Nigeria Times

By Maiwada Danmallam

Yesterday I had fruitful conversation over breakfast with the amiable, agile and very alert Chief of Staff of the Nigerian Army, Lt-General T. Y. Buratai who is in Katsina State in continuation of his efforts to enforce peace and tranquility in Nigeria. His disarming optimism, pragmatism and confidence altogether, reassured me that the end of the ongoing banditry and insurgency is very near.

Although a private visit, I used the opportunity to discuss a wide ranging issues hoping to expand my knowledge of the intricacies and complexity of the ongoing war against banditry and insurgency and true to my conviction, the encounter confirmed my strongly held belief that security is not an everyday issue one could discuss intelligently without the requisite experience and of course, the finest information.

With this in mind, I avoided issues bordering on the technicalities of the ongoing war for lack of experience and requisite background. Instead, I concentrated on general issues with zero or little implication on the operations of the army viz-a-viz insurgency in the North East and banditry in the North West. My purpose was to identify ways to improve relationship between Nigerians, particularly the people of Katsina State and the Nigerian Army for the mutual objective of ending the ongoing needless bloodshed for peace to reign.

In not so many words Gen. Buratai explained to me the degraded army he inherited and the energy he infused into it to restore relative peace across Nigeria especially, in the North East hitherto, the epicentre of insecurity in Nigeria. We discussed about the social media and what role it plays in national security. We agreed it’s as much a critical tool of making Nigeria a peaceful country as it is also a serious challenge to national security. Used with sincerity and objectivity, he’s of the opinion the social media could achieve peace for Nigeria with little supervision. Applied irresponsibly, the social media is a box of matches in the hands of a madman in a filling station.

I wholly agreed with Gen. Buratai on the misapplication of the social media as is prevalent today. Somehow the cheapness of the social media has made it a dangerous tool of distraction and unnecessary confusion in the system. It’s so dangerous a tool that today, fake and mischievous news in the social media has created unnecessary enmity between security agencies and citizens so much so one is tempted to believe the army is fighting against not for the citizens. And this is easily verifiable by the tonne of stories and atrocities of criminals shared on social media fora and platforms and the silence of citizens when the army score victories.

Sad as it is, no gainsaying the Nigerian Army is not being dealt with fairly by the social media community. In every social media forum there are more stories of their failures than successes. No regular visitor to any of the social media platforms can say how many times he/she read pessimistic and cynical remarks about the Nigerian Army doing nothing and also, how many times he/she read about soldiers killed by insurgents or bandits. What could be more conflicting and unfair? Or could soldiers be killed without going to war? I once took up one of such cynical authors by asking how fair it will be to a widow or an orphan of a fallen hero to read his insensitive opinion about “Nigerian soldiers doing nothing” just at the time they are mourning the death of their breadwinner who sacrificed his life to make Nigeria safe?

The truth is, we need to properly identify who is the enemy in this war. With the right attitude and objectivity I’m sure we will understand that the Army is not just our friend but more a protective mother who will die for her children to live. And like I said severally here, matters of security are better left for security agents. Attempting to discuss these matters flippantly will only lead to misinforming and confusing the public. I was exposed to this stark reality once.

It was about the $1 billion approval President Buhari gave to the military to procure weapons. In few months the entire social media was agog with stories saying the $1 billion was stolen. About 2 or 3 months later the then Army spokesperson, Brig-General S. K. Usman (rtd) was invited for an interview by a TV station I cannot readily recall. During the interview he was asked about the $1 billion. Only then I knew the approval was still in the corridors of the Federal Ministry of Finance, yet to translate into money much less, get to the Nigerian Armed Forces, to be stolen, as those pessimists will make us believe. And many people believed this Mount Everest of a lie because most of us operate with a very shallow idea about government’s bureaucracy while average thinking is that military weapons are purchased over the counter like chocolates. Imagine how traumatizing this would be to the people on whose ability to remain focused relies our chances of surviving the war.

And if the social media is not hostile to the Nigerian Army, how do we explain a member of the community, and not just an ordinary member but a Professor in the developing social media, posting a scene of a Kannywood movie depicting a soldier crying over the corpse of a fallen comrade intending to pass it off as a real event in Sambisa just to malign the Army and dampen the spirits of our gallant officers. And even when he was busted all he did was make a feeble apology and crawled into his shell to wait for another opportunity to denigrate the Army which came barely a day after.

Before this social media influencer was done apologizing for this gaffe, he was out with another story about the failure of the Nigerian Army which resulted in the kidnapping of 16 girls. He was so much in a hurry to denigrate the army that he couldn’t wait to read the Daily Trust story doing which he would have known that the event was in Niamey, Niger Republic, not in Nigeria. He simply read the caption and came out with a venomous opinion about the Army. Could this be coincidence? Certainly no! It’s a determination to confuse Nigerians and make the problem more complex and convenient to resolve political frustrations of certain people.

If that’s not convincing, how about the social media debate about the “incorrectness”of Buhari’s decision to retain his Service Chiefs? The true picture is, President Buhari is a well trained military officer who retired meritoriously as a Major General and after fighting many wars and finally achieving the position of the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

Using his best professional instincts and judgement and an added advantage of access to the finest information from variety of creditable sources to handle the unique situation we have at hand, he decided to exploit a window offered him by the law and the Constitution to retain his Service Chiefs perhaps, to avoid upsetting the war blueprint with the potential consequences of reversing the gains made so far. All of a sudden all social media users (many of whom could not identify correctly which end of an AK-47 oozes fire) became emergency security experts competent enough to challenge the decision of a war hero like “General Buhari.” And they do this with nothing to work with but social media rumours and military expertise generated from James Bond and Rambo series.

The insistence that President Buhari must sack his Service Chiefs is the best proof of the absolute ignorance about the complexities of security matters. For instance, it’s a fact Buhari’s Service Chiefs are not operating independent of the Army but in conformity with its operational code. Of course, Gen. Buratai is the COAS but he’s working with senior military colleagues to design and execute the war. It’s not like it’s entirely his decision how the war is fought. It’s a collective decision of the of leadership of the Nigerian Army. Every qualified successor of Gen. Buratai is part of the success or failure of his tenure! It’s from the circle of officers he’s operating with that we expect President Buhari to pick a new COAS if and when he decide to substitute Gen. Buratai. In simple terms, whoever President Buhari will replace Gen. Buratai with is just as “incompetent” as Gen. Buratai because policing Nigeria is a group responsibility which could only be mischievously mistaken for a one man job. Where is such a substitute going to source for better ideas than he’s contributing now to be a better COAS than Gen. Buratai? Unless we are to believe such a candidate is holding back his “revolutionary” ideas just so Gen. Buratai is ousted for him to take over, in which case, he’s bad for the exalted post, I can’t see any sense in the irritating calls for the sack of the Service Chiefs especially by novices.

And is it not questionable that these calls are mostly aimed at Gen. Buratai? Why is nobody worried about the extension of the CDS, CAS and the CNS services? This is enough to prove the uproar is not about the war but about something entirely unconnected to the war and the goodness of Nigerians. Unfortunately, many people are allowing themselves to be used as tools in a game that will lead Nigeria to nowhere but deeper into abyss of destruction it’s trying to get out.

This is a plea for Nigerians to respect the effort and sacrifices of the Nigerian Armed Forces and partner with them to restore peace in Nigeria.

Dammallam is a Patriot and wrote this piece from Katsina.

By Idoko Ainoko
Someone said the other day that, “We can never go back to the old days prior to 2015, ” and I asked what he meant by that. It was when he explained to me that his position is based on the security situation in the country prior to 2015 that I got  his drift.

Prior to 2015, the security situation in the country was so bad that people move about without being sure of the next minute as planted bombs could explode at anywhere and at any time; suicide bombers could crash into any public space at the slightest chance, and terrorists could launch attacks and overrun any town or community they wish. To make matters worse, these heinous activities were not restricted to the precincts of the fringes of the Lake Chad region where the insurgents were concentrated, but were almost everywhere and in almost all regions.

Major towns like Potiskum in Yobe State; Bama, Monguno and Biu in Borno State; Mubi, Michika and Garkida in Adamawa as well as Kano, Kaduna and the FCT became hotspots of terrorists’ activities. 

But 2015 marked a watershed in the improvement of security in Nigeria. 
With the inauguration of the current administration and the appointment of the current service chiefs, things took a turn for the better as the bombs stopped, attacks on towns and communities were highly reduced and restricted to certain places while normalcy returned to all parts of the country. The magic that did this from the benefit of hindsight, is selecting round pegs in round holes in the security network of the country.

All the service chiefs are top security personnel who have backgrounds of sterling performances and service to the fatherland unlike in the past when politics dominated such decisions.
Experts in security say this would be about the first time that the three requirement of courage, confidence and commitment would be given due priority in the appointment of service chiefs.

These three, according to time tested records on security,  form the basis for appointments into the top echelon of the military the world over and that in situations where any of the two are found in a person,  it is considered to be a huge advantage not to talk of  having the three in a personnel.

Any commander in chief whose service chiefs come with the three attributes, is considered as not only lucky but well equipped to take care of any eventuality. With the improvement in the security situation in Nigeria and successes recorded in the theatre  of operations, one can say without fear of contradiction that it was these  three qualities that the  President saw in the current set of chiefs before appointing them.

It goes without saying that it is because they have convinced him that he has made the right choice that he decided to retain as it would not be easy finding these attributes in one fell swoop. The first act of courage demonstrated by the service chiefs was moving to the theaters of operation any time action is needed on the battle field unlike in the past when top security officials sit in the comfort of their homes in Abuja and other state capitals giving orders to troops while making more demands for funds.

The service chiefs repeated this recently when they moved to Katsina in the wake of fresh attacks in the Northwest.  When the President extended the tenure of the security chiefs, it was gathered that the extension may not be unconnected to a job well done by the service chiefs for ensuring law and order and peace of the country.

It was said that their input made it possible for Nigeria to have elections in all parts of the country but ensure it was crises free. Secretary to the government of the Federation SGF , Boss Mustapha had also expressed same sentiments when explaining why the President is more disposed towards  retaining the service chiefs.

He said while the President reserves the right to do as he wished, the security situation in the country requires thorough and meticulous handling. As the security chiefs move to the theatres of operation when the occasion demands, the chief of army staff, Lt. General TY Buratai has been outstanding.  

On assumption of duty, the army chief moved to the Northeast and engaged troops in physical drills and warm up exercises before moving with them to forests and other strongholds of the terrorists. He repeated the act in April this year when the insurgents were regrouping to launch attacks on Nigerian communities and since then, it has been one succes story after the other. This shows rare courage as there are layers of command the General would have relied on to get the job done but did not fear the risk to his life and was physically present at the battlefield.

This is at a time troops were running away from the battlefield due to the perception that the insurgents were better equipped than them. But Buratai, knowing that bravery is more important than any sophisticated weapon, used himself to show example to the troops and since then, the story of the fight has not been the same again.

This naturally comes with confidence as even if the courage was there, the troops would not have been motivated if they have not seen the kind of confidence displayed by the Chief of Army Staff. 

In the Art of War by Sun Tzu, it was made clear that the battle is won or lost at the level of confidence as even when one has the weapon and the confidence is not there, not much can be achieved.  Another thing this shows is commitment to the cause of defending the nation and passion for the realisation of one of the cardinal objectives of this administration, to ensure adequate security for Nigeria and her citizens. 

Without the level of commitment that drives an official to apply his skill and talent to a cause, the story in the Northeast would not have been different. All these have helped to make the war against insurgency and terrorism the success it is in Nigeria today. Indeed Nigeria cannot go back to the pre-2015 era of violence and mayhem as it seems to be in safe hands.

Ainoko is a public affairs expert and wrote this piece from Kaduna.

By Bassey Akpan

For an organization or platform that prides itself as a new outlet, the only thing worse than being unprofessional is when the unprofessionalism is driven by an obsession to settle scores, which could be made even more sickening when such score settling is escalated into a proxy war.

Sahara Reporters, a news platform that is hardly different from the persona of its publisher, Omoyele Sowore, is on this slippery slope and in a rapid slide into infamy owing to the way its unprofessionalism has been made worse in its obsession to settle scores with President Muhammadu Buhari. The sick dimension to it is that one of the ways the publication has decided to prosecute its “destroy Buhari” war is to persistently demonize the Nigerian military, particularly the Nigerian Army. The criminal dimension of this warped enterprise is the series of crimes that Sahara Reporters has committed in the strident bid to cast aspersion on the Army in order to tarnish the record of President Buhari.

Its laughable escapades are limitless, and instances abound. For example, it published the falsehood of the death of Ghali Umar Na’Abba, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, and that of Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau, the National President of Jama’atul Izalatul Bid’a Wa Ikamatus Sunnah (JIBWIS) while the man was busy conducting virtual preaching in Yola. In the desperation to validate its lies as the truth, the website went as far as locating the revered cleric’s death in Jos with photographs of a phantom funeral thrown in to make the inaccurate and false stories look respectable.

Granted that things had not always been the way they presently are between Sahara Reporters and President Buhari, there is no way to make excuses for its pure criminality garnished with a penchant for blackmail. At the height of the Goodluck Jonathan and his People’s Democratic Party (PDP) era, while President Buhari and a host of other then opposition figures were pointing out the failings of that government, Sahara Reporters was on the standby to air these voices. The arrangement served its purpose; a news platform that was then considered several layers below a news rag had the opportunity to report contents that were authentic and backed by reputable names as opposed to the diet of hogwash and leaks from embittered Jonathan cabinet members that it was feeding its readers. It has gone back to that junk status or below the rating of a news rag, only that it actually got worse.

Upon Jonathan’s sack by the electorates, Sahara Reporters, which in reality is a pseudonym for Sowore, perhaps thought that the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was spoil of war to be shared among just anyone that made haranguing Jonathan a past time. He was reportedly angling to be named the Minister of Information by President Buhari in his first term. Such pipe dreams. What he failed to realize, which Sahara Reporters is yet to appreciate till date, is that President Buhari is not in the mold of “your enemy’s enemy is my friend.” Mr. President, rather than embrace burning coal to his bosom, for that is what giving Sowore any appointment would have amounted to, settled for professionals and upright Nigerians to populate his government. The result of that is the crop of military chiefs that have met Mr. President’s expectations in many areas such that he has retained them even in the face of the campaign of calumny that has been sustained against them by the likes of Sahara Reporters.

Sowore responded to his failure to make the cabinet, and indeed any government appointment, by drawing an imaginary battle line against the government by launching a sustained campaign of misinformation and disinformation against the Army. Perhaps thinking that he has gained a cult following that will enable him leverage his anti-government rants to make a populist hijack of power, Sowore ran as a presidential candidate in the 2019 General Elections and the 33,953 votes he scored in a country of over 198 million and with 82,344,107 registered voters is confirmation that Sahara Reporters’ readership base is overhyped, consisting mainly of persons with questionable intellect and suspicious mental health.

This explains why none of such gullible readers ever challenged or questioned the trail of hatchet jobs that Sahara Reporters is doing against the military. This was the platform that started, sustained and perpetuated the account that the Army killed harmless Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) militant members even though that group was to be later procedurally declared a terrorist organization. Sahara Reporters ran a similar racket for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), another group that deservedly earned the label of a terrorist organization, it helped IPOB attribute mass graves from its atrocities to the Army and Nigeria Police Force after gory sights of hurriedly interred bodies were discovered in a forest. Its publisher, Sowore, was to later team up with IPOB’s fugitive leader, Nnamdi Kanu. After a meeting with the terrorist-on-the-lam, Sowore launched the #ReviolutionNow protest that was meant to overthrow a democratically elected government through mob action, a clear indication that he was in cahoots with terrorists with the singular agenda of destabilizing Nigeria.

Its anti-military, anti-Army campaign is so profound that Boko Haram recruiters are reportedly printing its webpages as recruitment literature and collaterals to convince prospective terrorists that Boko Haram has the upper hand in a war it is losing to government troops. If this usage of its content for terrorist propaganda is inadvertent, Sahara Reporters never did anything to correct the impression. Rather, it has shown a commitment to running propaganda for Boko Haram.

These foray into terrorists’ supporting propaganda has been explained away by some analysts as part of an elaborate destabilization agenda that is meant to make Nigeria a failed state. The logic is that the bouquet of foreign donor funding that is propping up the online publication are in reality a laundered form of payment for Sahara Reporters’ contribution to promoting terrorism in Nigeria in addition to being an anchor news platform for releasing contents that are meant to undermine the Nigerian state – a site that publishes contents meant to damage Nigerian institutions such that mainstream news organizations are then pressured as a result of competition to run a toned down version of such stories.

The analysts with this projection are not off the mark. What they did not add to their assessment of Sahara Reporters and Sowore is their demonic zealotry to malign the Nigerian Army as a conduit to get at President Buhari. They shop for stories to paint the military bad and have even been known to have funneled money to vulnerable ones among the troops to incite a contrived mutiny. They have in other instances used costumed actors to stage videos of discontent on the war-front in addition to propped interviews with faceless soldiers or alleged ex-soldiers all with a view to paint the government of the day bad and abuse the military for this purpose.

What Nigerians and indeed the world should know is that believing one line of texts in Sahara Reporters’ publications is to fall for a scam. Let no one make any mistake that the selective attack on the Nigerian militray is anything professional or about the competence of the men and women who are in battle with the enemies of Nigeria day and night. Let no one make the mistake that the persistent attack on the military and government is about good governance in Nigeria. Let no one make any mistake that it is about what the government is not doing or has done. The brief Sowore’s Sahara Reporters has is simple. Demonize Buhari. Make Nigeria bad and let the country go up in flames to please the colonizers that this below-rag-status publication works for.

If the past ten years has taught anything about Sahara Reporters, it is that this organization is incapable of the introspection that will prompt a revert to editorial principles, which it never had for one day since inception. For Sahara Reporters, reporting falsehood is a tradition buoyed by the false sense of being able to abuse the ubiquity and limitless reach of the internet to push its misleading contents at Nigerians while remaining beyond the reach of Nigeria’s legal jurisdiction because it is ensconced in New York, United States, a country against which it dare not publish the kind of incendiary contents it publishes against the President of Nigeria, the state and the military.

But it is time to leverage the relevant anti-terrorism legislation, same way the United States would have done, such that whatever presence the publication has in Nigeria could be held liable for the terrorist activities of its parent office in the US. The authorities should also exploit inter-agency cooperation to thwart the ability of this criminal enterprise to raise money for supporting terrorists with propaganda as it is currently doing – all that is required is freezing its banks accounts while placing the accounts of its staffers on a terrorism watchlist.

Sahara Reporters is at liberty to hold grudges against President Buhari just as it is free to nurse its gripe against him and his government, but wittingly or unwittingly supporting the cause of terrorists in an attempt to demonize the military as a way of maligning President Buhari is a red line that few countries in the world will allow a news publication to cross. Why should Nigeria tolerate such?

Akpan is a pan- Africanist and wrote this piece from Uyo.