REVEALED: How Nigerians can heave sigh of relief under Tinubu — Gen Bello

A retired Brigadier General of the Nigerian Army, Idris Bello has told the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu what to do so that Nigerians would heave a sigh of relief in the next four years and beyond. 

He spoke exclusively to Vanguard Correspondent in Kaduna on Wednesday.

Bello, a member of 15 Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), said “If you look at the issue of insecurity in Nigeria holistically, including the Bako Haram Insurgency, the Banditry/ Kidnappings & the Herdsmen attacks, you will realise that the Buhari Regime has actually done well & deserves a “PASS MARK”. 

“If we look back we will realise that the Buhari Regime actually inherited all these “Security Issues”. For instance, “Boko Haram” started between 2003 to 2009. It strengthened & expanded over the years & even occupied & “ruled” over some Nigerian Territories  at a point in time. But between 2015 & now(2023) the Buhari Govt has been able to pursue them & restrict them to Sambisa & then decimate them within the Sambisa Forest. Presently, the Boko Haram Insurgency has completely dwindled. So kudos to the Buhari Regime.”

“Secondly, the issue of Banditry. This phenomenon started in Nigeria as far back as the 1990’s if not earlier. It was as a result of the infiltration, across our borders, of splinter “armed rebel groups” from neighbouring Chad in particular, inserch of food & other amenities. They plundered our villages, killing & raping our people, in addition to stealing foodstuffs. It was one of such incursions that Gen Buhari, as the GOC 3 Armoured Division in Jos, led his troops to repeal during the Shagari Regime. The situation was brought under control at that time but subsequently there was a resurgence.”

“Unfortunately, factors like abject poverty, illiteracy, unrestricted entry of illegal aliens  & proliferation of weapons etc, have served to fuel these issues. However, the Buhari Govt has done its best in order to curb Banditry in Nigeria. The situation is far less virulent now than it was a few years back. Attacks by Bandits are very occasional now and not as frequent as previously being recorded. The effort to re-equip the security agencies & the improvement in intelligence gathering is responsible for this success. So kudos to the Buhari Regime.”

“Finally on the issue of Herdsmen attacks. This issue emanated from the historical farmers/herders conflicts. It was further exacerbated by the Climate change phenomenon which shrank the availability of the “grazing & farming areas” resulting in more conflicts. Also proliferation of arms has compounded the situation. Attacks & counter-attacks have become the norm with alot lives lost & destruction of private & public properties. Herdsmen travel through routes in our various forests undetected. That way they cover hundreds of kilometres while perpetrating havoc. Also the take over of grazing areas by farmers has aggravated the situation. A grazing policy is very much necessary inorder to finally curtail this problem. “

“However, the situation has mellowed down of recent as the security agencies have stepped up and are now very vigilant. Overall the Buhari Government has done well. But the new regime should focus on the following in order to further curb or even eliminate insecurity in Nigeria.:

” I would recommend that the new Government must tighten the control of our borders in order to   prevent illegal immigrants from trooping into Nigeria and causing insecurity.”

“Take steps to prevent the proliferation of small arms into the country.”

“Map out government-controlled routes for herders in our forests which can easily be monitored.”

“Recruit thousands of able-bodied young men and women into our security agencies so that they can be deployed to adequately cover all our vulnerable areas.”

 “Provide latest and suffient equipment for all security agencies in order to enhance their proficiency. “

“Tackle the issue of “Grazing Areas” or “RUGA” in order to bring a permanent end to Farmers/Herders Conflicts.”

“Embark on an enlightenment programme for the populace in order to encourage people to pass relevant and  timely information to security agencies and curb rumour mongering.”

“Encourage consistent support for the security agencies by the populace.”

 “Strengthen “Intelligence Agencies” so that they can become very well established with deep roots in the populace in order to be able to receive and process useful  information continuously and  consistently.”