By EJIKEME OMENAZU

Chief Martin Onovo, presidential candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP), is currently the Head, Policy Positions, Movement for Fundamental Change (MFC). He spoke to EJIKEME OMENAZU on the recent removal of Service Chiefs and their nomination for ambassadorial positions, among other issues. Excerpt:

How do you see the recent removal of the Service Chiefs by President Muhammadu Buhari?

We see it as very late. The former Service Chiefs were due for retirement years ago and their cumulative performance was disastrous. They should have been retired years ago. The Commander-in-Chief, Muhammadu Buhari appoints the Service Chiefs and oversees their performance and the performance of the entire security establishment. No Service Chief can pursue any deviations to the directions of Buhari. So, Buhari must accept responsibility for their failure.

The former Service Chiefs clearly failed because of Buhari. The fact that Buhari was celebrating the former Service Chiefs while the entire country was lamenting their failure confirms that the former Service Chiefs were acting in line with the directions of Buhari. The new Service Chiefs must also act in line with the directions of Buhari. Therefore, Buhari must be blamed for the high level of insecurity in Nigeria.

Before Buhari came to power, Nigeria was the fourth most terrorised country on earth. Presently, Nigeria is the third most terrorised country on earth. Service Chiefs must follow the directions of the Commander-in-Chief. Therefore, the failure of the Commander-in-Chief will predictably lead to the failure of the Service Chiefs.

So, the removal of the former Service Chiefs may not lead to any significant improvement of the security situation as long as Buhari remains the Commander-in-Chief. Nigeria needs an ethical and competent Commander-in-Chief. As long as Buhari remains Commander-in-Chief, the security problems will continue or get worse.

Also, we must examine the root cause of insecurity in Nigeria. Former President Obasanjo publicly declared that, “Fulanisation, Islamisation Agenda Going On In Nigeria”. His Excellency Jonah Jang published that, “What is happening is not a secret; people are being brought from Mali, Chad and all over to come and occupy native land”. We insist that, that is root cause of the insecurity in Nigeria and it is complicated by the obvious connivance of the Armed Forces of Nigeria with the armed bandits. This was previously exposed by Gen. Theophilus Danjuma when he declared that, “The Armed Forces are not neutral. They are conniving with the armed bandits that are killing people”. Consistent with Danjuma’s declaration, many terrorist Fulani herdsmen have been arrested with weapons from the Nigerian military. Please remember that Buhari, a Fulani himself, is the Commander-in-Chief of these Armed Forces that are conniving with the armed bandits. Therefore, Buhari must be held responsible for the insecurity in Nigeria. So, we must remove Buhari from office immediately if we wish to improve the security situation.

Would you say that by the removal of the Service Chiefs, the President has fulfilled the wishes of the Nigerian people?

Clearly, the majority of Nigerians wanted the Service Chiefs out for very many reasons, including incompetence, insensitivity, corruption, nepotism and numbness. Even the rubber-stamp National Assembly had advised Buhari to remove the former Service Chiefs. Therefore, the removal of the former Service Chiefs fulfilled the wishes of many Nigerians, though it came very late.

What is your take on the nomination of the former Service Chiefs for Ambassadorial appointments as non-career Ambassadors?

Their nomination is apparently a reward for their unpatriotic personal loyalty to Buhari. Loyalty to our country is to the constitution and to our national interests and not to an individual politician. The former Service Chiefs are not fit and proper persons for nomination as ambassadors because some of them are suspects currently under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC); they are not professionals in foreign service; they are too old and lack the required competence; they failed catastrophically in their previous responsibilities as Service Chiefs and they may be rejected by the countries they are posted to. The rubber-stamp Senate should reject their nominations, but may not in its rubber-stamp outlook. If their nominations are not rejected, then we must await the regular consequences of this unpatriotic ploy.

Do you think this current Senate can disapprove the nominations going by their antecedents and the fact that Nigerians see the current National Assembly as rubber stamp institution?

Nigerians rightly see the current Senate as a rubber stamp institution since the Senate declared itself impliedly to be a rubber stamp institution and also operates as a rubber stamp institution. The Senate has the constitutional power to reject their nominations. If the Senate rejects their nominations, that will be a good one for Nigeria. Otherwise, worse for our country Nigeria.

What is your take on the extension of the tenure of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammadu Adamu, by President Muhammadu Buhari for three months?

Similar to the performance of the military Service Chiefs, the performance of the current IGP has been disastrous. He had from his appointment day shown a lack of capacity and confidence to do the work. This may be because he was appointed from a relatively junior position after two generations of senior officers had been unduly retired. We need to emphasise integrity, diligence and competence. The legality of the extension has been challenged in court.

How do you see the resurgence of ethnic sentiments across the country, especially in the North and South West?

We must pray for wisdom. Biblical wisdom is always helpful. I will like us to reference two Bible verses, viz., “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” – Proverbs 9:10. “Do two journey togetherunless they have agreed?” – Amos 3:3. The lessons of these verses are that we must fear God and we must try to agree with our neighbours. Our agreements must be based on truth and justice so that they can be authentic and effective and lead to peaceful coexistence.

With all its imperfections, the national agreement we have now is the Constitution, but the Buhari regime disregards it. The Constitution provides for Federal Character: Buhari disregards that. It provides for the rule-of-law, but Buhari disregards that. It provides for fundamental human rights, but Buhari disregards that. It provides for self-reliance, but Buhari disregards that. It provides for spending public funds only in compliance with the ‘Appropriation Act’, but Buhari disregards that. It prohibits corruption, but corruption has reached an unprecedented level under Buhari. These violations of the Constitution with impunity have created a national ambience of lawlessness. The prevailing lawlessness allows terrorist Fulani herdsmen to violently destroy communities, destroy farms, seize territories, kidnap, kill and rape citizens. This has provoked divisive ethnic sentiments across the entire country. We must insist on the rule-of-law.

How do you see the setting up of Eastern Security Network ESN) by the Independent Peoples of Biafra (IPOB)?

The universal Christian religion provides for the right to self-defence. Nigerian law provides for the right to self-defence. So, every individual has a right to self-defence. Also, every community, state, region or country has a right to self-defence. Nigeria is under attack by Boko Haram, ISWAP, Fulani herdsmen terrorists and other armed bandits. Several states, communities and regions have taken diverse steps to protect themselves. The North East arranged Civilian JTF and organised local hunters. The South West supported OPC and established Amotekun. In the South East, Forest Guards were reformed and IPOB organised the Eastern Security Network. We insist that every individual, community, state, region or country has a right to defend itself from violent attacks. This has become even more imperative as, “The Armed Forces are not neutral. They are conniving with the armed bandits that are killing people”.

What is your take on the CBN’s recent ban on Cryptocurrency? Don’t you think the order on banks not to keep such account could work against the nation’s economy?

This is a very technical subject and there are many associated issues, including financial risks, lack of regulatory control, money laundering, terrorists and other criminals using cryptocurrencies as an opaque platform for criminal transactions. Ordinarily, we should trust the CBN, but it is very difficult to trust this unpatriotic and corrupt government or its agencies and officials. So, we must conduct a comprehensive cost-benefit risk analysis to determine the aptness of the CBN’s directive. (Daily Independent)

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