Ribadu: How President Tinubu Can Secure Nigeria 

Recently, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, G.C.F.R., appointed the pioneer chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, as the National Security Adviser. However, the appointment of the Adamawa State born lawyer and retired Assistant Inspector General of police into the plum job has not elicited sufficient enthusiasm from the Nigerian populace. Even Ribadu's fantastic speech on the day he took over from his successor, did not change things. Ribadu promised that: “We will stabilise this country, we will secure our country and we will make Nigeria peaceful because we believe time has come for this country to enjoy peace, restore order and rule of law just like any other country in the world. Securing the nation is a continuous process. We will look at what has been done and build on it. We will count on your support in the course of discharging our responsibilities."

Given his training as a lawyer and his experiences in the Nigeria Police Force and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, there cannot be any doubt that Nuhu Ribadu is qualified for the job of National Security Adviser. This is more so given the traditional synergy between financial crimes and insurgency. All over the world, rebellions or insurgency are funded through illegal funds or proceeds of crimes. Added to these is what seems like the open knowledge of the metamorphosis of banditry and insurgency in Nigeria. The history of bokoharam insurgency which began in Borno State as a political militant group led by Gombe born Mohammed Yusuf but later took to insurgency in protest for the alleged extrajudicial killing of Yusuf in police custody in July 2009 is public knowledge which Ribadu must have come across like many other Nigerians. The story of how hirelings said to have been brought from neighbouring African countries to resist anticipated loss in the 2015 Nigerian presidential polls were mismanaged; and their resort to banditry is also public knowledge. In fact, that story was, at a time, falsely credited to Nuhu Ribadu. Even though Ribadu has disclaimed that story, the story has important pieces of intelligence claims worth the scrutiny of any National Security Adviser who intends to succeed in his job. The undenied 2016 confessions of the former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, about the cause, identity and nationalities of bandits terrorising different parts of Nigeria are important security intelligence clues to work on in the search for an end to banditry.

The greatest impediments to the search for peace and security in Nigeria has been financial corruption and the biased approach to separatist groups by the Federal Government. From the time of Col Dasuki as the National Security Adviser, Nigerians have heard confessions of how monies budgeted for security were diverted to fund political parties. During Buhari's administration, some senior military officers allegedly diverted part of the defence budget into personal accounts and soakaway pits. Yet, others charged with procurement of military equipment went for substandard and refurbished ones. Nigerians have also listened to the narratives of mismanagement of troupes' welfare and how allowances and salaries of troupes in various theatres were either embezzled or withheld for months. It is on record that because of allegations of nepotism and marginalisation against several federal administrations in Nigeria, many separatist groups like the Mazi Nnamdi Kanu - led Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Sunday Igboho - led Movement for Yoruba Nation, and others sprang up. They have all been demanding national referendum to enable the people choose where they want to belong to. Of all these groups, IPOB, having adopted the style of Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha has been non-violent. Yet, Buhari's government was quick to declare the group a terrorist group, dealth ruthlessly with the group, killing most members and detaining many alongside the leader - Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. While Buhari's government and many state governors negotiated with other separatist groups and even the insurgents, it refused to open dialogue with IPOB. This dichotomy in security management is condemnable and has, more than anything else, fueled the agitations.

Nigerians expect stable security and a return to peace. If Ribadu really intends to work for and stabilise the country as he promised on the day he took over from Monguno, he must weed off all corrupt senior security officers from the management of the security sector and ensure judicious use of security funds. The welfare of troops at the various theatres should made a priority. Ribadu should advise President Tinubu to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu; dialogue with all separatist groups; and abolish nepotism and dichotomies in the management of the country's security sector. Studies have shown that candidness and maintenance of rule of law and discipline in the security sector are the basic requirement for functional security network. Marauding bandits and terrorists who come as herdsmen should be blocked from accessing Nigeria's borders. In fact, cattle ranching should be encouraged while open grazing should be prohibited and effectively enforced all over Nigeria. Above all, Tinubu's kinetic theory of "Agbado" security management should be modified to accommodate technologically-driven intelligence gathering using drones, CCTV cameras and more.