The current state of insecurity in Nigeria has been blamed on the lack of political leadership of late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua and his successor, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, to take full charge of the military during their combined eight-year tenure.
A damning report released by the International Crisis Group (ICG) revealed that though the two leaders were presidents at some point, they were never Commanders-in-Chief in the strict sense of it.
The report described Nigeria’s military as an institution in distress having been among Africa’s strongest and a mainstay of regional peacekeeping, but has become a “flawed force.”
The ICG said that whereas the Nigeria Army suffered varying degrees of neglect during the long period of military rule, the situation was worsened by the lack of effective political leadership during the YarAdua/ Jonathan years.
It said that whereas the Nigerian Constitution makes the president, the Commander-in-Chief, Yar’Adua and Jonathan “never rose to that responsibility” due to their lack of familiarity with the military and their failure to learn on the job.
During their tenures, the report said, the duo failed to convene regular meetings of the National Security Council (NSC) or the National Defence Council (NDC), from which they could have drawn the much-needed advice and support.
The report acknowledged that though Yar’Adua was terminally ill and was in no position to provide the necessary leadership before his death, Jonathan “was out of his depth on defence matters” and less involved with leading and managing the military than his predecessors.
It said that Jonathan, who initially raised hopes of reform of the security apparatus, could not see it through probably because the reform agenda was rapidly overshadowed by the Boko Haram insurgency that plagued much of his tenure.
ICG, an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflicts, made this assertion in its latest report on Nigeria.
The report is based on interviews with serving and retired military officers at various locations in the country, including personnel involved in operations in the North-East and the Niger Delta.
It also made use of information gathered from defence scholars in research institutions and diplomats in Abuja.
The report also lashed out at the National Assembly, accusing it of not being an effective steward of national security.
“In the years immediately after return to democratic rule, most legislators were largely ignorant of their basic law-making, appropriation and oversight duties. Capacity developed gradually and is still very limited. Poor oversight allowed rot in the armed forces to deepen. For instance, parliament never knew it was constitutionally mandated to scrutinise security chief nominees before confirmation until a court awakened it to the responsibility in 2013. Failure to track how appropriated funds were used by military chiefs also contributed to the environment of corruption and abuse.
“Corruption, a serious problem across the public service, is a major contributor to the military’s decline and loss of standing in society. It percolates through all levels of the defence establishment and manifests itself in diverse forms.
“At the National Assembly, legislators are accused of manipulating the appropriations process to serve private purposes. Legislative committees have also reportedly used oversight visits to military facilities and projects by committees to extort funds from service chiefs and other commanders in exchange for favourable reports,” ICG said.
In view of the daunting challenges facing the Nigeria Armed Forces, the report tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to set in motion processes that could lead to the formulation and implementation of a comprehensive defence sector reform in Nigeria.
(Today.ng)