for a long time now. Let’s hope this team would stem the tide of insecurity.”

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, in a statement by Mr. Paulinus Nsirim, the state Honourable Commissioner for Information and Communications, noted though the appointments came late, the President should be commended for listening to the voices of the people.

The governor, however, warned that “the new Service Chiefs should not politicise security by aligning with politicians.

“What the country needs now is competence and professionalism that will reduce insecurity to the barest minimum.”

Wike also noted that Nigerians, who had lost confidence in the former Service Chiefs, are looking up to the new appointees to make the desired change.

Ken Robinson, Spokesman of PANDEF, expressed optimism that the Service Chiefs would discharge their duties in the interest of the nation.

The organisation said though the sack of the former Service Chiefs was long overdue, President Buhari responded to calls by well-meaning Nigerians.

It noted: “We congratulate the new service chiefs while hoping that they would discharge their duties and responsibilities professionally, without biases and tendencies in the best interest of the country.”

In his remark on the development, Peter Timothy Igbifa, President of Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC), urged the new “sheriffs in town” to tackle issues of banditry, bloody highways, and the menace of the armed herdsmen ravaging communities, including the Ijaw territories.

According to him, Igbifa there is no room for excuses and called on the Service Chiefs to restore the dying morale in the military.

While urging the President to make funds available for the provision of necessary tools in the discharge of their duties, Igbifa said: “These new service chiefs have a lot to do. We do not want excuses again.

“We want to see the termination of banditry, insurgency, kidnapping, highway armed robberies and the nefarious and bloody activities of the armed Fulani herdsmen, who are ravaging our Ijaw communities and other settlements across the country.”

Among other eminent Nigerians, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, a Second Republic politician, urged the new Service Chiefs to do their best to change the ugly security situation in the country.

Alhaji Yakasai said: “My advice to them is to consider the plight of the nation over the security challenges at the moment in their new postings.

“I hope that they would do their best to change the situation for the better.

“The idea behind retiring at a certain age is for the old hands to leave the stage and provide opportunities for younger officers to bring fresh ideas in tackling the country’s security challenges.

“We hope that the new service chiefs bring innovation to improve the security situation in the country.”

Chief Chekwas Okorie, a politician, also disclosed that expectations of Nigerians are very high, and “the service chiefs must do something different and urgently too for their appointment to be considered well deserved.”

Chief Okorie stated: “They should hit the ground running. There is no doubt that the outgoing service chiefs are being praised for a job well done, but many Nigerians felt that they no longer had new ideas to contribute in the last two years.

“Since the new service chiefs were not imported from outside Nigeria, they are familiar with the yearnings and frustrations of Nigerians as far as the security situation in the country are concerned and therefore should know what the expectations of the people are”

Therefore, they should be able to justify their appointment, he said.

Additional reporting by Isola Moses