New Telegraph

What Nigeria‘ll gain from Buratai, others’ appointment as envoys – Oladimeji

Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi, a security analyst and a counter-terrorism expert, is the Convener of the Coalition of Civil Society Groups Against Terrorism in Nigeria. In this interview, he speaks on the recent appointments of immediate past service chiefs as noncareer ambassadors, the war against insurgency and banditry, among others. WALE ELEGBEDE reports

 

Your coalition devoted time, resources, research and other means to canvass support for the Nigerian Army especially over the past five years when the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai, held sway. What was the essence of that?

 

Well, we run a non-governmental organisation that is primarily a watchdog devoted to counter-terrorism and insecurity.

 

I want to say that we have been around before this administration in 2015, and the records are there that we are one of the few coalitions on ground during the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration that put the government at that time on its toes with field and research reports, and also proffering solutions to the challenges of insurgency and other violent crimes in the country, but, they ignored us and we all knew the scorecard of the PDP administration when it comes to insurgency in most parts of the northern states and other part of the Country.

 

However, by the time President Muhammadu Buhari came on board, the severity of the insecurity was at a ridiculous level such that even the FCT, Abuja, was not safe.

 

When President Buhari appointed General Buratai after about two months of coming into office, the coalition scrutinized the immediate and long terms security plans of the then COAS as well as some immediate actions he took and we concluded that he was the right man for the job and we needed to support him and his troops.

 

One of the major decisions that made us aligned with his leadership was the swift enforcement of the instructions of President Buhari that the military command centre should relocate from Abuja to Maiduguri, the epicenter of insurgency.

 

From our independent research, we found out that this singular action in the early days of this administration literally moved the anti-insurgency war to the doorsteps of the Boko Haram and it was actually the beginning of the end of their dominance. We are purely being driven by national interest and not for any partisan interest or influence.

 

Are you saying the era of General Buratai dislodged the dominance of Boko Haram?

 

There is a common Latin doctrine that says ‘Res ispa loquitur’, which means facts speak for themselves, I think the doctrine is applicable in answering your question. If anyone can objectively assess the Buratai-era and its leadership, I think our coalition would be fit for such a task.

 

This is because of the independent work and research we do behind the scene when it comes to insecurity especially insurgency in the northeast. The appropriate question to ask in evaluating the tenure of General Buratai is what was the situation of insecurity when General Buratai came on board and what is the situation now?

 

I will do a brief recount. We are all living witnesses to the orgies of bomb blast, attacks and violence in most parts of country prior to the appointment of General Buratai in 2015 as COAS.

 

The Boko Haram insurgents were playing ludo games with our troops and that made some of our soldiers withdraw from the frontlines in the face of the evil adversaries.

 

On a daily basis, there are records, the distraught soldiers were losing its officers and men in droves. Before General Buratai, the Boko Haram insurgents ran riots and were in control of over 15 local government areas in the north east where they hoisted their evil flags. Even our Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, was also in the shadows of the sect as it witnessed scores of attacks on private and critical government infrastructures.

 

The situation was so precarious that religious places of worship were also not spared and barricades had to be set up by security agents during days of worship. Outside the visible activities of the sect, fatigue and weariness crept into the Nigerian Army, which brought about a lack of professionalism and low morale of officers and soldiers because no one can see hope and there is no leadership of any form.

 

But when President Buhari appointed General Buratai in 2015, he became a reference point on what patriotism entails. Any one conversant with the picture of insecurity, I painted pre-2015 cannot question the former COAS passion and zest towards the Nigerian cause especially with how he led the Nigerian Army in the prosecution of the war against insurgency and other forms of militancy.

 

Before taking a bow, he changed the narratives around insecurity in Nigeria, rebuilt confidence in the Army, decimated and disorganized the activities and influence of Boko Haram, he cut their supply chain, and ensured that displaced residents returned in droves to their towns and villages.

 

For me and our coalition, General Buratai made his mark and lived up to expectation.

 

The recent nomination of the immediate past service chiefs including Lt. Gen. Buratai as Ambassadors by President Buhari has raised eyebrows and reactions from many quarters including the PDP. What do you think Nigeria stands to gain with the appointment?

 

I’m not a politician but I can aptly reason to say there can’t be any objectivity or patriotism in the position of any-  one or group that fault the nomination of the former Service Chiefs especially Gen Buratai as non-career Ambassadors.

 

As a matter of fact, I see it as a big disservice and being unpatriotic for questioning such a valid and strategic nomination by Mr President. For example, the immediate past COAS is bringing to the table a wide range of experience spanning over 35 years. He gallantly fought and smoked out terrorists from their den. He knew what the issues are when it comes to domestic and external security threats.

 

His ambassadorial position, no doubt, will boost multi-national coalition against terrorism. With his posting abroad as an envoy,

 

Nigeria would be able to tell the story of the efforts at defeating the insurgency in the country through an active player who understands the undercurrents that have sustained Boko Haram for a long time. It will also give the international community undiluted, first-hand reports on the war and how they can ably assist.

 

For us, head or tail, it’s a win-win nomination. We must commend President Buhari for always seeing the bigger picture because General Buratai and others will now have a global platform to galvanize support for Nigeria’s peacekeeping initiatives and efforts in other African countries where terrorism and internecine wars have negatively impacted on people’s wellbeing.

 

In fact, our Coalition and other patriots are using this medium to once again call on the members of the National Assembly to give these patriots, whenever they are invited to the National Assembly, the privilege of just taking a bow, with a standing ovation, and equally pass a vote of confidence on them. Members of the National Assembly should put political, ethnic, and tribal differences aside but put Nigeria first.

 

There are calls from some quarters that the ex-service chiefs including the former COAS should be tried at the ICC over alleged war crimes. What is your take on this?

 

Its rather unfortunate that such insinuation is being peddled against such dedicated and patriotic retired officers. These people gave their life, time, intellect and all to serve this country and it’s sad that some few irritants, for the sake of settling political scores, could envisage such.

 

If you can recall, Gen. Buratai, in his first week as COAS barely escaped assassination on the Mafa- Dikwa road, Borno State and I am sure there were several that wont be reported.

 

For the records, I am not aware that any of the immediate past service chiefs have had any proven charge of human rights abuse to answer before any court within and outside Nigeria. None of them has been invited or appeared before any court to answer to charges of criminal breach of fundamental human rights of Nigerians.

 

So, you can deduce where all these are coming from. Don’t forget that even in the heat of the tormenting insurgencies, Buratai introduced what is called kinetic and nonkinetic means in quashing acts of insecurities, public disturbances, insurgency, violent uprisings, banditry and ethnoreligious crises .

 

The twin methods were not only complementary but worked when adopted, security challenges especially the non-kinetic which is using diplomatic means of settling disputes and issues.

 

Are you saying allegations of human rights under Buratai were fictitious?

 

Sincerely, this unsubstantiated allegations are not only fictitious, they are baseless, more of fabrication from some unpatriotic individuals. During General Buratai’s era, the Nigerian Army was rated high in human rights compliance by various local and international bodies.

 

Also, for the first time in the history of the Armed Forces; the Nigerian Army under Buratai created a unit called Human Rights desks across all army Divisions to address issues of human rights violations by officers and soldiers. He who comes to the equity must come with clean hands.

 

During our Quarterly Assembly last year, we concluded based on pieces of evidence that General Buratai has done as much in administration as in warfare. The Nigerian Army under Lt. Gen. Buratai witnessed humongous policy and infrastructural transformation.

 

The Nigerian Army established a university to develop a highly-skilled military and civilian workforce with distinctive competence capable of providing technological solutions to the nation’s technological advancement. Under General Buratai’s leadership, the Army had conducted over 30 special internal operations and exercises and they have been success stories.

 

The footprints of Exercises/Operations such as Operation Lafiya Dole, Operation Python Dance, Operation Sahel Sanity, Operation Last Hold and others are indelible in the peaceful environment in many parts of the country.

 

The Nigerian Army started the production of small and light arms and other combat artilleries during his era. He embraced home-grown solutions, using local contents in manufacturing weapons for counter-insurgency. In 2019, he established the Nigerian Army Vehicle Manufacturing Company (NAVMC), a first of its kind in the country.

 

He also gave life to some otherwise comatose Army institutions and brought them back to productivity. Overall, under General Buratai’s watch, the Nigerian Army built bridges, roads, hospitals and schools for communities across the country in line with the Army’s improved Civil-Military relations activities and Corporate Social Responsibilities.

 

General Buratai led the Nigerian Army from the front and I think the shoe he left is quite huge to fill. I want to enjoin the new service chiefs especially the new COAS to follow the footprints of General Buratai and build on the legacies he left behind. I know they will succeed just as General Buratai succeeded

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