Insecurity: Int’l Antagonism Undermining Military – CDS

The chief of defence staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa has attributed Nigerian military’s inability to quickly end the country’s internal security challenges as it did under ECOMOG in Liberia and Sierra Leone to international antagonism and low level of international support.

The defence chief said this yesterday while delivering a paper at the Nigeria Security Exhibition Conference (NISEC), held at the International Conference Centre Abuja.

He also identified dimensions of the threats, variation in concept, and negative use of social media against the military propaganda as other major factors that have hindered quick end to the country’s security challenges.

The CDS who was represented by chief of defence training and operations (CDTOPS), Maj.-Gen. Emeka Onumajwu, said contrary to opinion by some security analyst that the capabilities of Nigeria military has declined since ECOMOG operations, the Nigerian military has acquired better and more sophisticated military platforms, and also received improved training compared to how it was during the ECOMOG days.

He said, “I want to categorically state that the situations surrounding the operations of the Nigerian military in its present efforts in restoring peace and security in Nigeria are not the same as the ones in Liberia, Sierra Leone and other countries where the Armed Forces of Nigeria has served in the restoration of peace and security.

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“Some of the reasons for the seemly low pace of restoration of peace and security in Nigeria by the Armed Forces of Nigeria as against the much faster ways it did in Sierra Leone and other places where it participated in peace missions are level of globalisation, social media activities, variation in concept, international antagonism, low level of international support, and asymmetric threat dimension.

“Today every action of the Nigeria military has been placed under scrutiny through social media by the general public, including the insurgents. Consequently, members of civil society organisations and other activist groups leveled unfounded allegations against the military, which serve as distraction. The consequence is that the troops are being more careful in dealing decisively with the insurgents. This was not the case during the ECOMOG operations.

“The actions of the Nigeria military in ECOMOG were viewed through the angle of peace keeping and peace enforcement under the auspices of sub-regional, regional and global organisations. The Nigerian military being a professional army executed the operations within the ambit of the law.  At home the military approaches this operation against the insurgents with the mindset that they are our citizens.

The careful nature with which the Nigerian military approaches the situation at the domestic scene contributes to the slow pace in restoring peace and security in the country.”

In his remarks, a former ECOMOG force commander and assistant secretary general (Military Affairs) at the United Nations, Lt.-Gen. Chikadibia Obiakor, said African military must devise new ways and better technologies to surmount the security challenges bedeviling the continent.

Obiakor who is the Chairman Organising Committee of the event said the event would provide an opportunity for comparative analysis for defence chiefs of various African countries.