- Rejects backing down to appease criminal groups
Former Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier-General. Maharazu Tsiga (rtd) has called for a major shift in the national security strategy if the federal government is ready to win the war against insecurity in the country.
He said the current unfortunate situation demands a more decisive approach and the government must move beyond dialogue and implement a full-scale military response to secure the country and end the cycle of violence
Speaking on Thursday in Kaduna while answering questions at a press briefing organised by colleagues, friends and associates of the late Major-General Abubakar Rabe (rtd), he rejected endless negotiations, arguing that a more aggressive, coordinated military and civil strategy is required to defeat the criminal elements who are daily taking the lives of innocent citizens and destroying their source of livelihood.
Tsiga, who drew from his experience of surviving a 56-day ordeal in captivity, said the authorities must urgently abandon appeasement tactics and face the threat head-on because negotiations alone cannot end banditry and terrorism in Nigeria.
The retired general described security as a collective responsibility and questioned the effectiveness of engaging criminal groups without addressing the wider network that supports them, adding terrorist and bandit groups were unlikely to voluntarily disband through negotiations.
According to him, a more aggressive and coordinated strategy is required to dismantle their operations and restore peace, saying: “These people are human beings like us; they fear death and they fear being confronted. If we remove that fear through decisive action and face them squarely, we will achieve more meaningful results than endless negotiations”.
Also highlighting the role of informants and collaborators who allegedly provide support to criminal groups, General Tsiga said some oof these people operate within local communities and government institutions, even as he recalled an incident during his captivity where the bandit leaders allegedly discussed the procurement of ammunition from individuals with access to government resources.
He said such development clearly suggest that criminal networks benefit from insider support, adding: “Who exactly are we negotiating with? You may negotiate with the bandits, but those supplying them and profiting from the conflict will not allow peace to prevail because they are more interested in financial gain than the lives and property of innocent citizens.”
The retired general, while urging relevant authorities to intensify efforts against banditry, challenged communities to actively support security agencies, saying that military operations alone cannot succeed without public cooperation and intelligence sharing.
According to him, “If the Army is doing its part and society fails to support those efforts, then we have all failed. Security is a collective responsibility”. This is as he further encouraged communities to resist intimidation by criminal elements.
Maintaining that bandits often succeed because of fear rather than superior numbers, he said: “When only a few armed men can force hundreds or even thousands of people to flee, it shows the need for collective action. Communities must work together with security agencies to deny criminals the space to operate.”
To guarantee enduring peace, the retired General called for a coordinated strategy uniting security agencies, government institutions, and the public to actively confront and dismantle criminal syndicates and their sponsors. – With additional NAN reports
