From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Worried by the escalating insecurity in the country, a nongovernmental organisation, Ethics Vanguard, has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently overhaul the nation’s security architecture to effectively curtail the situation.
The group specifically called for the sack of the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar over what it described as his gross incompetence and abysmal failure in tackling the growing insecurity across Nigeria.
The group, in a statement, warned that if the minister was not relieved of his duties within the next 14 working days, a coordinated demonstration with over 120 affiliate civil society organizations (CSOs), may take place at the gates of the Ministry of Defence, the National Assembly Complex and other key government locations across the country.
The statement by its Executive Director, Miss Amina Mohammed, expressed outrage at the worsening state of insecurity under Badaru’s watch, lamenting the daily carnage inflicted on innocent Nigerians by terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and armed militias.
However, the association has commended the lawmaker representing Mangu/Bokkos Federal Constituency in Plateau State, Solomon Maren, for courageously speaking truth to power by publicly denouncing the ineffectiveness of the defence ministry in securing lives and property.
The civil rights group said the time had come for decisive action, not rhetorical assurances or cosmetic changes, insisting that President Tinubu must replace Badaru with a competent, tested and proactive defence strategist or a committed statesman who can coordinate the armed forces efficiently and reinvigorate Nigeria’s counterterrorism operations.
“The scale and intensity of attacks across Nigeria under Mohammed Badaru Abubakar’s tenure as Minister of Defence is not only frightening but also unacceptable,” Ethics Vanguard stated. “From the heartland of Plateau to Southern Kaduna, Benue, Zamfara, Sokoto and even the Federal Capital Territory, Nigerians are being butchered like animals in their homes, farms, schools and highways. The defence minister, instead of leading from the front, has retreated into silence, bureaucracy and irrelevance.”
The group described Badaru’s appointment as a glaring example of misplacement of priorities and misjudgment of competence, stressing that the job of Nigeria’s defence minister cannot be entrusted to an individual whose track records and backgrounds are not merit-oriented. The group further argued that a distracted administrator cannot adequately respond to the demands of wartime Nigeria, now under the siege of non-state actors and transnational jihadist threats.
“It is totally unconscionable that at a time when the Nigerian state is facing an existential war from insurgents and terrorists, the Minister of Defence is a politician without any clear security pedigree or even the commitment to carrying out the mandate of his high calling. He is clearly analogue in the face of Nigeria’s modern asymmetrical warfare challenges. This minister lacks the tactical acumen, operational discipline and strategic insight required to reform, motivate and coordinate Nigeria’s overstretched armed forces,” the statement added.
It emphasised that the current Minister’s inability to roll out strategic policy initiatives, reform the procurement system for weapons and logistics or even implement actionable defence reforms has contributed to the deepening morale crisis within the military and the worsening insecurity across Nigeria.
The pro-transparency and pro-democracy group questioned why the Tinubu administration continues to retain officials whose continued stay in office fuels public distrust and disillusionment, warning that the cost of incompetence is already being paid in blood.
“We urge the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to rise above partisanship and immediately initiate legislative pressure on the President and pass a vote of no confidence on the minister of Defence, Mr. Badaru, so as to urge the President to ease out the current defence minister. This is a moment that calls for statesmanship, not politics. No responsible government anywhere in the world will continue to shield failed appointees while its citizens perish daily,” the group said.
Besides, the revelation in the House of Representatives that 40 military combat tanks and platforms worth several trillions of Naira were simply ‘donated’ to Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State just as the Defence Minister did not take steps to ensure accountability, shows that Badaru is not suitable for such a complex and demanding duties of the Minister of Defence. The revelation is scary even as we call on the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and all patriotic citizens and stakeholders to impress it on Mr. President to immediately relieve Badaru of the high office of the Minister of Defence.
The group further disclosed that it had begun consultations with over 120 civil society organisations across Nigeria to mobilise for a massive nationwide protest against the continued tenure of the defence minister.
According to Ethics Vanguard, if the minister is not relieved of his duties within the next 14 working days, a coordinated demonstration may take place at the gates of the Ministry of Defence, the National Assembly Complex and other key government locations across the country, once the affiliate CSOs successfully wrap up the ongoing consultations.
“It is either President Tinubu listens to the cries of the people or he confirms his administration’s complicity in shielding incompetence. We cannot be mourning every day while someone sits comfortably in office, collecting allowances and dishing out meaningless platitudes. Our patience has run out. Nigerians want results, not excuses,” the statement stressed.
The association also slammed what it described as the government’s deliberate silence on the massacre of over 200 persons in Plateau State alone in the past two weeks, stating that the failure of Badaru to personally visit the affected communities, coordinate relief efforts, or even address the press underscores the lethargy that has gripped the defence ministry under his watch.
“This minister has neither the urgency of leadership nor the empathy of a public servant. It’s time to go. Nigeria is at war and the war demands competent statesmen or women, not ceremonial politicians,” it concluded.
The group vowed to sustain pressure alongside its CSO allies until the Federal Government appoints a competent defence minister, who will treat insecurity as a national emergency and not a political routine.