$1bn Arms Fund: Apologise or resign, Northern professionals tell NSA

The resolutions of the Members of Northern Nigerian Professionals Forum (NONIP) after their emergency national executive session No: 26 held in Kaduna, Northwest-Nigeria on the issues of National Security as it affects the survival of Northern Nigeria especially, North-west on Wednesday, March 17, 2021.

Our stand on the utterances of National Security Adviser to President on the alleged misplacement and controversial supply of $1billion scandal of arms by the past Service Chiefs is totally condemnable and unfortunate.

1. We see his comment as unprofessional, it lacks clear leadership openness, responsibility and decorum.
2. The NSA must accept his failure and lack of openness to other stakeholders in bringing result out of the constant challenges of insecurity that is bedeviling every section of our country, with northern Nigeria suffering must.
3. As a professional body, we see such BBC Hausa interview in the first place as uncalled for, very harming on the success of the operation against terror, banditry and insecurity across the country; the interview has exposed the weakness of our country’s intelligence gathering and sharing under his office. We observed that, the interview has not only damaged our spirit of encouragement but made to understand, there were reported escalation of attacks and kidnapping across the North which may be translated as to ardently affect motivational and encouragement of many of our soldiers in the field of battle.
4. However, we urged the NSA to urgently come out and seek forgiveness and apologized to Nigerians; then open a corridor of synergy by seeking authentic intelligence from other stakeholders that include affected governors of such troubled states; traditional and community leaders who have a clear first hand background information than all those feeding him with different views on the continued challenges facing the North, it is better than proportioning blames or accusations against particular individuals seen as adversaries. Such action will surely, by now, douse the hitherto tension generated as result of alleged views aired that are so harmful and capable of creating misunderstanding, disrepute against the personality of the past Service Chiefs, their families and dangerous to the success of other security operations across our nation.
5. We read with surprise that he was misquoted out of context which to us, is weak and unreasonable because at first, nobody forced him to grant such interviews, without clarification or taking into cognizance of his position as a keeper of Nigerian security apparatus and coordinating head.
6. We are pleased to support and commend the continue efforts, sacrifices by the governors of our region, especially governors of Zamfara state over his genuine concern and intermediary role played in bringing the reduction of insecurity challenges particularly around the north west and north in general.
   Their commitment on engaging corridor of contacts for ensuring peaceful coexistence, understanding and synergy with security heads and other stakeholders toward ensuring that lives and properties of their people are secured and given necessary attention than resorting in going to funerals or sympathy visits on the victim families as hitherto experienced in the past.

Their commitment for bringing relative peace atmosphere, provision of logistics support and synergy with security in their states despite harsh reactions and attacks by some hired unscrupulous individuals is commendable. We are in support of their initiative by encouraging dialogue and amnesty with those bandits that are genuinely committed to surrender or lay their weapons; we also encouraged them to continue with their effort of support and sustaining community policing to reduce the menace of such banditry, kidnapping and other crimes activities in the region.

7. We resolved to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to declare that our nation is in total war with Boko Haram, bandits and kidnappers in order to put all the necessary apparatus of our security and attention to such challenges; we need to remind Mr President that, securing lives and properties of people is much more important than commiserating or sympathy visits to victims of the families.

Every region of the country has a major peculiar challenge of insecurity bedeviling its people, nowhere is safe and our stand to unite with the Federal government, security agencies is the only solution to bring an end to such challenges.

While condemning rising reports of students kidnapping activities in some schools in our region, we are in support of measures taken by some of our governors, especially Zamfara and Sokoto states by giving two months grace window to the bandits to surrender their weapons and be rehabilitated in the society or faced consequences due to such failure

8. We appreciate the role of the new Service Chiefs by initiating a visit to some of the trouble areas aimed at ascertaining the level of challenges and complaints from the officers at battle grounds in order to boost their morale and ensure protection of lives and properties of Nigerians.
9. We also commended the President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision of the extension tenure given to Inspector General of Police so as to give him all the necessary impetus of laying a lasting foundation for the successful security network in policing our affairs in the country.
10. Our people in the North should stop playing politics on the issue of security or showing partisan as indicated on handling of security issues in Zamfara and Katsina. Whatever affects any of the states in particular about challenges of insecurity will surely overlap to all other neighbouring states.

Therefore, those castigating or attacking governors of Katsina, Zamfara and Kaduna of negligence should understand that, issue of security is a responsibility of every citizen. We must stand together and support them to win this battle by enemies of our common good.

Thank You

Signed
Dr Adamu Aliyu Babba
Zonal Publicity Secretary