Danjuma’s Challenge to the Military

Last week’s call by a former Chief of Defence  Staff, General  Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), urging the military to restore peace without excuses, should serve as a wake-up call for Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, and the service chiefs. Davidson Iriekpen reports 

Worried by the lingering insecurity in Nigeria despite the country’s previous military exploits, which had been demonstrated in both internal and external operations, an elder statesman and former Chief of Defence Staff, General Theophilus Danjuma (rtd), last week told military chiefs that there are “no excuses” for the lingering insecurity ravaging the country.

The retired general spoke at the Armed Forces Officers’ Mess in Abuja during a book launch titled: “Big Boots: Lessons from my military service,” authored by Solomon Udounwa, a retired Major-General of the Nigerian Army.

Danjuma, who was the chairman of the occasion, said: “Number one problem today is security. We must end the pandemic and stop the killings that are going on in our country as soon as possible. Those of you who are still serving have no excuses. No!”

The Taraba State-born General, whose state was an epicentre of the killings had in March 2018 voiced out his frustrations by the alleged partisan role played by the military under President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration and asked Nigerians to defend themselves against killers.

While speaking at the maiden convocation of Taraba State University, Danjuma accused the army and other security agencies of colluding with killers and failing in their responsibility of securing the country from attacks.

“The armed forces are not neutral. They collude with the armed bandits. They kill people, kill Nigerians. They facilitate their movements, they cover them,” Danjuma had reportedly said.

“If you depend on the armed forces to stop the killings you will all die one by one. The ethnic cleansing must stop in Taraba State, must stop in all the states of Nigeria,” he said.

Again, in August 2022, Danjuma, observing the height insecurity had attained in the country, restated his call on Nigerians to defend themselves at the official presentation of the Staff of Office to the new Aku Uka of Wukari, Manu Ali, in Wukari. He stated that his earlier call for the people to defend themselves was taken for granted.

“In 2018, when I called on the people to defend themselves, a kangaroo commission of enquiry was set up to investigate, and they said I was lying because there was no evidence.

“Today in the country, there is evidence everywhere; the foreign bandits are killing and taking over lands in all the places.

“I will not give you arms; you have to find out how the bandits got and find yours too,” Danjuma added.

Danjuma’s latest call on the military not to give excuses was an indication that his confidence in the military’s capacity and sincerity to tackle insecurity has been restored.

But like many Nigerians, the respected general who was also Chief of Army Staff is surprised that the strong military he left behind, which had projected Nigeria as the giant of Africa with its exploits in internal and external operations, appears to be incapable of eliminating bandits and other internal security threats.

However, responding to Danjuma’s charge during the book launch, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, insisted that the military was well positioned and working tirelessly to restore peace across the country.

He stated: “Let me, at least also mention to our distinguished chairman that the armed forces of Nigeria are well positioned, are willing, dedicated and committed in ensuring that we restore peace and security in our own dear country.

“We shall not be deterred. There are going to be challenges; yes, but that’s why we’re here. I want to assure you that we have learned a lot from your record, very, very distinguished senior officers who have modelled us all through the years. We cannot afford to fail and we will not fail,” Musa said.

Narrating his experience during childhood, the author of the book, Maj. Gen. Udounwa (rtd), who told his audience that he has big feet, stated: “And then when I joined the military because my feet are very big, I was also given Big Boots, which went with me everywhere I served, and which I used in trampling on terrorists and every other threat to our national security.” 

Indeed, the Nigerian military stands on much bigger feet with its sophisticated military equipment and well-trained manpower than bandits and terrorists and should use these assets to swiftly bring insecurity to an end.

Many believe that another way governments at all levels can support the military to tame insecurity is to provide and sustain good governance.

This perhaps was why at a recent lecture he delivered at the University of Ibadan, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, restated the widespread belief that the twin problems of poverty and unemployment are responsible for insecurity and instability in the country.

He noted that linked to the factors of unemployment and poverty was the issue of demography and the youth bulge, with citizens below the age of 35 years accounting for about 54.1 per cent of the population.

Out of the high youth population, he said, less than 20 per cent are gainfully employed. 

In recent times, a continuation of failed policies from previous administrations and the present government’s missteps have further plunged the populace into hardship and despair, exacerbating insecurity in the country.

Last month, youths across the country took to the streets to protest against hunger, hardship, and despair largely caused by the inability of farmers to go to farm due to insecurity, the removal of the fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira. 

A former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), said this much when he called on the federal government to remedy the present hardship confronting Nigerians. Speaking when he hosted a delegation of Campaign for Democracy (CD), he stressed that the hardship in the country appears to be out of control.

In his maiden parley with the defence correspondents last year, the CDS, General Musa, had also called on the political leaders to prioritise good governance and respect constitutional provisions for the insecurity and other hardships witnessed by Nigerians to be substantially addressed, stating that good governance, and not a military solution, would end terrorism in the country.

However, with the increased budgetary allocations to the military and the procurement of more combat aircraft and other military equipment by the federal government, it is no longer acceptable for the military to use poverty and maladministration as excuses for its inability to tackle the country’s security challenges.

The military should quickly end the current insecurity while the political leaders focus on long-term solutions.

Danjuma’s intervention has become timely, given recent events in Zamfara and Sokoto states, where communities took their destinies into their hands by confronting bandits. Allowing the communities to arm themselves and tackle insecurity will plunge Nigeria into crisis and lawlessness.