Security Chiefs yesterday insisted on
speaking behind closed doors at a parley
with the Senate Committee on Defence. The
meeting was called by the senators against
the backdrop of the bombing of a school in
Potiskum, Yobe State on Monday.
Although the Chief of Defence Staff, Air
Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, was absent, the
Chief of Army Staff, Major General Kenneth
Minimah, who stood in for him refused
entreaties from the senators to speak in
front of newsmen.
The meeting almost ended in a shouting
match as senators, one after the other,
pleaded with Minimah to, at least, say
something.
Minimah insisted that he would not discuss
military operational matters before the
press.
Committee chairman, Senator George
Sekibo, noted that while politicians were
busy scheming for the 2015 elections,
insurgents were having a field day.
He
informed the Army Chief that Nigerians
were getting impatient and irritated not
only with the military but also with the
government and those who represent them
at various levels:
“We are aware that they (government) is
releasing funds to you because you have
not complained. We also approved $1billion
for the President to purchase arms and
ammunition to fight Boko Haram. We are
aware that your budget is being released to
you. If you have difficulties you should tell
us.
“The spate of insurgency, the manner the
insurgents are taking areas, is getting
worrisome. We want to know what is
happening. We also want to know the issue
of the reported cease fire. We want to
know whether there was actually any cease
fire.
“We want to know whether there was a
dialogue, the stage of the dialogue if any
because few days after the announcement
of the cease fire, the insurgents struck and
have continued to strike.
“At the last meeting we were told that the
insurgents have captured seven local
government areas. The CDS confirmed that
and asked that they should be given some
time to liberate the captured areas.
“We want to know where we are. We are
approaching election year, are we going to
conduct election in the North-East under
the dire security challenge? These are our
concerns and the concerns of Nigerians.”
Minimah took a deep breath and said: “I
came to interface with the Senate
Committee on Defence, can the press leave
us?”
The Army Chief said operational matters
are never discussed on the pages of the
newspapers.
This prompted Sekibo to ask Minimah to
“just reassure Nigerians that the military is
on top of the security situation in the
affected areas.”
Minimah insisted that he would not discuss
security matters in the presence of the
press.
A member of the committee, Senator
Babafemi Ojudu, reminded Minimah that the
press is an important stakeholder in the
fight against insurgency as, with their
presence, Nigerians would know how the
security agencies are prosecuting the fight
against insurgency. Minimah stood his
ground.
Another member, Senator Abdul Ningi, also
attempted to persuade Minimah to reassure
Nigerians on what the military is doing to
win the war against insurgency.
Again, Minimah refused to comply.
When it was obvious that Minimah would
not speak in the presence of newsmen,
Sekibo reluctantly asked them to leave the
venue.
With the meeting over, Sekibo said: “You
(reporters) were here with us when we
started at about 1pm. Now it is about two
and a half hours. We have deliberated on
the security issues affecting our country
and the Chief of Army Staff also responded
on all the issues that were raised before
him.
“As a committee, we have come to find out
or have an opinion that the Nigeria Army is
doing well. There are areas where we may
have setbacks because this insurgency is
not a conventional warfare.
“Because it is not conventional, few
mistakes might come here and there and
the issue is that it will be corrected.
“We are also assured that within a very
short period, some of the territories that
were taken by the insurgents will be taken
back.
“We are assured to inform our constituents
that it will not go worse than what we have
now. We believe from the charge we have
given to them from tomorrow and perhaps
the nearest couple of weeks, we are going
to have better results.
“When a man is in a tunnel, when you are
getting close to the end of the tunnel, you
will always see light but at the middle of
the tunnel, it is always very dark. I think
this is our dark hours and I believe that as
we are going towards the end of the tunnel
we are going to see light and the military
will be able to salvage Nigeria from this
problem.”
This time around, Minimah readily spoke
with newsmen. He said: “We had a setback
in Bassa that resulted in loss of territories
up to Mubi and painful though but we are
working very hard to retake those
territories.
“And, very soon, we will reclaim those
territories and indeed other territories that
the insurgents have taken.
“I want to continue to rekindle the
confidence of Nigerians and particularly the
ordinary Nigerians who have suffered the
pain of this insurgency that the Nigeria
Army will continue to do its best and strive
to win this war and reclaim the lost
territories.”
- Sun
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