Former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor (retd), has canvassed for a formal declaration of war against banditry and insurgency to tame the bogey of insecurity in the country.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday night, Irabor said though no legal instruments indicate that Nigeria is at war, but there is the need for government to declare war against insecurity scourge.
“There are no legal instruments indicating that Nigeria is at war. There’s none; we’re only assuming that we are at war.
“Of course, there is a need to declare war in order to aggregate the elements of state power directly to the war effort,” General Irabor said.
“It will make a huge difference because resourcing, of course, will now be properly channelled, and then accountability frameworks can now be properly outlined in such a manner that we’re able to see results for some of the expenditures that we make.
“By the way, let me also say that it is not just the military line of operation. We’re talking about the aggregate of the deployment of the elements of state power beyond just military power that will help us,” he said.
Irabor frowned at the notion that the military was making money from the war, stressing that such perception assaults the sensibilities of fallen heroes and their grieving families.
He took a swipe at some politicians who turned the insecurity situation into a political tool to dismiss their opponents as ineffective only to get into office to realise that it was deeper than they thought.
He said posturing by politicians contribute to insecurity in the country, adding that Nigerian leaders should avoid politicising security matters.
On his recently launched book, ‘Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum,’ he said the book documented the highpoints and low points of the war against insurgency while offering recipe that would help the country contain the menace.
“So, in my book, I have advocated for a pivoting away from the preponderance of military or, if you like, high power, to utilising other elements, which involve majorly government policies, among other things, that will help us.
“If we’re able to reduce the number of out-of-school children, those who are vulnerable to criminals to employ, those who do not have jobs, and so many other things, then of course we’ll be reducing those who, perhaps, the criminals want to recruit among other things,” he said.
Irabor who looked well-cropped and relaxed, said he was optimistic that the aggregate efforts of the nation’s security apparatchik would help stymie the situation.
