For Months on end, there have been strident calls from Nigerians for the removal of the service chiefs but The President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal as treated such call with indifference and scant regard that underscores why the clamour of preponderance of citizens will not materialise, at least not anytime soon.
Many Nigerians believe the service chiefs lack the know-how and stratagems to put an end to insecurity across the country, the are also of the notion that the the service chiefs have outlived their usefulness not because their official tenure has ended but also because they have attained and exceeded the mandatory retirement age.
But, in support of the federal government’s decision to retain the security chiefs despite glaring failure to stem the tide of terrorism, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, on Tuesday, said the citizenry would need to tarry as their demand was not in the offing, adding that removing the service chiefs would be detrimental to national security for now.
“You don’t sack people like that. There are processes and I believe that, at the ‘opportune’ time, those processes will be followed. You don’t just wake up and say sack people, it doesn’t happen like that.
“We are in a very difficult time. We need everybody to be on board. We need synergy within the intelligence community; within the military formations that will help fight this war.
“We are in a very difficult situation and when we begin to create cracks and divisions, who will be the beneficiaries? The adversaries are the ones that are going to exploit those deficiencies and further the cause of destabilising the nation.
“At this moment, what we need is for everybody to be on the same page, fight the battle of securing the nation for protecting lives and property and ensuring that every Nigerian has the opportunity to live a prosperous life. I think that should be our main focus,” the Daily Trust newspaper reported Mr Mustapha to have told journalists at a public presentation of a book authored by a former General Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Samuel Salifu.
Meanwhile, in his description of the book titled ‘CAN, Religion and Power in Nigeria,’ the SGF said “it is a reservoir of information on the country’s past struggles”.
Also in his submission, the CAN President, Samson Ayokunle, called on the federal government to exercise its best against the insurgents and other threats to Nigerians security.
“It will be good to make sure that those in government fight violence in Nigeria. Because if they fail to accomplish a Nigeria where there is peace and security, it will be sad and it will be part of their history forever and ever,” Mr Ayokunle said.