General Usman Sanni, on a national television, offers options on how Nigeria’s insecurity can be tackled
OpenLife Nigeria reports that Brigadier General Usman Sanni, ret’d, speaking on Monday on Channels Television, offered various options on how Nigeria’s insecurity can be tackled.
Expressing worries over the spate of kidnap against the back drop of renewed kidnap of secondary school students in the northern region by insurgents who operate as Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province, ISWAP, the former Army spokesman emphasized that a foremost step to end insurgency is to get local government fully autonomous.
He argued that full autonomy of the Nigeria’s local government system pre supposes that Council Chairmen would have enough resources and independent powers to administer the locality.
According to General Usman, the unhindered administrative power of Council chairmen would include providing security in schools and engaging local youths in forest security operations so much so that insurgents would hardly find space to congregate and wreck havocs.
“There are many security measures local government chairmen could put in place to arrest the activities of insurgents. They are the closet to the people and they know the length and breadth of the terrain. But Council administration needs to be fully autonomous to be able to provide basic security requirements including engaging the youths to secure schools and forests,” he said.
General Usman, who retired from active service in February 2019, also pointed out infrastructural deficit as one of the reasons insurgency has not been completely wiped off saying that though the military is doing its best to curtail the menace of Boko Haram, more efforts must be deployed into infrastructural upgrade by the government.
“If since the rebirth of democratic practice in 1999 there have been more deployment of resources in renewing infrastructure in schools like graded fence and other measures that prevent easy access, schools would not have been as porous as it is for insurgents to operate freely,” General Usman stated.
He however expressed concerns over the disruption of the academic calendar of kidnapped children and called on government to adopt some of the solutions proffered by think tanks in some of the country’s foremost institutions like the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, of which he is a product and the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja.
General Usman gave a pass mark to military personnel whom he described as doing their best to secure Nigeria and called for citizens’ co operation with the military for intelligence gathering so that criminal activities can always be nipped in the bud.
“Timely information release from citizens to the military is key. That understanding must be there. Military personnel are not spirits. They need to be assisted with information. They the military has effective information gathering mechanism, more information from the public would propel switch to moves to save unholy situations,” he solicited.
He further called for more Police funding and training so that they can deal with internal issues and urged government to strengthen its borders against free entry of arms and ammunition.
General Usman went to Bayero University Kano to study Mass Communications and was awarded a bachelor’s degree after three years, graduating in 1991. He took public relations courses at different institutions and held positions as Army spokesperson at different commands within and outside the country throughout his career.
Usman was appointed acting spokesperson of the Nigerian Army on January 30, 2015, while a colonel. His appointment was confirmed in June 2017, months after he was promoted as a brigadier-general in December 9, 2016.
He attended a year-long course at the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, among other schools.
About Author
