NB: The intent of this thread is a non-partisan discussion of National Security as elections near.


The Nigerian Government has terminated the presence of US Army in Nigeria. Election is less than 3 months away. The battle with Boko Haram seems to be always moving battle fronts can we really rely on this on the eve of elections? Boko Haram keeps moving from area to area and engaging the army on new battle fields. Is this a conducive environment for the people of North East to vote? Or are we planning to exclude elections in the North East? Should there not be a clear plan for 2015 election in the North East? Trust me the very people who keep blowing up the country on the eve of every major political event will not sit back and watch the election and I doubt Boko Haram have "Valentine Day" in their Calendar.

My questions are as follows:

Should our Army be more proactive?
Do we need a Military Surge to restore stability and allow the North East to partake in elections while a final solution is sought?
The Military surge requires the deployment of a high number of soldiers and equipment
Do we have the personnel and equipment to conduct this surge?
If we do why are we not doing this already?
If we don't should Nigeria consider liaising with other non-neighbouring African Union Forces for help (this is not the time for arrogance)? Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia these are stable countries that can help with their army and equipment

we need to deploy huge Military presence in the North East, cordon off the area, push Boko Haram back to the Forest, finish election, then we can talk about negotiating with those who want to lay down their arms while rounding up those who refuse.

I hope Jonathan will have a cabinet shake up as I really don't see that Aliyu Gusau is adding much value to our National Security. Sambo Dasuki should be moved to Defence Ministry, Aliyu Gusau should be sacked While Martin Luther Agwai should be appointed NSA.

We need a new National Security Policy and better co-ordination between the security agencies and most importantly we need a modern counter terrorism agency that can liaise with global institutions like Interpol, CIA, FBI, MI5, MI6, Mossad, KGB to track down terrorists.

Aliyu Gusau has been in and out of National security policy making since 1999 and I don't see that he is introducing any reforms or re-organisation of our security agencies, he should go!

The body language of this government has encouraged negative thinking. While I hail the efforts so far, the wide gap between our politicians, the military and civil society is evident. The most dangerous thing is to have a military that can neither defend itself nor the country as a result of lack of resources or policy direction.

It is very difficult for me to resist this negative thought of the ruling party pursuing a "scorched earthed" policy to get the minimum 25% but ensure that the opposition does not harvest massive votes anticipated in the affected zone . I do not see how Bamanga Tukur, Marwa, Boni Haruna, Shekarau, Hassam Adamu , Jubril AMINU, MUAZU or even the big masquerade himself can unfurl their umbrella successfully,

These are indeed difficult times for all of us.