For President Goodluck Jonathan, the sacking of the National Security Adviser (NSA), General Owoye Azazi, on the heels of the insurgency in the North that has claimed hundreds of lives, did not come easy, Sunday Vanguard was made to understand at the weekend.

Left to the president, sources said, he would have preferred to retain the NSA, believing that, with time, solution would be found to the challenge of the insurgency.

But Jonathan’s trip to Rio De Janeiro, the Brazilian capital, where he attended a sustainable development summit alongside the heads of state of many other countries, played a crucial role in deciding Azazi’s fate.

Presidency sources said the president approached some of his colleagues at the parley to help on the foreign direct investment (FDI) drive of his administration but was told in unmistakable terms that it was difficult in the face of the high level insecurity occasioned by the terror attacks in the country.

“President Jonathan was told to be more decisive in tackling the insecurity challenge if he was serious about the FDI drive of his administration”, one source told Sunday Vanguard.

The source added: “It was against this backdrop that the president toyed with the idea of trying another security machinery to combat the terrorism challenge, hence the removal of the NSA”.

Azazi was removed, on Friday, along with the Defence Minister, Alhaji Haliru Mohammed Bello.
The NSA is the second security chief to be removed since the insurgency challenge in the North spearheaded by the Boko Haram Islamists began.

Hafiz Ringim was sacked as the Inspector General of Police in January after an alleged high profile terrorist, Kabiru Sokoto, under arrest, escaped from police custody.

Jonathan’s trip last week, to Brazil for the Rio + 20 Summit on Sustainable Development amid terror attacks in Kaduna and Yobe States, in itself, generated some furore.

The president was accused of being insensitive.

Sunday Vanguard learnt that Jonathan was at pains in relieving the NSA of his appointment in the wake of “the international community’s position on the Nigeria’s insurgency”.

A source said the president related with Azazi as “an uncle” and found it difficult to fault his advice on security matters notwithstanding the spate of terrorist attacks in the North.

The source traced their relationship to the past when Jonathan was the Bayelsa deputy governor and the NSA the chief of the army staff.

The NSA’s sack: How Azazi’s fate was sealed

* He was an embarrassment to Ijaw, Niger Delta – Militant group

By Kingsley Omonobi, Emma Amaize and Festus Ahon

For President Goodluck Jonathan, the sacking of the National Security Adviser (NSA), General Owoye Azazi, on the heels of the insurgency in the North that has claimed hundreds of lives, did not come easy, Sunday Vanguard was made to understand at the weekend.

Left to the president, sources said, he would have preferred to retain the NSA, believing that, with time, solution would be found to the challenge of the insurgency.

But Jonathan’s trip to Rio De Janeiro, the Brazilian capital, where he attended a sustainable development summit alongside the heads of state of many other countries, played a crucial role in deciding Azazi’s fate.

Presidency sources said the president approached some of his colleagues at the parley to help on the foreign direct investment (FDI) drive of his administration but  was told in unmistakable terms that it was difficult in the face of the high level insecurity occasioned by the terror attacks in the country.

“President Jonathan was told to be more decisive in tackling the insecurity challenge if he was serious about the FDI drive of his administration”, one source told Sunday Vanguard.

The source added: “It was against this backdrop that the president toyed with the idea of trying another security machinery to combat the terrorism challenge, hence the removal of the NSA”.

Azazi was removed, on Friday, along with the Defence Minister, Alhaji Haliru Mohammed Bello.
The NSA is the second security chief to be removed since the insurgency challenge in the North spearheaded by the Boko Haram Islamists began.

Hafiz Ringim was sacked as the Inspector General of Police in January after an alleged high profile terrorist, Kabiru Sokoto, under arrest, escaped from police custody.

Jonathan’s trip last week, to Brazil for the Rio + 20 Summit on Sustainable Development amid terror attacks in Kaduna and Yobe States, in itself, generated some furore.

The president was accused of being insensitive.

Sunday Vanguard learnt that Jonathan was at pains in relieving the NSA of his appointment in the wake of “the international community’s position on the Nigeria’s insurgency”.

A source said the president related with Azazi as “an uncle” and found it difficult to fault his advice on security matters notwithstanding the spate of terrorist attacks in the North.

The source traced their relationship to the past when Jonathan was the Bayelsa deputy governor and the NSA the chief of the army staff.

Persona non-grata
Meanwhile, the Niger Liberation Force, NDLF, a militant group in the Niger-Delta, yesterday, declared the sacked NSA a persona-non-grata in Ijaw communities in the region, including his country home, Peretoru-gbene in Bayelsa state.

The group, in a statement by its spokesman, “Captain” Mark Anthony, welcomed the removal of Azazi for incompetence, saying he was an embarrassment to the Ijaw nation and Niger-Delta.

The group said: “The leadership of Niger Delta Liberation Force, NDLF, has lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for the sacking of General Andrew Owoye Azazi(rtd) who was the National Security Adviser to President Gooodluck Jonathan for incompetence”.

“The NSA was an embarrassment and failure to Ijaw nation/Niger Delta and to the President’s kitchen cabinet as the man misled the President with his archaic classroom military tactics that did not work out in practical combatant operations.

“The sack decision by Mr. President is a wise decision that came almost too late as he was seen overtly incompetent, which brought Mr. President and Nigerian government to international ridicule and embarrassment on security matters.

“NDLF had called for the sack  of the NSA for long since he was found, obviously derailing, which result had put hundreds of Nigerians into untimely death by the Boko Haram extremists’ activities through bombing worshipping centers and other public places”.

The militant group went on: “For the record, the sack of NSA, Andrew Azazi, is unconnected with his publicized accusation against the PDP -led government of fueling the current insecurity and bombings in northern parts of the nation. But it was a clear show of incompetence on his part.

“One could recall that in 2010, when NDLF had a gun confrontation with the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the JTF lost the battle, the Nigerian Army, under the watchful eyes and supervision of the sacked NSA, sent JTF soldiers to test run their newly acquired military planes and other lethal weapons on an Ijaw town of Ayakoromor on the 1st of December, 2010, thereby causing genocide on harmless and innocent ancient community.

“As God does His things, Boko Haram, from the North, sprung up by killing innocent Nigerians in hundreds under the same  Azazi’s security supervision, but he failed to deploy the same military war planes and other lethal weapons to bomb some northern towns to stem further suicide bombing as he commanded in the case of the Niger -Delta militancy.

“But, to our surprise, the former NSA cleverly dodged his responsibility by being afraid of his former generals and ex-military heads of state from the North by shifting blames carelessly and raising accusing fingers at the ruling PDP of brewing the insecurity in the nation.

“How does PDP politics cause suicide bombing of churches and killing of innocent Nigerians? And that prompted Mr. President to demand further explanations from the incompetent NSA for his unguarded outburst”.

999_666: * He was an embarrassment to Ijaw, Niger Delta – Militant group

By Kingsley Omonobi, Emma Amaize and Festus Ahon

For President Goodluck Jonathan, the sacking of the National Security Adviser (NSA), General Owoye Azazi, on the heels of the insurgency in the North that has claimed hundreds of lives, did not come easy, Sunday Vanguard was made to understand at the weekend.

Left to the president, sources said, he would have preferred to retain the NSA, believing that, with time, solution would be found to the challenge of the insurgency.

But Jonathan’s trip to Rio De Janeiro, the Brazilian capital, where he attended a sustainable development summit alongside the heads of state of many other countries, played a crucial role in deciding Azazi’s fate.

Presidency sources said the president approached some of his colleagues at the parley to help on the foreign direct investment (FDI) drive of his administration but was told in unmistakable terms that it was difficult in the face of the high level insecurity occasioned by the terror attacks in the country.

“President Jonathan was told to be more decisive in tackling the insecurity challenge if he was serious about the FDI drive of his administration”, one source told Sunday Vanguard.

The source added: “It was against this backdrop that the president toyed with the idea of trying another security machinery to combat the terrorism challenge, hence the removal of the NSA”.

Azazi was removed, on Friday, along with the Defence Minister, Alhaji Haliru Mohammed Bello.
The NSA is the second security chief to be removed since the insurgency challenge in the North spearheaded by the Boko Haram Islamists began.

Hafiz Ringim was sacked as the Inspector General of Police in January after an alleged high profile terrorist, Kabiru Sokoto, under arrest, escaped from police custody.

Jonathan’s trip last week, to Brazil for the Rio + 20 Summit on Sustainable Development amid terror attacks in Kaduna and Yobe States, in itself, generated some furore.

The president was accused of being insensitive.

Sunday Vanguard learnt that Jonathan was at pains in relieving the NSA of his appointment in the wake of “the international community’s position on the Nigeria’s insurgency”.

A source said the president related with Azazi as “an uncle” and found it difficult to fault his advice on security matters notwithstanding the spate of terrorist attacks in the North.

The source traced their relationship to the past when Jonathan was the Bayelsa deputy governor and the NSA the chief of the army staff.

Persona non-grata
Meanwhile, the Niger Liberation Force, NDLF, a militant group in the Niger-Delta, yesterday, declared the sacked NSA a persona-non-grata in Ijaw communities in the region, including his country home, Peretoru-gbene in Bayelsa state.

The group, in a statement by its spokesman, “Captain” Mark Anthony, welcomed the removal of Azazi for incompetence, saying he was an embarrassment to the Ijaw nation and Niger-Delta.

The group said: “The leadership of Niger Delta Liberation Force, NDLF, has lauded President Goodluck Jonathan for the sacking of General Andrew Owoye Azazi(rtd) who was the National Security Adviser to President Gooodluck Jonathan for incompetence”.

“The NSA was an embarrassment and failure to Ijaw nation/Niger Delta and to the President’s kitchen cabinet as the man misled the President with his archaic classroom military tactics that did not work out in practical combatant operations.

“The sack decision by Mr. President is a wise decision that came almost too late as he was seen overtly incompetent, which brought Mr. President and Nigerian government to international ridicule and embarrassment on security matters.

“NDLF had called for the sack of the NSA for long since he was found, obviously derailing, which result had put hundreds of Nigerians into untimely death by the Boko Haram extremists’ activities through bombing worshipping centers and other public places”.

The militant group went on: “For the record, the sack of NSA, Andrew Azazi, is unconnected with his publicized accusation against the PDP -led government of fueling the current insecurity and bombings in northern parts of the nation. But it was a clear show of incompetence on his part.

“One could recall that in 2010, when NDLF had a gun confrontation with the Joint Task Force (JTF) and the JTF lost the battle, the Nigerian Army, under the watchful eyes and supervision of the sacked NSA, sent JTF soldiers to test run their newly acquired military planes and other lethal weapons on an Ijaw town of Ayakoromor on the 1st of December, 2010, thereby causing genocide on harmless and innocent ancient community.

“As God does His things, Boko Haram, from the North, sprung up by killing innocent Nigerians in hundreds under the same Azazi’s security supervision, but he failed to deploy the same military war planes and other lethal weapons to bomb some northern towns to stem further suicide bombing as he commanded in the case of the Niger -Delta militancy.

“But, to our surprise, the former NSA cleverly dodged his responsibility by being afraid of his former generals and ex-military heads of state from the North by shifting blames carelessly and raising accusing fingers at the ruling PDP of brewing the insecurity in the nation.

“How does PDP politics cause suicide bombing of churches and killing of innocent Nigerians? And that prompted Mr. President to demand further explanations from the incompetent NSA for his unguarded outburst”.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/06/the-nsas-sack-how-azazis-fate-was-sealed/

hardywaltz: Azazi wasn't not even in the intelligence community while he was serving in the Military I wonder how he got the post of NSA in the 1st place. GEJ should look for the likes of Colonel Omenka of DMI and install as NSA and BH will see terror meet terror.

homerac7: @ Degis,

Lol...I like ur firmness.

@

Hardywltz,

R u seriously serious?!...Col Omenka, a national fugitive on run in Brazil ? Wow! FYI sha, Azazi headed DMI too

hardywaltz: Azazi wasn't not even in the intelligence community while he was serving in the Military I wonder how he got the post of NSA in the 1st place. GEJ should look for the likes of Colonel Omenka of DMI and install as NSA and BH will see terror meet terror.

hardywaltz:
Didn't know Azazi once headed DMI, is Omenka really a fugitive coz even Dazuki was a fugitive. Its all about whose @ the top so u get a Presidential pardon.

Degis: What is the hullabaloo about sacking someone who couldn't deliver on his Job?. How many of you employers of Labour would keep an incompetent fellow in his or her employ, when the fellow had consistently shown he couldn't deliver after several opportunities to salvage his Job. Rio+20 Conference or not, if Azazi had kept his verbal diarrhea to himself and busied himself with preventing further attacks and capturing Shekau and his fellow murderers, this cup would have passed over him.

Let him go home and repair his battered image amongst his kith and kin. Obviously, at least He now has time to continue to spew rubbish at conferences and seminars.

unknown: Azazi blames Boko Haram attacks on PDP


Tracing the rise of Boko Haram’s attack, the chief security adviser to the president stated that “the extent of violence did not increase in Nigeria until when there was a declaration by the current president that he was going to contest.”

“PDP got it wrong from the beginning, from the on-set by saying Mr A can rule, Mr A cannot rule ……according to PDP’s convention, rules and regulation and not according to the constitution and that created the climate for what has manifest itself, this way.”



He added that there is some level of political undertone to the problem

He also noted that the bombings, suicide attacks and jail breaks that have been raging the northern part of the country “could be traced to the politics of exclusion of the PDP in the region.”


Blaming the notion of anointing candidates and the ‘do or die’ attitude of the political party, Retired General Azazi asked why “is it possible that somebody was thinking that only Mr. A could win, and that if he could not win, there would be problems in this society?”

“Let’s examine all these issues to see whether the level of violence in the North East just escalated because Boko Haram suddenly became better trained, better equipped and better funded, or something else was responsible.”

“It takes very long for somebody to be a sniper,” Mr. Azazi said.


He affirmed the level of sophistication of the group but also gave assurance that the government is aware of all their doings in a bid to addressing the issue. “I can assure you that Boko Haram can garner that level of sophistication over time, if it has not got it already. There are a lot we know that they are doing, and there are a lot that could be done to address the problem.”

“But, then I must also be quick to point out that today, even if all the leaders that we know in Boko Haram are arrested, I don’t think the problem would end, because there are tentacles. I don’t think that people would be satisfied, because the situations that created the problems are not just about the religion, poverty or the desire to rule Nigeria. I think it’s a combination of everything. Except you address all those things comprehensively, it would not work” he added.


On a final solution, the security adviser discourage just the use of force but called for a collective effort to address the economic problems of the north saying “it is not enough for us to have a problem in 2009 and you send soldiers to stop the situation, then tomorrow you drive everybody underground. You must look at what structures you need to put in place to address the problem holistically. There are economic problems in the North, which are not the exclusive prerogative of the Northerners. We must solve our problems as a country.”

Presidency sources said the president approached some of his colleagues at the parley to help on the foreign direct investment (FDI) drive of his administration but was told in unmistakable terms that it was difficult in the face of the high level insecurity occasioned by the terror attacks in the country.

“President Jonathan was told to be more decisive in tackling the insecurity challenge if he was serious about the FDI drive of his administration”, one source told Sunday Vanguard.

The source added: “It was against this backdrop that the president toyed with the idea of trying another security machinery to combat the terrorism challenge, hence the removal of the NSA”

sunday punch: Immense pressure from the North and the House of Representatives forced President Goodluck Jonathan to sack his former National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Azazi (retd) and Minister of Defence, Dr. Haliru Bello on Friday.


An impeccable presidency source, who did not want his name in print, said the thinking in government circle was that by firing the two security chiefs, it would be clear to all stakeholders including the lawmakers that the President was not handling the insecurity in the country with levity.

Also, it was gathered that two major power brokers, who are Major-Generals, were said to be aggrieved with appointments made by the President since Jonathan assumed office.

Traditionally, the North considers the position of NSA as its own. People from the zone had constantly been appointed the NSA until Jonathan summoned the courage to appoint Azazi following the resignation of Aliyu Gusau, who also vied for the presidential ticket of the PDP with Jonathan in 2011.

While Jonathan was said to have rebuffed all attempts from the North to recover the seat since he appointed Azazi, the continued bombings and atmosphere of insecurity that pervaded the country were said to have made him to change his mind.

However, the spokesman of Coalition of Northern leaders, academics, professionals and businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, queried the rationale behind Dasuki’s appointment.

He said with the appointment, Gusau, who he alleged had wanted to return to his former office, had been probably re-appointed.

He said, “Dasuki’s appointment is another controversial decision by the government. This is because as a brother-in-law to Gasau, the former NSA might have returned to office by proxy.

“Gusau had been itching to return to office long ago. Now, we can say that Gusau is back as the NSA. But Nigerians would want to ask: Is Gusau or those close to him the only people that can serve as the NSA?

“But the important thing is this, if we put square pegs in square holes, there would be performance. But if you put people in security positions simply because other considerations, then there would be problems.

“And that was what happened when Azazi was made NSA. I knew about his career right from when he was a Second Lieutenant. He got the NSA job because he is an Ijaw man.

“I hope we are not going to do the same mistake again, because Dasuki’s antecedent as a security person is not very rich. He might have undergone some security courses but his main career was as an infantry officer.”

Mohammed also spoke on the sacking of Bello and described his appointment in the first place as an aberration.

He said, “The only thing that qualified him was his party card. He was a former minister of communications.

“But as a PDP member, nothing happened. Abuse of office is the bedrock of the PDP. His sacking is therefore, good radiance to bad rubbish. May we never hear his name and that of Azazi in Nigeria’s political sphere again.”

Before his appointment, Bello was the acting National Chairman of the PDP. He took over from Dr. Okwesilizie Nwodo, when the latter resigned.

A former member of the National Working Committee of the party, who spoke with one of our correspondents on Saturday, said Bello allegedly negotiated for his choice of ministry before he joined the government.

The PDP top shot who pleaded anonymity said, “You see, as at that time, the President wanted Bello out of the PDP because of his antagonism against his emergence. Bello, I think was aware, and that was why he was said to have asked to pick the ministry he wanted.

“Everybody knew that he would fail in that ministry, especially during this security problem facing the country.

“Maybe the president also agreed either to allow him fail or to appease the northern elements who believed that he would short-change them.”

Bello, who was among the resource persons at the NWC retreat, which was held at Uyo last week, was said to have expressed surprise at his removal from office.

homerac7: ^

Al Mustapha will get a presidential pardon before Omenka. They should both have been standing same trial but Omenka fled to Brazil. Remember that Brig Sambo and Gen Bamaiyi are also still in jail over cases Omenka is involved in.

Yes, Azazi headed DMI, later d COAS and retired as CDS amidst controversies of his connection in case of missing weapons from Army armoury in Kaduna that ended up in Niger Delta militants hands.

[size=13pt]Presidency sources said the president approached some of his colleagues at the parley to help on the foreign direct investment (FDI) drive of his administration but was told in unmistakable terms that it was difficult in the face of the high level insecurity occasioned by the terror attacks in the country.

“President Jonathan was told to be more decisive in tackling the insecurity challenge if he was serious about the FDI drive of his administration”, one source told Sunday Vanguard.

The source added: “It was against this backdrop that the president toyed with the idea of trying another security machinery to combat the terrorism challenge, hence the removal of the NSA”.[/size]

Azazi was removed, on Friday, along with the Defence Minister, Alhaji Haliru Mohammed Bello.
The NSA is the second security chief to be removed since the insurgency challenge in the North spearheaded by the Boko Haram Islamists began.

Parnassuss: HABA!!! Is this Jonathan just a crony or does he truly not have the capacity to reason on a normal human level He is boldly saying 'I fired the NSA of the Autonomous Nigerian State cos the International community wanted me to!' What of what the citizenry has asked of him? Do we count anymore? Why is it only when he took a trip outside that he accepted any advice?

And did I read where he said he 'took Azazi as an uncle?' Nepotism, stupidity, blindness, GEJ is an all-round failure! I wonder what that says about us, his followers If we keep this up there'll be no Nigeria in 2015! IMPEACH GEJ!!!