Victor EzejaAs President Bola Tinubu has appointed service chiefs, experts have advised that to have an efficient management of the nation’s security architecture, he should also appoint competent persons as ministers of defense and interior.
President Tinubu recently appointed new service chiefs (Chiefs of Defence Staff, Army Staff, Air Staff, and Naval Staff) and the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), and the Comptroller General of Customs Service, all awaiting confirmation by the National Assembly.
Speaking on having a stable security system in the country, Group Captain Sadeeq Shehu (rtd), who appeared on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily show on Thursday morning said a competent minister of defence would effectively coordinate all security agencies to achieve good results in terms of tackling insecurity in the country.
While commending President Tinubu for the quality of officers chosen as service chiefs, Capt. Shehu said the president should also appoint people capable of managing the Ministries of Defence and Interior.
He said: “Apart from selecting the service chiefs, another issue we have to also look at is the management structures. When we talk of the management structure, we are talking of the Federal Executive Council, Ministries of Defence and Interior. Now the President also has to make sure that the quality of the people selected (service chiefs) is complimented by selecting people who will manage them. The Military, the police are not the ones managing themselves. Strategic leadership and direction should be given by the ministries.”
“So, I am calling on the president to make sure that he looks very well before he picks who is going to be his Minister of Defence and who is going to be his Minister of Interior,” the retired military officer advised.
He also stressed that the National Assembly which is saddled with the responsibility of oversight, should be careful in selecting members of committees on security.
According to him, lawmakers to sit on security committees in the Senate and House of Representatives should be knowledgeable on security matters and be able to conduct effective oversight both in terms of screening nominees to head security agencies and be able to do constant proper checks on their activities to compliment the action of the president in that direction.
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He warned that lack of oversight on security by the National Assembly might lead to the efforts of the president as commander in chief of the armed forces not being successful.
“Security and intelligence agencies can be oversighted with the necessary information and education. There is nowhere and when it is said that security agencies cannot be oversighted. All the gains that might be made by the commander in chief of the armed forces might be lost due to lack of oversight from the National Assembly,” he stressed.
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He said there were instances in the past when ministers of defence were found to be ineffective because competent persons were not appointed. He said: “The President should find a quality minister of defence, and entrust him with the management, financing, and oversight of the security agencies.”
He also emphasised that the security leaders should be transparent and accountable in their dealings.
He also cautioned lawmakers against coercing service chiefs to include projects in their constituencies in budgets before such can be approved, adding that the practice doesn’t help in solving the security problems.
He urged the president to end the trend of heads of security agencies going to the National Assembly to defend their budget, adding that it is not helpful.
“The current practice of every commandant of security institution, every commandant of military training institution, and research institution going to National Assembly to defend his budget is a very recent one. It is not what we used to have and is not a good one.”
On his part, Forensic Investigator and Criminal Intelligence Specialist, Alfred Ononugbo, said the country has not been able to get its security system right because people in positions of authority have always acted with impunity.
He said there is a need for reorientation, adding that all must cooperate to make the system work.
He also called on the appointed security chiefs to see their appointment as a call to service and appraise what has happened in the past and be able to come up with effective solutions to tackling the security challenges in the country.
Ononugbo also stressed that screening of nominees for various positions should be done thoroughly to avoid allowing incompetent hands into the system.
He also joined in the call for state police to be created as a way of ensuring effective policing at the grassroots level across the country.
“We need the police, but we also need a breakdown; chains of engagement of local people involved in policing their people.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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