By Ikechukwu Amaechi
(ikechukwuamaechi@yahoo.com, 08055069065)
Why is President Muhammadu Buhari going round in circles was the question that concentrated my mind on Tuesday after the latest security council meeting circus in Abuja.
Why is he and his stunt-oriented military artists more interested in public spectacles than providing Nigerians with security?
Since it is obvious that the country is not making any headway in security, why is Buhari insisting on doing the same thing over and over again, knowing full well that he will keep on coming back to the same point?
Could it be that he is unaware of Albert Einstein, the German-born theoretical physicist’s definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results?
On Tuesday, Buhari held yet another security council meeting with his top security apparatchiks, including the service chiefs. The reasonable outcome many Nigerians expected was a handshake with the security chiefs and their immediate replacement.
There was nothing like that. Instead, Buhari called for new strategies and the overhauling of security architecture.
But what exactly does that mean? Maybe a fine-tuning of the Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai’s famous push-up skill.
Other than that, what new strategy can Buratai possibly bring to bear on the war? How many times has he relocated to Borno State, the epicentre of the war? And what was the outcome?
Since the president, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, knows that his military commanders have done their best, which he said is not good enough to stem the tide of insecurity, doesn’t common sense dictate that he brings in new people to carry out the re-engineering he seeks in the nation’s security architecture?
National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, said Buhari restated his displeasure with the inability of the security chiefs to safeguard lives and property, a sentiment he first expressed nearly two months ago, which is shared by a majority of Nigerians who have called for their resignation or sack.
Governors are voicing the same concerns. Last week, Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno, who survived an ambush by gunmen in his state, accused the military of sabotaging the anti-insurgency war.
Lawmakers have also joined the chorus. On July 21, just 48 hours after an ambush by bandits in Katsina, Buhari’s home state, left at least 16 soldiers dead and 28 others wounded, the Senate passed a resolution calling on the service chiefs to resign or be sacked.
Ironically, the same president who said the efforts of the service chiefs were not good enough to tackle insecurity spurned the legislators’ political backing, reminding them that the appointment and sacking of security chiefs remains a presidential prerogative, as if the lawmakers didn’t know.
The presidency’s reaction was childish, to say the least.
If the lawmakers didn’t know whose responsibility it is, they would have easily done the sacking without burdening Buhari with the responsibility – because, unlike many other issues, the clamour enjoys bi-partisan support in the National Assembly.
Perhaps, the presidency’s big idea of Buhari doing “what is in the best interest of the country at all times,” is this re-engineering bugaboo.
But how can national security architecture be overhauled with the same service chiefs who the president said had overstayed their welcome still in charge, the same service chiefs the military rank and file are openly calling out and rebelling against?
Is it possible, given the prevailing circumstances, for Nigerians to trust their president when he implores them to be patient and await the fruits of the re-engineering process?
Does Buhari even believe himself when he assures distraught Nigerians that the situation is redeemable?
Briefing newsmen after Tuesday’s meeting – I have lost count how many such meetings have been held this year alone – Monguno said Buhari reaffirmed his position at the June 18 security council meeting that the security chiefs were not doing enough and hence should do more.
Monguno recounted that “what he [Buhari] said today was virtually a reaffirmation of what he said the first time. Yes, Mr. President said you are doing your best, as far as I’m concerned, but there’s still a lot more to be done.
“I’m more concerned about the promise we made to the larger Nigerian society and I am ordering an immediate re-engineering of the entire security apparatus. This is something that I believe will be done in a very short time, but I just want us to keep hope alive.”
It is either the president is playing games with the security of Nigerians or he is being insincere. If not, he would have asked himself whether the service chiefs have the capacity to still do more than they have done in the last five years.
Buhari’s indifference to the country’s security challenges benumbs every conscious and discerning mind. It is doubtful, contrary to his claims, that he knows how utterly helpless and forlorn Nigerians feel.
But the statement by Monguno that “since he is not an octopus, since he is not a spirit, if he delegates to people, then the onus is on them to actually fulfill the legitimate expectations of the larger Nigerian society,” is ridiculous because the bulk, as Buhari reminded the lawmakers, stops at his table. It is another manifestation of the president’s penchant for shirking responsibility. He enjoys the privileges that accrue to power, but abhors the attendant accountabilities.
So, if the service chiefs fail to fulfil the legitimate expectations of the people, rather than wringing his fingers in exaggerated frustration, the president knows what to do. And if he fails to do the needful, then he should carry the can.
The sad reality is that Nigerians have tolerated Buhari’s absolute lack of capacity to govern for too long and the consequences are dire.
But the question begging for an answer is what next? Where do we go from here?
Between June 18 when Buhari gave his service chiefs their marching orders and August 5, security has not improved. Instead, it has deteriorated alarmingly.
After the June 18 meeting, Monguno announced that “Mr. president expressed great concern over the declining security situation in the country.
“He is extremely unhappy about what is happening and he feels that, even though the security agencies are doing their best, their best is not good enough for him and wants an immediate reversal of the current trend and immediate reversal of our misfortunes in all their dimensions.”
Today, Nigerians are more traumatised. Ironically, it is not only the bloody civilians that have lost faith in the ability of the security architecture to do the job. Even soldiers on the frontlines are resigning in their hundreds.
So, why does Buhari prefer shedding crocodile tears on insecurity to doing the needful? Why is he pretending to be sad about the precarious security situation and yet sits on his palms and does nothing about it?
Buhari does not really get it. But if he does, then he does not care a hoot about Nigerians.
Pretending to sympathise with citizens over their security predicament without doing the needful is the height of dishonesty.
Worse still, doesn’t honour demand that in the face of a near national consensus that their best is no longer good enough for the country, the security chiefs should voluntarily quit without waiting to be kicked out?
The truth is that Buhari and his security commanders are playing games with the security of Nigerians for reasons known only to them.
