BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – A group of Northern Elders has demanded the sack of National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd) for incompetence and gross negligence of duty following the deadly attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna.
Acting under the Coalition of Northern Elders for Peace and Development (CNEPD), the group also wants an immediate review of Nigeria’s security architecture, even as it blamed the intelligence network failure in the country for Tuesday’s deadly attack by bandits.
CNEPD, which described the NDA’s incident as a ‘national embarrassment’, said the country urgently needs an in-depth review of its entire security architecture to effectively tackle the worsening insecurity across the nation.
According to CNEPD, though the entire security chiefs are to blame for the continuous nationwide security breaches, President Muhammadu Buhari must clearly take responsibility for not firing General Monguno when all the Service Chiefs were replaced.
“It is important that the NSA be replaced and the security architecture of the nation reviewed so that the process of injecting fresh blood can be completed”, the Coalition said
In the statement by its National Coordinator, Engineer Zana Goni, the Coalition said the deteriorating security situation in the country clearly indicates that Monguno, who manages the nation’s security, is not on top of his game and therefore an obvious misfit for the office he currently occupies.
Though the body pledged its unflinching support for the President and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the statement said their demand was based on patriotism to the country due to the worsening insecurity since Monguno has obviously outlived his usefulness as a National Security Adviser.
The CNEPD accused stakeholders in the north for “their long silence in the face of unbearable criminal acts by armed herdsmen and insecurity across the country, thereby giving a bad image to the region and its people.”
Further expressing shock at the attack on NDA, the Coalition said; “We find it once more expedient to comment on the worsening security situation in the country, especially the latest attack on a military formation, the Nigerian Defence Academy, which is the institution where future military leaders are trained.
“We woke up to the sad news of the attack on the NDA, leaving two officers killed and another abducted by bandits with heavy hearts. If it was not for the confirmation of this unbelievable action by the Academy’s spokesperson, Bashir Jajira, we would have still been in doubt.
“The fact that a fortified military institution could be so easily invaded by armed militias without resistance has left us with the conclusion that no part of this country and no citizen, no matter his or her status is safe again.”
Blaming what they termed Monguno’s ineptitude in managing the nation’s security apparatus, the elders also said; “Without mincing words, we wish to attribute this ugly development to intelligence failure and gaps in the capacity of our armed forces. We wish to strongly say here that the attack is a slap on the Nigerian intelligence community and the armed forces.
“The retention of the National Security Adviser, General Babagana Monguno at the time the president listened to the voice of reason and replaced service chiefs, may be contributing to the continuously deteriorating security situation in the country.
“Given the situation, we wish to humbly and respectively appeal to our dear President, Muhammadu Buhari, to as a matter of urgent national importance, replace the NSA, whose tenure since his assumption of office, has been characterised by heightened Boko Haram activities, banditry, kidnap for ransom and other heinous crimes without end in sight.
“We reinstate unequivocally that Monguno has failed to provide useful advice to address the scourging insecurity in the country and therefore, does not deserve a continuous stay in office.
“As Northern elders, we have found it very important to call on President Buhari to remove the National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (retd), whose office and responsibilities are critical to the achievement of comprehensive security all over the country but hasn’t used the high esteem of his office in any productive ways since his appointment as NSA.”
Offering further insights on why they want Monguno fired by the President, the CNEPD said; “The reason for this call is not farfetched. We believe that Major-Gen Monguno was part of the gross failure associated with the tenure of the former security chiefs and his continued presence in the office will make the success Buhari intended to achieve with the changes very difficult, if not completely impossible.”
The Coalition however maintained that it would be of Nigeria’s highest interests for Mr President to heed their call and act on it immediately, adding; “We believe that the service chiefs need a clean slate to succeed as to avoid being tied to the springs of the past fatal failures. This call is both patriotic and totally apolitical as expected from a responsible group of elders in our dear region.”
