General Azazi: The man on the cross?
The South-South Economic Summit held in Asaba had it’s mind on issues outside the relative powers of the institutions of State. However, it came into focus only as a collateral of other issues raised, one of which has now become fairly controversial. During the course of discussions, one governor after the other, got up to […]
The South-South Economic Summit held in Asaba had it’s mind on issues outside the relative powers of the institutions of State. However, it came into focus only as a collateral of other issues raised, one of which has now become fairly controversial. During the course of discussions, one governor after the other, got up to highlight their own peculiar circumstances. In summary they held that their hands were tied particularly in relation to security issues. No governor, they said had an army, nor did any control the Police or any of the security agencies. And yet the governors are supposed to be the Chief Security Officers in their states.
The relative enfeeblement of Governors as far as security is concerned has become one of the growing narratives in current Nigerian Politics. This anxiety has sometimes expressed itself in the controversial suggestion, that State Authorities require to have Police Forces of their own. I attended the South-South Economic Summit myself and was hoping that it might be possible for someone to provide a refutation to the position of some of the Governors. I have expressed the private view, that a considerable part of the disaffection, the public feels for the Federal Government, has sometimes been promoted by the governments in the States.
The dichotomy between the Federal Government and the states could not have been any sharper than it was under President Olusegun Obasanjo. Several Governors marched to their own bands, leaving the Federal Government isolated and in bad odour. And I have always felt that there is more democracy at the Federal level than you might experience in the States; most State Houses of Assembly reflect the Governor’s will; the Local Governments are under the thumb of the State Chief Executives; the Local Media are chorus platforms offering only eulogies in favour of incumbent Governors; many of the States are divided sharply into friends on the one side , and enemies of Government on the other. Constructively therefore, there has been more equity and more democracy at the Federal level, than you will find in any of the states. This observation is without prejudice to the party affiliation of the ruling Government
Two points emerge from all this; (a) there is a widely felt requirement for more equitable governance in Nigeria across the Board. (b) that in view of the absence of even-handed conduct in the states, it would be improper for the States to have their own Statutory Police Forces and that in any case the security of any political space is guaranteed only to the extent to which transparent and equitable governance is established.
General Owoye Andrew Azazi, National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan since October 4 2010, was at the South-South Economic Summit, and the views he expressed were so seminal, the conference rose in thunderous applause. He emphasised that security requires to be addressed holistically. Security he emphasised, was not simply a matter of establishing the Police or funding the army. General Azazi stated that Security challenges can be produced by many factors. These include bad governance, infrastructure deficit, unfairness in the allocation of power, lack of even handedness, poor education, growing unemployment and the disgruntlement arising from placing party convention ahead of the National Constitution. General Azazi’s position found favour with the audience which included governors, academics, party faithfuls and some members of the International Community. In summary, General Azazi’s remit was that no matter how many divisions you command or the number of Police Forces you controlled, the absence of good governance was likely to produce security challenges.
The Boko Haram problem even if it has a religious twist, surely has it’s foundation in civic disgruntlement. The Militancy in the Niger Delta, the kidnappings in the East and the ascendancy of the blue collar crime can have their ancestry traced to the inequitable character of Nigerian politics. This belief is settled wisdom and General Azazi requires to be applauded for being spot on in analysing this problem. Indeed he is on all fours with President Goodluck Jonathan, who through his transformation agenda, seeks to make our people the chief beneficiary of popular governance.
Some have however expressed the view that General Azazi should not have stated his views publicly. He should be seen and not heard, I doubt if this is a helpful or sustainable position. This mindset obviously derives from the political vernacular of military dictatorships. In this context, the NSA was largely perceived as a goon, who presides over a monstrous killing machine. The less seen, the greater the awe and the more effective he appeared to be.
The world of intelligence is a curiously reticent universe. What you fail to hear, is often as important as the headline huggers. When not long ago, a large illegal shipment of weapons from Iran was intercepted, General Azazi chose to stay in the shadows, allowing the matter to be dealt with by the foreign affairs people in the United Nations.
An Iranian National was ultimately charged to court. It is also of interest that our security agencies under General Azazi have worked with other countries, notably African and European countries in their quest to develop security and counter terrorism strategies. Nigeria, in it’s Northern fringes, is surrounded by a corridor through which illicit arms pour in from Libya through Niger then on to Chad and Cameroon. This is a volatile area and General Azazi has had to cope with the menace represented by these dangerous flash points. The Boko Haram problem is a continuing challenge with a political under pinning that has been widely noted. However, several important figures and arms caches of the movement have been uncovered.
The point made by General Azazi about the requirement to uphold the constitution and establish good governance need ruffle no feathers. It is an obligation that has often been emphasised by Mr President himself and for which Nigerians must remain gratified. The points highlighted by General Azazi are that we cannot have security if we do not get our politics right.
Olowu wrote this piece from Abuja