State of emergency not the solution — Gen Sura
Brigadier-General John Sura (rtd), served for decades in the Nigerian Army. In this interview with Weekend Trust he shares his perspective on whether a state of emergency can eeffectively address the growing insecurity challenges in affected states across the country. There are calls for a state of emergency in areas affected by insecurity in […]
Brigadier-General John Sura (rtd), served for decades in the Nigerian Army. In this interview with Weekend Trust he shares his perspective on whether a state of emergency can eeffectively address the growing insecurity challenges in affected states across the country.
There are calls for a state of emergency in areas affected by insecurity in the country. Can this help end insurgency and other crisis-related issues in the country?
It depends on the angle they are speaking from. But having being in the service for years, I would say the political structures remain while the military assists the political class succeed in tackling insecurity in their respective areas or states. This is ok, but to remove political structure is not a good idea.
Under former president Goodluck Jonathan’s administration some mercenaries were brought in to work with the military that were a bit neutral and were ready to go headon against terrorists and we succeeded. And so, if given the opportunity, I would suggest that we do that in terms of maintaining neutrality. Because, it’s like we are gradually infiltrating the armed forces. Therefore, I would suggest we get some mercenaries to work with the military to eject these terrorists.
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I am against a state of emergency, and if it must be done, the political structure must be there, and extra powers given beyond what we are doing now.
Did the states of emergency in Plateau and Rivers states yield positive results, or merely provided temporary solutions?
When Major General Chris Ali was sent to Plateau State, he was able to stabilise whatever was going on around communities affected by the violence. When the emergency was imposed in Ekiti state, everything was okay.
But let’s consider what the constitution says. If it aligns with the constitution, that’s fine. However, I would rather look at it from a neutral perspective and allow the political structure remain in the affected states. Let us look for mercenaries to help eject the terrorists, and it will also help train our armed forces in what they are doing to get it done better.
Are governors in the affected states doing what needs to be done to end the problem?
The governors need to step up and do their jobs. They must stay at home to do their jobs. Maintaining security and stability in their respective states is their primary responsibility. If there is insecurity, it’s partly because they’re not doing enough to address the root cause and ensuring the safety of their citizens’. The buck stops with them, and they should be held accountable for the situation in their states.
On inquiry; most of these governors are on their own as they always look at things from the political lens. The constitution says you must guarantee the rights of human beings and also guarantee the security for lives and property. Whatever economic empowerment you are trying to bring are for human beings not animals.
So, they should first of all secure human beings, and then the economy. I feel that the governors must synergise with the armed forces, police and community policing that will get early warnings to the military.
Also, every governor must begin to look at putting the first line of defense in the hands of the villagers. The second line of defence must also come from the security outfits that the governor has while the core defense comes from the armed forces or the security agencies.
Each time the governors say they don’t have power to instruct security personnel during crisis or they are just mere chief security officers of their state, I feel they have more to do. They have structures they can put in place to be able to take charge of the situation, while the rest is that of the federal government.
Do you think the proposed state police will end insecurity in the country?
I have read many submissions by my senior colleagues on state policing. I have read right from the colonial masters, how we got the military government and how we got to the disbandment of local to the federal police. I stand by them. By the time we begin to talk about state policing, it will be used as a tool by the government.
If we agree to have a federal or a state police, the recruitment, the personnel must not be done by the state governors. It must be all inclusive because if we leave a governors to recruit the state police, they will recruit people from his party and by the next election, if another party comes in, they will dissolve and return it back to themselves.
And so there must be constitutional ways to get the recruitment process done. And it should either be done by a consultant or by the federal police so that it can cut across the party lines. But like I said, we are literally getting into those issues. Most state governors have different security outfits that run within their state governments.
Are you looking at the South-East? The ECN is there. Are you also looking at the South-West? Amotekun is there. Plateau State has the one that was given by the federal government, Operation Rainbow, certified with even some level of equipment. So, Plateau state has no business crying out for anything called state police. When the former governor was on the seat, he had a personal carrier, APC that was purchased for Operation Rainbow. So where is that equipment? You have to work in conjunction with the civil defence, the police and even the military, to move up for the security services. That was why during governor David Jang, the Operation Rainbow was very effective.