By Francis Sadhere, Warri
Following the high rate of insecurity in the country President Muhammadu Buhari has been advised to replace all the service chiefs with vibrant young officers who have bright ideas that could change the security narratives.
A security expert and President of a private security outfit, Focus Guard, Mr Shola Mese gave this advice in Warri during an interview with BusinessDay.
Mese who has been in the security business for over twenty years said until all the service chiefs are replaced with vibrant young officers who are in tune with the twenty first century security system, Nigeria will continue to have security challenges.
“So until all the service chiefs I that we have now are replaced the security situation in three country will still remain the same. We have a lot of military men who have vast knowledge about security matters who are still serving. If we bring these men in they can change the security system of this country and the insecurity situation can be reduced to a barest minimum.
He lamented that the Nigerian Army despite being one of the best in Africa have been made to look like toothless dogs because of the current security situation in the country stressing that this was because the Nigerian Government has continued to play politics with security matters.
“I keep saying that our security problem is being handled politically. Once you keep handling our security problems in a political manner, you we will keep having the same results.
“The current situation in the country is so embarrassing and making caricature of our military system. Like I have been saying before, Nigeria military is among the best in the Africa. But with what is happening today, they look like toothless dogs.
“We keep sending the military men to different countries in the world for training with tax payers money. But what is happening today. After all these training, they don’t put them into practice. If they sense that you are too smart in the military, the next thing you see is that they will retire you. If we continue like this there is no way e can grow.”
Mese who owns a foundation that rehabilitates young drug addicts in the country also blamed the the current security situation on lawmakers who he said have not been using their powers to check the executive arm of government.
“The legislature that is supposed to rise up to the situation are also not helping matters. All the lawmakers have enough security men detailed to protect them wherever they go so the they will not talk about insecurity that we are having in the country because it does not affect them,” Mese said.
He said the way the Federal government was handling the issue of Boko Haram insurgency was a clear indication that they have failed to protect the lives and property of the citizens, adding that the earlier they changed their strategy and put the right people in the right place, the country will still be enmeshed in security challenges.
“The Nigerian government is not winning the war against Boko Haram because we have been hearing that they have wiped out Boko Haram but up till this moment the killings are still going on. They know why they are not ready to win the war against Boko Haram. It is because if they told us they have succeeded in eliminating Boko Haram, then the security vote they are getting will no longer come because this is one of the ways they lot our treasury,” Mese added.
Also commenting on the security outfit “Amotekun” set up by the South West governors, Mese said it was the failed security system in the country that made the governors to come up with that system, stressing that it was his time everybody in the country took security matters seriously.
He said, “It’s high time everybody in the country rose up to protect themselves whether you are a Christian or not. It has gone beyond protesting in the streets. It is not all about prayer and fasting because God gave us brains so that he can rest. We have to use our brains to protect ourselves. Security issues is everybody’s business. That is what I believe. Everybody should device all legal means to protect themselves.”
