Sack Of Service Chiefs Long Overdue

Editorial

Most Nigerians were not surprised when President Muhammadu Buhari sacked the service chiefs of the army, navy and air force, on Monday. This was long anticipated after Buhari assumed office on 29 May this year.

Since Buhari came to power, there has been a spike in the activities of  Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Churches, Mosques, markets and other public places have been bombed by the terrorists with scores  of citizens killed.

For Buhari, who has made cracking down on Boko Haram his number one priority, these bombings were quite embarrassing, to the extent that opposition Peoples Democratic Party,  PDP, and the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, have been mocking the president and his party,  the All Progressives Congress,  APC. But it was PDP’s tepid approach to the Boko Haram menace since 2009 that allowed the sect to fester and, at a point during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, they captured vast territories in northeast  Nigeria.

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The President had no choice than to kick out  the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Kenneth Minimah, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin and Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh. Under their watch, there has been a worrisome resurgence of Boko Haram attacks after the lull experienced during the general elections in March and April.

Those who will replace the sacked service chiefs must be ready to take the fight to the strongholds of the terrorists.  This is not a conventional warfare so Nigerians expect the new service chiefs to come up with strategies through which the terrosists would be finally given a bloodied nose.

Apart from the activities of insurgents, there is a high level of insecurity across the country. Ethnic militias are wreaking havoc in various communities while kidnappers, armed robbers and assassins are having a field day. The military should to complement the efforts of the police in tackling this widespread menace.

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