By Egena Sunday Ode
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd) on Thursday declared that President Muhammadu Buhari has been very sad over the deteriorating security in the land on account of the failure of the military and other agencies to tame the menace.
Rising after a three and half hour meeting of the National Security Council presided over by President Buhari at the State House, Abuja, Monguno, joined by the Minister of Defence, Maj Gen Bashir Magashi (rtd) and the Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba Usman, at a Media briefing, declared that the President cannot be happy when people are being killed left, right and center on a daily basis.
Conveying Buhari’s displeasure, the NSA lamented that “a lot of lives are being lost, the President is not happy about this situation, he’s made it very clear.”
According to him, the last straw was the recent attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train leading to the death of some passengers and scores of others kidnapped.
“How can the President be happy in a situation when people are dying? He can never be happy. If 10 times something happens, 10 times he will be unhappy and as the leader of this country, the father of the nation, he has to express his displeasure.”
However, the NSA said President Buhari has ordered the immediate rescue of all kidnapped persons unhurt using the train attack as a basis, lamenting that the President feels that not enough was being done by the security personnel despite what has been so far provided.
Monguno stated that the President alone cannot completely receive the blame for the insecurity in the country as his part (President) is to make strategic decisions which he has been doing.
“A lot of lives are being lost, the President is not happy about this situation, he’s made it very clear. The first assignment he’s given to the security agencies, especially the armed forces and the police is to rescue those that are in captivity, not just those that were captured during the last train incident, but those that have been in captivity in other parts of the country. That is the first thing that has to be done.
“You know, he is just at the managerial level, he gives us instructions. And his displeasure is probably because he feels enough is not being done. So we can’t put this thing on his shoulders completely. He’s at the strategic level, he takes the decisions. But when these things become endless, he has to express concern. And that’s just what he did.”
The NSA, while noting the threats brought about as a result of the vast land borders and the need to replicate in them what has been achieved in the maritime borders, stressed the need for intelligence sharing by citizens, adding that unless the wider society was willing to provide the necessary partnership, the problem of insecurity will continue to linger beyond the time frame intended to end the challenge.
“Obviously, we have very extensive borders, and I’m not going to deceive anyone. All of us know that we have problems of infiltration by virtue of the fact that we have a very large economy. It attracts a lot of people from outside and they come in illegally, not just through the land borders, but also through the maritime waters.
“Of course, in the case of the maritime borders, the most of things have been done in the last one year, to secure the maritime to domain up to the point that the International Maritime Bureau has acknowledged the fact that in 27 years, our maritime borders have not been as secure and peaceful as they were in the last one year. That is a fact is not a conjecture, I didn’t cook up this thing. So we want to see how we can replicate that type of efforts to put in the maritime domain on our land borders. That is something that counsel is looking into.
Fielding a question on why it was difficult to deploy technology, especially in some areas that the military has been having problems, the NSA quipped: “One, technology is expensive. Technology takes time to acquire these things. Since inherently we do not produce these very, very delicate equipment.
“It’s not as if the government is not making any effort to acquire, but we need to know who to acquire this technology from, where, when and there are certain processes. For now, I know we have but the plight is that they are inadequate. So, to the government, it’s a continuous process. That’s what I can say about the issue of deploying technology.”
Reminded that ordinary citizens who have in the past volunteered intelligence have had to bear the brunt, because somehow they were sold out and their identity exposed, the NSA said: “when I talk about intelligence from the local community, intelligence, I’m talking about complementarity.
“The present situation in the country calls for collective effort by all, not just those that have been charged with the responsibility of physically securing the country. The most important thing for now is acquisition of intelligence and the type of intelligence that is needed is human intelligence and I need to make it very clear, I have to be very honest; unless the wider society, right down to the local governments, are willing to give the type of information that is needed to block the activities of these criminals, this situation will continue to linger beyond whatever timeframe we’re looking at, towards ending this great problem.”
“There are too many types of intelligence. But the most immediate intelligence that you require is human intelligence. And that human intelligence comes from the local communities.
“The local communities have to find a way of sending whatever information to their leaders, their community leaders or whoever, and that information is passed to the agents of states within that locality. And that intelligence is converted into actionable information which the security agencies will work on.
“It is because of the nature of intelligence, intelligence has a very, very short shelf life. If something happens and you do not deliver it to the right person, perhaps you’ve been given your intelligence to the wrong people. And that’s why it’s compromised, you must be able to seek out the right agents of government to give them that intelligence, and they can pass it on to the next layer. And that’s how they can use other elements to deal with whatever problem that exists. So that’s what I mean by getting intelligence from the local community.
“It is not something that is compelling, we have to look out for each other’s interests, you have to be your brother’s keeper. Because the troops we have, the policemen we have are not everywhere at the same time, that type of ambiguity is not possible for us. So, we need to rely on human intelligence, which is the most accurate. But if you are adverse, if you are inhibited, then it makes it difficult for all of us. So, that’s what I mean by that.”
On the massive police presence in the South East, the IGP, while responding explained that the development was as a result of the threats analysis emanating from that region.
The Council meeting was the first for 2022 where the participants deliberated on several issues at the strategic and operational levels, as well as others that were broader.
