.Backs Sultan on insecurity
By Valentine Amanze, Online Editor
Northern elders have asked President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria to sack the Service Chiefs without further delay, and appoint younger senior officers that would bring fresh perspectives and ideas to bear in addressing the deteriorating insecurity in the North in particular, and the country in general.
They also commended the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, for voicing out the worsening insecurity in the north.
The elders said the monarch’s comments vindicated their position that insecurity in the north was getting worse.
The elders, in a statement by the National Coordinator of Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development (CONEPD), Mr. Zana Goni, and National Women Leader, Hajia Mario Bichi, pointed out the monarch’s outburst did not only reflect the true situation of things but had vindicated them.
Besides, the group appealed to Buhari to heed the advice of most Nigerians by rejigging the security architecture and appointing young minds, who would salvage the situation.
They further charged other leaders to speak up against insecurity and other precarious situation bedeviling the country.
The statement reads: “We most respectfully commend the Sultan of Sokoto, our father, for stating the true position of things in the North, as it concerns insecurity.
“We had said it over and over again, that the state of insecurity had reached a point where our farmers can hardly access their farms, even as travellers on busy highways can no longer guarantee their safe arrival without being kidnapped.
“Our mothers, fathers, and children are now at the mercy of terrorists and bandits, who kill, harass and destroy property without being confronted, in many instances, by our security operatives.
“As patriotic elders, we think the position of the Sultan is a clarion call to our dear President, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, to restructure the security architecture in the country without further delay.
“We applaud our President for ensuring huge budgetary allocation to the military and security sectors, thereby demonstrating his interest in securing lives and property.
“We, however, regret that our Security Chiefs have not shown commensurate commitment in tackling these security challenges, owing to what we see as lethargy and spent ideas.
“Accordingly, we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Service Chiefs without further delay, and appoint younger senior officers that will bring fresh perspectives and ideas to bear in addressing the deteriorating security situation in the North in particular, and the country in general.”
Recall that the Sultan, during the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), narrated how bandits “go around in the villages, households, and markets with their AK 47 rifles, they stop at the market, buy things, pay and collect change, with their weapons openly displayed.”
