Tinubu doesn’t lack political will to end insecurity, says Oshiomhole

The senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, on Friday said President Bola Tinubu does not lack political will to end insecurity in the country.

He said the rising insecurity in the country was not due to a lack of political will from the President, insisting that the administration has provided the necessary resources and leadership to secure the nation.

Speaking in Abuja at the book launch of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Federal Capital Territory Commandant, Olusola Odumosu, the former Edo State governor dismissed claims that the executive arm is failing to prioritise security.

According to Oshiomhole, Tinubu has political will “in abundance”.

He pointed to the President’s financial commitments and administrative actions as evidence of his resolve.

“What is the difficult thing in political will? The commander-in-chief gives the order: go and ensure that the country is safe, as President Bola Tinubu has done repeatedly.

“I am putting my mouth where I am putting resources, and he has provided more money, even supplementary budget at the National Assembly, approved. What more political will do you need?” he asked.

He further noted that the President declared a state of emergency and replaced former security chiefs.

“The Commander-in-Chief decided to declare a state of emergency and even told the armed forces no more excuses. He even replaced the former security chiefs with these ones. To sack chiefs in a village, you know the challenges, not to talk of sacking security chiefs. There is no question that there is no political will,” he said.

“So, I think all of us as a people, particularly those who are in politics, whether in the opposition, need to understand that when it comes to security, there is one Nigeria. There is no APC, no PDP, or whatever.

“I’m not aware that anybody has been queried for apprehending a dangerous criminal. So what is political will? The President has it in abundance.”

Oshiomhole, however, raised concerns about whether instructions given at the top are effectively carried out by lower ranks.

“But between the commander and the other guy in the battlefield, I think it is where we probably can benefit from relations, how the system goes, because the system works on a command basis,” he said.

“On that one, I have not read the book and I don’t know if you addressed it, because as a commander of the FCT, when you give out these instructions—go and do X, Y, Z on the field—and this is to be carried out by other ranks, do you always find out if those in the other ranks share your concerns and are willing, and have the equipment, morale, and allowances required to do what you have commanded?”

The senator also suggested a review of the name of the Nigerian Civil Defence, arguing that the “civil” designation is contradictory for an agency tasked with confronting armed criminals.

“And lastly, I think from what I can see now, we might need to review the name of the Nigerian Civil Defence. Because the concept of ‘civil’ means do not bear firearms.

“So if you bear firearms to deal with very deadly criminals who are doing illegal oil pumping or destroying public property, which you are tasked to protect, can you preach while they carry weapons?

“If the criminals you have to fight have sophisticated weapons, you who is fighting them, your weapon should not be less sophisticated. If you are civil, how do you deal with hardened criminals? When we talk of a civil society, it means you can talk, you can persuade. When I see service chiefs holding meetings and I don’t see the CG of NSCDC, I am like something is missing,” he said.

The author of the book, Commandant Odumosu, echoed concerns about inter-agency coordination, stating that the book was written to advocate a united front among security agencies.

Odumosu identified unhealthy inter-security agency rivalry as a major obstacle to effective national security response.

He said, “I am looking at security from a very holistic perspective, and then looking at all the intricate webs of insecurity and challenges that we have, there is need for a united front between security agencies because the challenges are beyond what one agency or individual can handle.

“No one has a monopoly of wisdom or knowledge or strategy. So there is need for us to come together and wage war against criminality, against insecurity, against banditry, against kidnapping with a common front, and that is what I am trying to preach.

“Of course, we have been having issues around unhealthy inter-security agency rivalry which has been a bane to national responses to our security challenges. So I’m looking at it from that perspective, where all the security agencies can understand that we must have the same focus, the same goal, and that whether your mandate is intertwined or interwoven, we have a collective responsibility to ensure peace and order in Nigeria.”

Amid rising insecurity across Nigeria, critics have attributed the persistence of banditry, kidnapping, terrorism and oil theft to a lack of political will on the part of government to decisively confront the challenges, however, the former Edo State governor disagreed with such arguments.