Following the Northern Ethnic Nationalities Forum demand for the immediate sack of the Service Chiefs., former Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, has urged President Bola Tinubu to disregard the call, warning that such moves could demoralise the Armed Forces at a critical time in Nigeria’s fight against insecurity.
Ndume, who currently represents Borno South Senatorial District and once chaired the Senate Committee on Army, made the appeal in a statement issued on Thursday.
The Forum, led by Dominic Alancha, had argued that the present crop of military leaders lacked the professional capacity to tackle the nation’s worsening security challenges, particularly insurgency and banditry, claiming that despite heavy budgetary allocations to the defence sector, the Armed Forces have failed to deliver meaningful results.
“We angrily and unequivocally demand the immediate dismissal and replacement of all Service Chiefs. The President must appoint fresh and innovative military leaders with a clear mandate and timeline for results,” the Forum had said in a statement on Thursday.
Ndume however argued that Nigeria’s security crisis was more about inadequate funding, poor logistics, and welfare gaps than a failure of leadership at the top.
He said “Those pushing for the sacking of the present crop of Service Chiefs have ulterior motives and they do not mean well for the present administration and Nigerians.
“It is outlandish and uncharitable for any group of individuals to accuse the present Service Chiefs of professional incompetence. All of them have the requisite training and experience in Theatre operations.”
The former Senate chief called for a proactive TEAM (Training, Equipment, Ammunition and Motivation) approach saying it would go a long way to counter terrorism, banditry and insurgency.
“All they need is adequate ammunition and motivation. The salary of a private army in Nigeria is about N100,000 ($67.00) per month. Their daily allowance (N5,000) is unconscionable and nothing to write home about.
“People should desist from pronouncements that could dampen the morale of our Soldiers and Officers on the field of operation,” he argued.
The senator, streesed that boosting troop morale and providing modern equipment were more urgent than leadership changes.
He further commended Tinubu for what he described as a sense of “ethno-religious balancing” in the current security appointments, contrasting it with the perceived lopsidedness of previous administrations.
