“It is not a matter of relying on the military completely to solve the entire security problem. The underlining causes started from political actors, and, as such, was essentially a political issue. But, this is now left for the military (to solve) while the political actors are staying behind”. With these words, Lt General Yusuf Buratai, retd, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff from 2016 to 2021, assesses what many believe is the worsening insecurity in the country. Only last weekend, more than 100 people were killed in gun battles between security forces and non-state actors in different parts of the country. In Borno State alone where the military has fought Boko Haram Terrorists for decades, about 68 people, including eight soldiers, were reportedly killed while eight operatives of the NCSDC fell to the superior gun power of kidnappers, among others, in Edo State. The situation in Sokoto is a different ballgame as killings in the state have assumed a frightening dimension. Latest report from there says at least 10 local governments may be under bandits’ control. Troops are also battling bandits in Zamfara State. The situation has lasted several years. In the South-East, the military have been at war with some separatists and kidnappers. In this interview, Buratai says he once warned that Nigeria’s insurgency would last longer unless certain steps were taken. Excerpts:

We understand that farmers pay royalty to bandits in some states before they can be allowed to go into their farms. What is your take on security issues across the country?

Well, when you talk about insecurity, it goes beyond farmers’ access to their farms, even mobility, transportation, across the interior of our country. It is unfortunate that we have continued to have security challenges. But, by and large it is not something that we would say, has just started. It has been going on for quite some time and, as such, has permeated the entire society. This is one of the dangers of allowing insurgency to prolong. You can see that so many elements from ward heads to village heads, to state and federal level, you see all the apparatus, elements and actors in one way or the other, associated or accused of allowing this thing to go out of control. But, again, by and large, there is a serious need for community resilience in order to tackle some of the remote issues, like farmers not being able to go into their farms and farm peacefully, as they are attacked, abducted or killed. It can become a cankerworm sort of. But, the solution is multi-faceted as well. It is not reliance on government, alone. While government has the overall responsibility, individuals, communities, actors on ground, and local government administrations have very important roles to play. There is also need for a serious dialogue among stakeholders within communities, local governments and states. That is the way out. We had a terrible experience when I served as the Chief of the Army Staff; when we saw families, parents and all their children, involved in terrorism or supporting terrorists. It is something that has been allowed to stay too long with us and it’s very dangerous!

To what extent do you think Nigerians understand the security situation which some perceive as war and what has been put in place to overcome it?

Recall that before I left office, I warned that insurgency may last longer and that we needed to have a long term plan; that it’s not something that one could just wish away. When there is national crisis, we need to mobilize everybody, not just the military. Look at how Covid-19 was tackled; how much was invested into information dissemination, palliatives, preventive measures, etc. The entire country was locked down to fight it.

We can do the same thing now; lock down the country and tackle insecurity squarely. Again, recall how the flood in Maiduguri, Borno State was handled last year; the whole country mobilized and supported Borno State government and its people by bringing relief materials and ensuring immediate rehabilitation of victims. The same thing can be done now by mobilising people through social media and the mainstream media to participate in fighting insurgency in the country. On the part of the military, I think we should understand that the military Is just one aspect of the overall state or national activities. We must understand the fact that apart from the military, we have the economic line, the social line, the political line, etc, they are very important. And, we can see from all indications that in the political line, there is the political will. Every government, present and past, wants insecurity nipped in the bud or addressed properly and resources have always been earmarked and released for that purpose but there is need to ensure that the social aspects or underlining aspects are also addressed. It is not a matter of relying on the military completely to solve the entire security problem. The underlining causes started from political actors, and, as such, was essentially a political issue. But, this is now left for the military while the political actors are staying behind. This requires a total review in terms of political associations or political involvement, among others. This is a challenge that has existed for two or three administrations back. So, we cannot continuously see the military as the problem in solving our insecurity challenges. They are an aspect of the solution and they will always play their role very well, if they have good support from the whole system. Any soldier that is in the field holding weapon to defend his country is very important and should not be demoralised. Demoralizing soldiers means endangering their lives and that of Nigerians. That’s why we must give them every support they need to succeed in the field. So, mass mobilization is needed.

What do you mean by community resilience and in what ways can we support the military in their effort towards solving the security challenges facing the country?

The support the military needs might be intangible but the morale is very important for soldiers on ground, ready to die any moment in defence of their country and this Is a reality. There have been casualties on a daily basis, not even one or two but in their numbers, as being reported. Their welfare must be improved. We must also not abuse them as it is done in the social media. The military as an institution is doing its best to ensure that terms and conditions of service are met but there is need to educate the masses on the fact that soldiers are sacrificing so much in defending everyone in the country. They give out their best and we must give them enough moral support. They also need further training, sufficient funding and welfare to be able to continue facing the challenges. Government and the people should understand that whatever is spent on the military is not for nothing, it is to achieve results. Saying that the military gets so much in terms of funds demoralizes them and makes it difficult for them to achieve good result. Community resilience should be properly streamlined. In the past, every society had their system of defence. Unfortunately, our local government system has virtually collapsed in several areas. We don’t have strong local government administrations and this is a very big setback on community resilience. There is need to bring back local government administrations and involve traditional leaders, religious leaders as well as family heads. This is very important. Also, resilience in terms of information gathering and sharing; bad people must be fished out; they all live within us. A few years ago, we involved community leaders and youth leaders and they exposed such people to us. We picked them up and this made us record a high level of success, prompting them to call for dialogue. So, there is need for communities to support the military by providing information and guidance in terms of the terrain to troops.

You must have heard about the incident in Anambra involving a Youth Corp member serving in the state. The corp Member was reportedly brutalized by some state government security officials. What is your take on the issue of state police?

First, I must commend Anambra State government for their reaction to what happened. It was really unfortunate but I believe the government has done the right thing. I learnt the police have arrested the suspects and the matter is being investigated. I am a strong advocate of state police; it is very important. However, my worry is our level of development in terms of technology and resources for funding such an outfit. We also have the issue of political interference as some politicians may use their state police against their opponents and perceived enemies. Therefore, until we get to that level of maturity in terms of development, administrative system at local government level… Now, we don’t even have effective local government administration where Chairmen have total control. They cannot even organize themselves. How can they have policemen to manage?

How long do you think it can take us to get to the level of having state police?

I don’t want to give a specific period but the issue is that if we must have state police, it must have a definite guideline and mode of operations without any interference, non-partisan. When we are ready on these, we can say the state police have come to stay. With all our respect to the Nigerian Police, there have been several complaints on interference in one way or the other; such complaints need to be addressed as well, so as to redirect the minds of Nigerians to the right perspective. Already, some states are doing very well with their vigilantes, like Amotekun. But, our fear is that they could become political tools. Already, some of the vigilantes are being accused and that was one of the contributory factors in the clash between farmers and herders in Zamfara State. So, we have to be very careful. We have four years transition system of governance whereby after four or eight years, oath of allegiance and loyalty is transferred to the next administration and, definitely, every leader would want to take advantage of whatever resources and forces he has at hand. How neutral can they be? Sometimes, they even accuse the military of supporting the government in power. So, this must be clearly defined. I know that the armed forces are loyal and patriotic. If we get state police, those factors must be considered. Again, we might have challenges within the state in terms of geo-political spread, even within states, as some states are feeling marginalised. So, we would now have the issue of some of the local police belonging to one zone and the other one less represented. So, by and large, it is just a matter of development. By the time we have a stable system whereby we understand one another, there will be unity at all levels, all of us will be seen as one as far as the development and progress of our respective states are concerned.

What ambition do you have now that you have joined a political party?

My ambition is to be a statesman.

You do not want to contest for any political office?

I don’t think so. I left office over five years ago. Unless I am invited but I think I am comfortable being a statesman which is more or less a politician.

Are you bidding your time?

I think so but if I am called at the right time, I will think over it.

What is your take on the political climate and the state of our economy?

There was a statement I made a few weeks ago in terms of what is happening in the country. As a historian, I like taking history as a basis by which we should assess whatever happens. I believe that whatever is happening now is not new. Our political evolution from pre-independence till date has been virtually the same; the same trend in terms of our economy. Certain dynamics always influence what is happening in any political season. That has not changed. Nigerians are resilient and I believe we will overcome all our challenges. Like I earlier mentioned, every past administration has always tried to take advantage of the petroleum factor; reduce, increase, remove petroleum subsidy or leave it as it is.

Do you have a note of warning for politicians on the way they play politics today or is it that they are okay and that’s how politics is played?

I think politicians are playing their game. We should allow them. I have witnessed both civilian and military administrations. While we believe in democracy, the military has maintained neutrality and we believe democracy will make a lot of difference. Lessons are being learnt. Whatever is happening now is deliberately being done to make things better. But, if it is not being done the way others feel, they have the right to raise issues. In all, political season has just started and the political tension is very high, we just to be conscious of how politics is played. Politics Is a game that players either gain or lose and once one wins, he is in the position to improve the people’s lives. That should be the aim of every politician and I believe that the present government has not done otherwise in terms of its statement. Policies and implementations differ.

Lessons are being learnt, all that we need is dialogue, understanding and prayer for the nation to overcome its challenges. We also need the support of every well meaning Nigerian. As a statesman, I will continue to maintain that position, having played very prominent roles during my 40 years of service as a military man. I know what we achieved and will not like to throw it to partisan position.

So, it is a waste of time?

Yes, those who should be meeting are those responsible for operations because except for the Nigerian and Rwandan armies, most of others have been disgraced by insurgents, terrorists, etc. It is also important to separate terrorism from insurgency. We have no terrorism in Africa. What we have in Africa is insurgency. But, like I said, except the Nigerian and Rwandan armies, those of other African countries have not been able to deal with the issue for several years which means that something is wrong tactically and operationally. But, they keep buying expensive weapons. America has never won any insurgency war, even with their expensive and sophisticated weapons. This is because, as it is always said, you can’t use a harmer to kill a fly. We had expected those in charge of operations to look at the tactics that they are using which are completely wrong to be used for an internal war. Again, there is what is called Neighbourhood Security which means countries helping each other in a manner that would not allow bandits to control their borders. So, a meeting of Defence Chiefs is a waste of time. The operation officers should be meeting, not army chiefs.

So you don’t you think that meetings of such top leaders first are necessary to discuss cross border issues…

I think they are getting the whole security issues wrong. Criminals and bandits come from communities; therefore safety starts from community level. If you have proper policing and intelligence from bottom-up, all these issues would be resolved to a great extent. But we haven’t done that, and if we have been doing the same thing for the past 20 years and we are not getting the desired result, don’t you think it is better we find another way of doing it? And, huge money has been spent.

We have observed that those criminals also come from other countries. How do we solve the problem with the bottom-up approach you are advocating for?

We have Immigration, Customs, and the police at the borders. What are they doing? Secondly, ECOWAS has a security team that patrols our borders. We, too, in Nigeria have all sorts of mechanisms of controlling our borders such as the NIA, the DSS and the military. They have intelligence system and a system for counter intelligence. If you have all of these and all these are still going on, then something is wrong. What I am saying is that there is need to sit down and find out what is wrong and then develop a new approach to the whole issue.

If you say we do not have external state actors, what do we make of the numerous reports pointing to the existence of such?

When you go to North Africa, how did Algeria solve its problem? Algeria and Morocco are steady and quiet. Egypt has its own internal problems and they are looking for ways to solve them. All these stories about non-state actors are not true. I challenge anybody to prove that. We talk of ours coming from outside. How do they come from outside if we have all the security agencies earlier mentioned at the border? How did they come in? There must be a form of collusion. It means that there is a cartel going on. What is our intelligence system doing? So, when you have a problem, you find somebody to blame. That is what is happening. All these blames will not work. With the right tactics, all these problems can be solved within six months.

All that is needed is to reorganize these agencies, develop a new tactical system, a new intelligence system and counter intelligence system. Another important point is that you must train the soldiers on how to fight. If you ask some of the soldiers what they are fighting for, you will be surprised at their responses. Has anybody explained to them what they are fighting for? If they don’t know what they are fighting for, they would just take it like an ordinary duty and if they are tired, they are tired. There have been cases where soldiers ran away when they are attacked. Today in Borno State, the insurgents are still holding spaces. How come? This means that the communities supported them to a certain extent. How do you educate communities not to support them and what are traditional rulers doing in this regard? If the communities are not supporting the insurgents, all these problems can be solved in six months. If we are serious about adopting a new approach, we don’t need to buy any new weapons or aircraft. Even the ones we bought from different countries, do we have what it takes to maintain them? So, we are just wasting money. There are people in Benue that will tell you clearly that the people attacking their villages come from Nasarawa State. If they come from Nasarawa, is Nassarawa not part of Nigeria? Are they not Nigerian citizens? In the case of Plateau, I have been there and have also spoken to the people there. What is happening there is that some of the people attacking them are the same ethnic group. The herders that we keep talking about, are they so invisible?

Sometimes, I get surprised when people say all sort of things about the military with their training and years of experience. The point is that we are not looking for new ways out of the situation. Many of the state governors who were against bottom-up safety have now admitted that we need state police. The National Assembly has refused to take any step. Why? Lagos State has shown that if you have a good safety system like Neighbourhood Watch, it can work. Amotekun in the South-West is working. What is the problem? At one time, Asari Dokubo (former Niger Delta militant leader) shouted that Boko Haram fighters were coming to the South-West and I said it was not true. There are many young northerners around (in the South-West) who don’t have where to sleep, if they want to cause mayhem they can do so. The point is that most of the stories are told just to look for people to blame.

What did you say about collusion?

What I observed as far back as 1999 is that we have not really looked at the threats and analysed them properly. I keep saying that the tactics are wrong. (Sunday Vanguard)