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KINGSLEY BENNETH, ABUJA

The Patriots for the Advancement of Peace and Social Development (PAPSD) has urged President Bola Tinubu to sustain his moment for ending insecurity in the north, which was boosted by the appointment of General Christopher Musa as the Minister of Defence.

PAPSD in a letter to the President made available to Daily Independent on Tuesday, said, “The appointment of the former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Mus, as Minister of Defence was generally applauded by Nigerians. It is a testament to his patriotism, professionalism, integrity and unwavering commitment to crush terrorism, insurgency, banditry and militancy, and safeguard the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our beloved country.”
Executive Director of PAPSD and Patron, Tinubu – Shettima Presidential Campaign Council 2023, who signed the open letter, Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, however, bemoaned what he described as the recent spike in terrorist attacks in the north, especially the recorded incidence in Kano State.

He regretted the spill over of banditry to parts of the north, such as Kano State, where there was no record of it in the past, adding that as the commercial hub of Northern Nigeria, Kano State is one of the safest States in the country, and its security is critical for the stability and progress of the region.

Former Governorship Candidate in Zamfara State, in the letter noted with that the situation is one of deep concern, adding that he is forced to write to the President “on the critical issue of national security, safety, order and well-being of Nigerians following the recent spate of terrorism, insurgency, banditry, militancy, secession, kidnapping for ransom and other criminal activities in the country.”

He linked this new development to the need to scrap the office of the minister of state for Defence, and to sack the minister, insisting that this measure would give General Musa, who is widely accepted, the space to fulfil his mandate.

“The appointment of the former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, as Minister of Defence was generally applauded by Nigerians. It is a testament to his patriotism, professionalism, integrity and unwavering commitment to crush terrorism, insurgency, banditry and militancy, and safeguard the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our beloved country.

The recent spate of terror attacks is worrisome, particularly in the Northern part of the country, which forced some Governors in the region to negotiate with bandits who imposed levies and taxes on rural dwellers before they could cultivate their farmlands and harvest crops.

“It is sad that banditry has spilt over to Kano State, which has no record of insecurity. As the commercial hub of Northern Nigeria, Kano State is one of the safest States in the country. Its security is critical for the stability and progress of the Northern region.

Although five states are mostly affected by banditry activities in the North West geopolitical zone, Zamfara State has been the epicentre of armed banditry and a haven for bandits in the past 15 years.

“The State shares a border with Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina and Niger States, as well as the Niger Republic by Shinkafi and Zurmi Local Governments of Zamfara State. Kebbi State also shares borders with the Niger Republic and Benin Republic, while Sokoto State towns of Illela, Gada, Isa, Goronyo, Sabon Birnin, Tangaza, Kebbe and Silame share borders with the Niger Republic.

“The porosity of the borders in the five States of the North West facilitates smuggling, proliferation of small and light weapons, illicit drugs and narcotics, and illegal migrants from the Sahel countries.

“With widespread banditry, insurgency and terrorism in the Northern States, and militancy, secession, oil bunkering, piracy, kidnapping for ransom and cultism in the Southern States, national defence and security needs an experienced Minister of Defence with military background to effectively coordinate and manage the armed forces, and protect the nation’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“In view of the above, I respectfully appeal to Mr President to listen to the timely call and demand by most citizens to scrap the office of Minister of State for Defence, and sack Bello Matawalle, the current Minister of State for Defence.

“Both the office and Matawalle have outlived their usefulness in safeguarding national security and order in Nigeria. National interest obviously supersedes partisan politics. It is time for action. It is time to do the right thing in the interest of the nation. It is time to scrap the  Minister of State for Defence portfolio and sack the incumbent minister holding it.

“Matawalle carries a lot of baggage too heavy for efficient and diligent administration and coordination of the Ministry of Defence at these critical security challenges. Numerous allegations against him keep surfacing in the national media and on social media, questioning his integrity, his leadership capacity, more importantly, his link and sympathy for bandits both as former governor and current minister of the Federal Republic.

“Certainly, Matawalle lacks public acceptance and is too controversial to serve as a minister, let alone the Minister of State for Defence at this crucial period of a state of emergency on security.

“The overwhelming acceptance of General Christopher Musa as Minister of Defence is what is needed for any leader serving in the Ministry of Defence. This is what Matawalle lacked as governor and minister.

“His lack of political sagacity, leadership acumen and aloofness from the people he was meant to serve led to his defeat in the 2023 governorship election in Zamfara State, while the people voted overwhelmingly for the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the campaign l served as Patron, Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, and earlier contested for governor of Zamfara State.

“Since security is everybody’s business, Nigerians identify with Mr President’s stance to protect citizens and make the country safe as there cannot be any development without security of life and property, as provided for in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, in Section 14(2)b which states that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.

“It has become necessary that ministers of defence should have the intellectual capacity, security expertise and political savvy to combat terrorism, insurgency and banditry that threaten national security and order.

“The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, falls short of the criteria, whose known educational qualification is mere vocational training, which is not equivalent to a senior secondary school certificate, going by the Ministry of Education’s Department of Evaluation and Monitoring assessment.

“Whatever consideration Mr President had in appointing Matawalle Minister of State for Defence has to be reconsidered and rescinded in view of the clear and present security danger the nation is facing that is far beyond Matawalle’s ability to handle.

“When His Excellency Mohammed Badaru Abubakar recently resigned as Minister of Defence, citizens rejoiced and hailed it as patriotism, and expected the junior minister (Matawalle) to toe a similar path of honour and resign.

“Conscious of the need to inject fresh blood and ideas into the Ministry of Defence, Matawalle’s refusal to resign, along with his former boss, necessitated the ongoing clamour for his sack.

“Mr President, I join millions of well meaning citizens who call for the immediate sack of Bello Matawalle as Minister of State for Defence and scrap of the office of the Minister of State for Defence.

2National expectation from General Christopher Musa as Minister of Defence is high, very high. To meet the yearnings of Nigerians, he should be given powers to restructure and reposition the ministry without the overbearing influence of the junior minister, Matawalle who Musa served under as Chief of Defence Staff.

“National  defence architecture is too critical to split the command system as obtainable in Nigeria. We are currently operating a system in which the senior minister doesn’t have control of the maritime domain (which is very  critical to our economy and national security) because it is handed over to the Minister of State to oversee. Secondly, the Pension Board that is supposed to cater for the welfare of the veterans is also in the purview of the junior minister.

“Most importantly, the Defence Industries Corporation which is supposed to be the nation’s  defence ecosystem of companies, government agencies, and research institutions that develop, produce, and supply military equipment and services is also not under the senior minister. We now have two ministers running parallel administration  in the Ministry of Defence at a time the cooperation of every sector is needed to address the security challenges.

“It is therefore essential to unify the Ministry of Defence under one command. This will equally avoid unnecessary personality clashes and inefficiency that exacerbated the insecurity in the nation.

“The safety of Nigerians should be paramount. I do not doubt that Mr President will heed to the yearnings of fellow compatriots to scrap the office of Minister of State for Defence and relinquish Matawalle his position. It is in the overall national interest to do this.

It is my prayer that God will continue to guide our President as he faithfully pilot the affairs of the nation.”