Northern Group Condemns Call for Sack of Service Chiefs

From Paul Orude Bauchi

The Northern Youth Association of Nigeria (NYAN) has condemned the call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to sack the current service chiefs in the country for alleged non-performance.

The group in world press conference in Bauchi on Friday, described the call as “Ill-motivated, unpatriotic and a clandestine move to rearrange and alter the new structure of the military hierarchy by some ethnic bigots for primordial interest”

Comrade Godiya T. Adams Bogoro, President of NYAN, said the world press conference by the group was necessitated by a patriotic concern to initiate a timely intervention.

Bogoro called for restrain by some persons who have benefitted from the insecurity situation by distracting the military and President Tinubu.

“Considering that the call for the sack of so-called “non-performing” service chiefs is ill-motivated, we the members of NYAN considered it pertinent to call for caution and restrain,” he said.

“The new service chiefs are less than a year in office. However to the surprise of many, they have achieved tremendously well in curbing the activities of the Boko Haram insurgents, banditry, and the IPOB agitation that the previous Governments allowed to linger due to unseriousness and lack of will power to do the right thing.

“We frown and condemn the call for the sack of any service chief by some northern organizations.

“Unfortunately, though not surprised at the persons and organization hired to embark on this unpatriotic, selfish, and unproductive venture we call for restraint.

“Nobody should take Shettima, the president of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum seriously.

“He has a reputation for ethnic bigotry; having campaigned for the Igbos to vacate the North leaves no doubt that he trades crises, mischief, and ethnic struggle to promote hatred and sectional interest.     

“Though the operations are without setbacks, a lot has been achieved in restoring peace in several communities across the country.

“For instance, peace has been largely restored in Borno State, the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency, and the state is witnessing the resettlement of hitherto displaced persons”

He recalled that Governor Babagana Zulum while presenting the 2024 budget to the Borno State Assembly observed that the security situation had greatly improved and will continue to improve.

“Many have observed that the military operations in the Northeast have brought about a considerable level of stability to the region,” he argued.

“In the Niger Delta region, the joint task force Operation Delta Safe and other security operations in the region have also reduced the vandalism of oil facilities.

“So far the military has uncovered and destroyed illegal refining sites and intercepted million litres of crude oil valued in billions.

“Also, suspected oil thieves were nabbed within the period while boats used to convey stolen crude oil and its products were impounded. The decisive intervention has led to an increase in Nigeria’s oil production output to about 1.7 million barrels per day in December, a sharp increase in daily oil production.

“However, these successes were not without pains such as the killing of soldiers in ambushes, sabotage, and loss of equipment and operational errors that had resulted in the killing of innocent citizens. We have lost officers and soldiers through ambushs and crashes.

“We sympathize with the families of our fallen heroes and heroines who paid the ultimate price while protecting us. We also sympathize with the families of the civilian casualties and victims of banditry and terrorism.  

“We applaud the Chief of Defense Staff and his team. It was observed that since his assumption, General Musa has brought his wealth of experience on the battlefield to bear. Our members noted that his leadership has maintained a good relationship with stakeholders in the communities leading to more synergy and successes. 

“We applaud his strategic approach and collaboration with other security agencies; it was observed that the synergic approach has yielded more results in the effort to return peace and security to the affected areas.

“We are proud of the Nigerian military and particularly the CDS, General Musa. We believe that insecurity will be a thing of the past soon. We call on Nigerians to support President Bola Tinubu and the Service Chiefs”