Leon Usigbe, Author at Tribune Online

President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday vowed not to end his tenure as a failure, committing to turning things around in the various theatres of operation in the ongoing war against insecurity. He spoke at the presidential villa, Abuja during the National Council on Security meeting, which he presided over at the presidential villa, Abuja. The meeting with heads of security agencies was to receive updates on security operations around the country. Speaking on the president’s charge, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno, who disclosed this to correspondents after the meeting, said the president also expressed his readiness to make more changes in the security architecture of the country is necessary. Monguno said the president told the meeting that he will continue to make changes in security if he is not satisfied. He revealed that all the issues brought before the president centred mainly on the successes recorded in the operations in the North-East. According to him, large numbers of Boko Haram are surrendering in the North-East, noting, “never had such large numbers leave the terrorist camp, owing to the relentless activity of the security agencies.” The NSA, who stated that there is good cooperation, synergy and intelligence-sharing among the armed forces, said President Buhari was happy with the briefs he received. He informed that the meeting also addressed the issue of hunger in the country with the president saying that he will work with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and relevant ministries, departments and agencies to ameliorate the situation. Monguno stated: “The last National Security Council meeting, we had was on the 8th of June. From that time till now, a lot has happened within the security domain. “Mr President called for this meeting and it was actually supposed to be for next week, but he drew it back for today, for obvious reasons. “The meeting briefed, Mr President, on the current security situation in the country. Well, I'll say from the last time we met till now, and all the issues that were brought before the president were mainly issues arising from the successes recorded in the theatre of operations throughout the northeast. “It is evident that a lot of successes have been recorded. Large numbers of people are surrendering in the northeast as a consequence of the relentless efforts of the Armed Forces, intelligence and security agencies. This is very, very evident. “We've never had such large numbers of people defecting from the other side, back to the Nigerian side, mainly, as a result of many issues within the theatre, issues of infighting among the various factions of the terrorist groups. “But the new drive of the Armed Forces, the police, the intelligence agencies, there's been greatest cooperation, greater synergy intelligence sharing, as well as our partners in the regional intelligence fusion unit. “So, the president was briefed, the president is quite happy that there's been a tremendous success, especially with the advent of the new service chiefs and Inspector General of Police. “And he's also made it very, very clear that he's not ready to exit government as a failure. He is not going to tolerate that he's made changes and is ready to make further changes if he is not satisfied. He is completely determined to ensure that there's a turnaround in the fortunes in the theatre of operations. “We also addressed the issue of the prevailing situation, which is widespread, you know, issues of hunger. The president is not oblivious to the pains of the people and is working with the Vice President and other members of the council, he’s going to employ the relevant ministries, departments and agencies of government to address this issue. “As far as it’s concerned, it's also an emergency situation that people should not be left to wallow in hunger, and in despair. This is something that he's also going to look into. And he's going to use all the necessary, all the relevant tools at his disposal to address the issue of widespread hunger. “And then also the issue of insecurity in the northwest, which is still, even though for those of us who are within the security system, we have seen a significant drop in the number of incidents of kidnapping and banditry, nevertheless, a lot has to be done. “Because like I've always said in the past, as far as the people are concerned, there shouldn't be any incident of kidnapping, banditry, and other incidents of insecurity. “So, the president is also aware of that. And he has also made certain assertions which am not willing to say right now, till you know, he's made the final decision on those things. “But generally, the atmosphere is improving, especially in the northeastern part of the country. The president is very, very happy with the drive-in in that part of the country. “We also addressed the issue in Plateau (state) the recent killings and the president has given certain directives to address that he’s also expressed confidence in the efforts of the Governor of Plateau.” On what will become the fate of the Boko Haram members that have surrendered, the NSA said President Buhari is yet to decide on it. He explained: “Yes, there are plans. But I don't want to immediately divulge what has been decided on those plans till the president takes a firm decision on the plans. But definitely, that is one of the things that he intends to address with the number of people coming. “And it's not just in Nigeria, even in northern Cameroon, you have equally large numbers of people, you know, surrendering to the bonafide agencies of government. “But that is all as a consequence of the regional cooperation between the various countries and the agencies of those countries.” General Munguno advised Nigerians to share intelligence to help security deal with criminalities more decisively, saying that citizens should shun mutual suspension. He added: “Well, what I expect is for the Nigerian people also to forge a sense of oneness, unity, let's put aside whatever suspicions, apprehensions or agitations that exists because, in the context of the 21st century, you can't deal with these emerging crisis in a cut and dried manner. “We have to use everything at our disposal, all the elements of national power, including the population, the wider community needs to work with the security agencies to deal with these problems. “Responses has to be fast. We can't act on stale intelligence. And that is why as things are happening, right from the grassroots level going all the way up, the local government, the state governments, and then, of course, the federal government has its own parts to play. “People should not cover for those who they have identified, unscrupulous, undesirable people, it is very, very important that we share because, in today's context, the highest value intelligence doesn't necessarily need to come from the agencies of government. It could come from any other tangential organisation, institution or group.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE FACT CHECK: MTN Nigeria Not Celebrating 20th Anniversary With N20,000 Cash, 5GB Data CLAIM: A viral Whatsapp message claims that mobile telecommunications company, MTN, is giving out N20,000 cash, 5GB worth of data, and cars to celebrate its 20th anniversary in Nigeria. VERDICT: FALSE! To mark its 20th anniversary, MTN, instead, gave all its customers free calls of up to 5 minutes, free 200MB data and promised to give 20 Honda HRVs to 20 customers. FULL STORY: On Sunday, August 8, 2021, a viral WhatsApp message claims that mobile telecommunications giant, MTN, is giving out N20,000 cash, 5GB worth of data and cars to celebrate its 20th anniversary in Nigeria.Insecurity: I won’t leave office a failure ― Buhari Insecurity: I won’t leave office a failure ― Buhari