Work as Team to End Insecurity, Tinubu Charges Security Chiefs

•We’ll work tirelessly for Nigerians to get their lives back, Ribadu vows 

•President may dialogue with bandits, says Yerima

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, held his first meeting with the newly appointed security chiefs, with a call on them to work as a team to deliver their mandates.

National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, disclosed the president’s directives to newsmen in Abuja after the meeting. Ribadu gave a commitment that the team would restore peace and stability in the country, and ensure Nigerians got their lives back.

But former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Sani Yerima, said Tinubu might be considering the option of dialogue with bandits terrorising the northern parts of the country as a way of achieving quick resolution of the problem.

During the maiden security meeting at State House, Abuja, Tinubu assured the Chief of Defence Staff, service chiefs, Inspector-General of Police, and other top military brass of his support.

Ribadu, who spoke with newsmen after the deliberations, said aside from visiting the president to thank him for giving them the opportunity to serve the country, they also received instructions on what the president expected of them.

The NSA said, “We’re here to thank Mr. President for the opportunity he gave us to serve our country and to serve his own government. We also pledged our loyalty to him, Nigeria and Nigerians. We believe the choice he made is the right one, the correct one, and we know what he wants for this country.

“We’re going to work tirelessly to ensure that we accomplish that objective of securing our country, establishing peace, stability and let’s get our lives back.

“He gave us the assurance that he was with us hundred per cent. He told us that we must work as a team and that there’s work to be done, he’ll expect us to deliver and we’re grateful for the opportunity. That’s why we are here.”

Asked what the new security heads were bringing to the job, the NSA said though the task ahead was huge, “it is going to be done, insha Allah.”

On the team’s starting point, Ribadu said, “Where we are today and you can see already things are improving in our country. If you see, the record of crimes and activities of criminals are going down, it will continue to go down.

“We’ll secure this place. Nigerians have seen the quality of the people that are given opportunity, they are probably some of the best we have and they are not going to fail you, they’ll certainly deliver.”

The meeting was the first since Tinubu approved the appointment of the new set of security managers on June 19.

Ribadu led the team to the meeting, which was attended by Acting Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Christopher Musa; Acting Chief of Army Staff, Major General Taoreed Lagbaja; Acting Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla; Acting Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar; Chief of Defense Intelligence, Major General Emmanuel Undiandeye; and Acting Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.

Tinubu May Dialogue With Bandits, Says Yerima

Former Zamfara State governor, Senator Sani Yerima, said Tinubu was considering options for the quick resolution of the country’s security challenges, including dialogue with bandits in northern Nigeria. Yerima disclosed this yesterday at State House, Abuja, while speaking with newsmen after a meeting with the president Tinubu.

The former governor had in a recent interview on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Hausa service, advised government to explore the negotiation route with bandits, saying the military option ought to be the last resort. He highlighted the success of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s negotiations with militants in the Niger Delta in 2007 as a precedent for peaceful resolution of crises.

Yerima, an ex-senator for Zamfara West between 2007 and 2019, blamed the rise of banditry in some parts of the country on poverty and lack of education. 

He stated yesterday, “You see, these people are Nigerians, and I believe that the Nigerian government has capacity. The military, security, have the capacity to deal with them immediately if so directed, if they are given the resources they require, the support and political will. But the collateral damage that could be associated with the actions that can be taken, is what I believe should be avoided.

“If you send an aircraft now to where you identify the bandits, it is not only the bandits that would be affected. And if you will recall, Mr. President, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, had similar interaction with the militants in Niger Delta, it was successful.

“So, I believe that as Nigerians, if they are called upon by government, the major causes of this problem are poverty and ignorance that you cannot find an educated human being, properly educated human being, who has something to do, to take his arm, a gun to go kill an innocent soul, just in the name of looking for food.

“These people are having very high level of poverty and ignorance. So, if the government now comes up with a programme of rehabilitation just like they did in the issue of Boko Haram when the issue was handled, I’m sure you will have a successful ending of this crisis.

“The economic policy that the government is planning, if you look at the documents of ‘Renewed Hope,’ I’m sure by the time the implementation takes off properly, all these issues would be handled.”

Commenting on the dialogue option that had been tried, albeit unsuccessfully, in the North-west, the former governor said state governments did not have the capacity to successfully negotiate with bandits.

Yerima said, “You see, you cannot compare state actions with the federal government action. The federal government has enough human and material resources to handle any crisis that may come up in society.

“State governments have limited funds and resources. So, if they negotiate and they don’t have the capacity to create solution, then there is a problem.

“Like I said, it was not the Niger Delta states that negotiated with the militants, it was the federal government that came up with a robust programme that attracted the attention.

“Like I said, this issue is due to poverty and ignorance. Educate them, reintegrate them into the society, provide solution for that poverty issues. You will see that, oh, this problem will be over.

“And like I keep on saying, the best way to go about handling the issue of bandits should be the introduction of dialogue first. But, as I said, if that fails, then the government will go all out to eliminate them.

“Why I said we should start discussing with them is to avoid the collateral damage that may come up if intensive and extensive military operations are directed. But that should be the last option.

“Look at World War I and World War II. The wars were not ended in the battlefield. They were handled on the table. They had to negotiate. So, negotiation is part of governance. Once you negotiate with your enemies…the reason some of them are doing this are ignorance and poverty.

“So, what you need to do is to identify what you can do to separate these people and make sure that they are integrated back to the society.”

Yerima also disclosed that Tinubu asked him to play a fatherly role and help in resolving the faceoff between the governor of his home state of Zamfara, Lawal Dauda, and his predecessor, Bello Matawalle.

He said Tinubu requested his assistance in resolving the issues, and he pledged to work towards achieving peace in the state.

Yerima said, “The issue of Zamfara, like you rightly said, I’m now a father in Zamfara. Even Mr. President, in my interaction this afternoon, has requested me to put my best to ensure that there’s stability in the state and that is what we are doing already. And by the grace of God, we will come together and you will see that all the crisis that are going on will be over.”

Yerima commended the president for swiftly removing the fuel subsidy, and said the decision was crucial for achieving equilibrium in prices.

While acknowledging the subsequent increase in fuel prices, Yerima assured the public that palliatives were being discussed with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to alleviate the rising hardship.