Killings: Hold Security Chiefs Accountable, ex-Minister Tells Nigerians

Iyobosa Uwugiaren in Abuja

A former Minister of State for Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, has said that the failure of security architecture in the country is not the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari, but that of the people who are not demanding their ‘’due and equitable rights’’ from security agents, who are being funded by tax-payers’ money but ended being the richest individuals in the country today.

The Delta State born politician/businessman who stated this while speaking with journalists in Abuja, said security agencies were not doing enough to stop the killings in the country.

”The greatest issue, which we have in Nigeria today that is being contrived as security problem, is with the security agencies. When I say security agencies, I mean the Department of State Security (DSS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigerian Army and all the apparatus that is synonymous or associated with security.

‘’Can you ever remember when the DG of DSS has been probed and money recovered from him? Have you seen where the National Security Adviser or DG of Nigeria Intelligence Agency is probed? Have you seen where the IGP is probed? The fact is that we have been dodging these issues,’’ he said

Speaking further, he said: ‘’We have a serious task in our hands. We are toying with our lives, and unless we collectively deal with these issues we are just joking with the future of our country. Security agencies and their personnel must be held accountable in this country. It is getting late by the day but something can be done.

‘’How do you have Boko Haram ravaging a nation? All the service chiefs, IGP and DG of DSS have no business using the taxpayers money to protect themselves in Abuja. They should go to the places where the security problems are, because that is why they were appointed in the first place.

‘’How do you say you are the DG of DSS and they are killing people in your country and you are here in a safe haven using security personnel to protect yourself and at the end of the month you earn salary? You are the IGP, they are killing your people and you are there in an air conditioned office? I am sorry, Nigerians should demand their inalienable rights to security from the President and in turn from the Service Chiefs.’’

While admitting that the President has not done well enough on security issue, Olorogun Gbagi said the persons that had been appointed have the responsibility to justify their being in those positions, insisting that It is for Nigerians to demand that these security chiefs live up to their mandates.

He called for thorough examination on how the security chiefs were appointed, those behind them and why are they still there, saying ‘’this is a country where hoodlums have taken over.’’

He added, ‘’In a democracy you don’t get anything free of charge. You demand for it. In every state of the federation you have a Director of DSS, you have a Commissioner of Police and you have one DSS Officer in every local government area. What are they doing? These people are being promoted every year.

‘’How do you promote somebody who has failed? I am sure that the DSS and their security officials in those LGAs, where herdsmen attacked in Plateau State will be promoted next year. There is a system failure. There is a system collapse.’’

He said that for every gruesome death that takes place in the country, many investors are driven back.

‘’A nation cannot live by collecting tax or waiting for rents from oil and gas; a nation relies on its human resources. If you allow your country to be tagged as an insecure country, you have made the country ungovernable and hoodlums will take advantage of it. This is like what happened in Iraq. Sometimes it is foreign bodies that sponsor these internal crisis and conflicts’’, he stated.

‘’The President should bite. I think that the President should bite and bite hard. We cannot continue like this. My position is that it is not sufficient for Buhari to be clean, it is important for him to bite. By that I mean, he must clean his house,’’ Gbadi added.