President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to ignore calls from some quarters seeking the sack of the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd).
This was the sentiment expressed by the President of Center For Convention On Democratic Integrity (CCDI), Mr Femi Aduwo on Wednesday, who described the clamour as senseless and diversionary.
He added that persons and groups behind the move lacks deep understanding of the dynamics of the security challenges facing the country.
CCDI, a non-governmental organisation incorporated in United States and Nigeria with consultative status of the United Nations, made this known in a press statement signed by its President, Olufemi Aduwo.
The statement reads in part: “Removal of the National Security Adviser will not provide the arms and the required intelligence needed or encourage the citizens to render adequate assistance by providing information to the appropriate security and defence agencies.
“In Nigeria truth is bitter. Insurgency cum terrorism war is a long war. The Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation Agency has a role to play. People must be informed and made to understand the difference between fighting insurgency and civil war.” Enough of half baked truth. It is well known that fighting insurgencies are challenging. The war against the Taliban started in 1994.
“The Al-Qaeda notorious leader, Ayman al-Zawahri who coordinated the September 11,2001 attacks on the US that killed more than 3000 people, was killed just few days ago in Kabul by the US drone missile.” As a people, we desperately need a more thoughtful discussion about our response to insurgency and terrorism. “People have had enough of the demagoguery and divisive partisan attacks that dominate the debate over the years and obscure the issues.
“The basis of successful counter-insurgency is acquiring intelligence to identify an enemy that often hides among the populace.” Counter-insurgency is the use of all elements of a nation’s power, including not only combined-arms operations, but also psychological, political, economic, intelligence and diplomatic operations to defeat any insurgency and terrorism.
“Kinetics method only would not win the war. Asymmetric war operations pattern is far different from conventional war. Government and the people need to do more in above stated strategies. “The huge ransom collected by these criminals is kept in the same banks we all use or in circulation in the same money market. How does the money get back into the system?
.”These people are with us and some people know them. The fight against terrorism is not an act that the country can achieve on its own. It requires teamwork, international cooperation and collaboration. “We must also pay attention to financing of terrorism. Terrorists are not able to act on their own without funding for their operations. Being able to cut these financing channels would diminish significantly the capacities of these terrorists.
“What we are witnessing across the North is predominantly uncoordinated criminal gangs engaging in terrorism. Both Boko Haram and lSWAP lack the capacity to overrun the central government of Nigeria, regardless their links with foreign insurgency groups. “We should not interpret Nigeria or every other jihadist Islamist group through the prism of what happened in Afghanistan. I disagree with the submission by some analysts, comparing the Nigerian situation with Somalia.
The military is overstretched. They should change the rule of engagement and adequate information track technology should be acquired. “We need to expand the security intelligence community. Since Nigeria security organisation was dissolved in 1985 into State Security Service, responsible for domestic intelligence; National intelligence Agency, responsible for foreign intelligence and counter-intelligence operations and Defence intelligence Agency for military intelligence, these bodies need to be overhauled for greater performance. The security challenge then and now are not the same,” Aduwo stated.
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