The National Institute and national security
On the morning of the last Monday of November last year I strolled into the lobby of Nicon Luxury Hotel in the Central Area Abuja to witness the meeting hosted by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, for eminent Nigerians drawn from all works of life to mull over the security […]
On the morning of the last Monday of November last year I strolled into the lobby of Nicon Luxury Hotel in the Central Area Abuja to witness the meeting hosted by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, for eminent Nigerians drawn from all works of life to mull over the security challenges in the country. I was curious because NIPSS hardly hosts events outside Kuru. I know that the National Institute boasts some of the best meeting and conference facilities in the country sitting in a country side which has some of the most picturesque sights you would dream of, and is endowed with an atmosphere that is devoid of all the extremes that we suffer generally in the country. Most people who have experienced the place, say it has a climate that is congenial for quite study and ruminations, particularly for stress-fuelled public officers. I had the experience when I lived there some years ago as a functionary in the Institute.
When I entered and was seated in the spacious conference hall of the hotel and had a good view of the personalities present, I realized that NIPSS probably came to Abuja not for just a change of scenery but to achieve a maximum attendance of the eminent persons they invited. Among the eminent persons I recognized the face of Yayale Ahmed the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Minister of Defence who was the Special Guest of Honour. Before he became a Permanent Secretary and later Head of Service of the Federation, Yayale Ahmed had also served for many years as Secretary of the Board of Customs, Immigration and Prisons. He is someone that is highly regarded as having a broad and deep knowledge of security matters affecting the country.
I also saw Odein Ajumogobia the former Foreign Minister who also held forte in the Petroleum Ministry before the now embattled Diezani Alison-Madueke took over. He is cerebral lawyer having become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria at a relatively young age of forty-seven in 2003. He is the Chairman of the National Advisory Committee, Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Program (NSRP) who would have a serious stake in discussing security matters.
High ranking Generals in starched uniforms of their service hues bristling with medals on their chests were conspicuous among the crowd of dignitaries. Some of them were representing their service chiefs, and many were in the meeting on their own merits.
The Governor of Bauchi State was there in person. Bauchi State has been in the front line in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents, and had suffered bombings of its towns and villages along with wide spread killings of its citizens. We recall that Bauchi town was a watershed of sorts for Boko Haram elements when they first stuck in the town on 26th July 2009 but were quickly subdued. However on the same day they were able to move the epicentre of the sordid drama eastwards to Maiduguri.
I saw many traditional rulers from many states of the federation but I singled out the HRH Kyari Ibn Ibrahim ElKanemi, the Emir of Bama whose emirate was recently reclaimed from the clutches of Boko Haram insurgents by our gallant troops of the Nigerian Army. At the height of the insurgency his palace was razed to the ground by the insurgents. His brother, Abba Masta, the District Head of Bama, a close friend of mine was killed along with a large number of the citizens of the Emirate. Zanna Mallam Gana, Borno State Attorney General, our close associate was also brutally murdered in his house in Bama even before the insurgents took over the town.
Bama town, the second most populated settlement after Maiduguri and an important terminus on the route to Cameroun has suffered some of the worst trauma of the insurgency as virtually every building was destroyed. I have not seen the town since 2012 when I attended the installation of the Kaigama of Bama but I learnt from those who saw it recently that the destruction that was wrought on Bama was total. They said it could only be likened to what occurred in Berlin during the Second World War or what I witnessed in Onitsha immediately after our own Civil War. For someone who has been through such horrors I was amazed at the dignified and calm exterior of the Emir of Bama.
The Dialogue quickly sat down to business with speeches by virtually the invited dignitaries. You could detect an underlying celebratory mood in all the speeches, particularly from the representatives of the National Security Adviser and the Service Chiefs. They spoke with confidence and equanimity and even though coming from different services they expressed views that were in tandem – no more the trading blames of the past. They could do that because they have proved that they are capable of running a united and successful campaign. They were no more living on their past glories of fighting in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, or wherever. Having subdued the Boko Haram insurgents and reclaimed territory that is said to be the size of Belgium they now have concrete evidence of their present day fighting capability and something to crow about.
The Guest of Honour, Yayale Ahmed, in his remarks set the tone of the dialogue. It was a short speech that thanked NIPSS for providing a platform for Eminent Nigerians to gather and dialogue on the possibilities of developing an all-inclusive national strategy for managing security challenges facing Nigeria. I learnt that this was the fourth of such meetings, and that they had always come up with an action plan that could be sent to the government to help in resolving current national security challenges.
After the rounds of speeches, the meeting broke into groups for that day and the next to analyse the outstanding security challenges in the Northeast and the Niger Delta. The Dialogue ended the next day with a communique.
Postscript: It was with justifiable pride I watched the pictures of Amina Mohammed taking over as Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations. Our political leaders have all welcomed the appointment as an honour to Nigeria. For those of us that have worked with her we can vouch for the kind of lady the country is sending to the United Nations. She might look frail but is made of steel.
Our paths crossed when she was the Senior Special Assistant to the President to former Presidents Obasanjo and Yar’adua on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). I was not part of her team but the procurement outfit I headed in the State House handled all the MDG procurements, which was quite substantial. She never made any untoward interference in the procurement process. She had a team of solid technocrats that have all gone to greater heights – Dr Ibrahim J. Daudu who went on to head the State House and later the Ministry of Communications; Dr Ado Mohammed went to head the Nigerian National Primary Health Care Development Agency and Dr Habiba Muda Lawan who is now heading the Ministry of Women Affairs. As for when she was Minister of Environment, she was reputed to bringing out that Ministry out of the closet. Whenever she spoke, whether it was in the creeks or somewhere out there in the desert, one could observe that she had an incredible mastery of her brief. We wish her success in her new assignment.
Gambo Dori, [email protected]