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ICYMI: ASO ROCK WATCH: What does ‘re-engineering security apparatus’ mean, Mr President? Two other talking points

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Buhari

That Monguno charge

The pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari to rework the country’s security architecture over the never-ending security headache appeared to have forced an unclear response on August 4.

While speaking to State House correspondents after a National Security Council meeting presided by the President, the National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno, told anxious Nigerians that he (President Buhari) had ordered “an immediate re-engineering of the entire security apparatus.”

Monguno’s comments have since attracted various reactions for failing to provide greater insight into any specific course of action for dealing with the war against insurgents. The most touted defense in support of Buhari is that military strategies cannot and should not be subject for street talks.

Without ordering an immediate sack of his underperforming and fatigued military chiefs, the President has been visited with all manner of interpretations of his charge to Monguno.

INSECURITY: NEC orders decentralization of Police operations

First, unrepentant critics are not convinced that Buhari’s latest directive will lead to any meaningful shakeup within the military echelon. They argue that the President is merely on the road to buying more time for General Tukur Buratai and others as he had done in the past.

Secondly, it has also been suggested that Buhari may be tactically shielding his war chiefs from the whirlwind that might accompany their departure from office. This is as it is certain that Nigerians will demand accountability of the several billions poured into the war. It is doubtful if the presidency is ready for the distractions that may follow in the run up to the 2023 general elections.

Will President Buhari cause a surprise and sack his service chiefs in the name of ‘immediate re-engineering of security apparatus’? Indeed, what does he really mean by his latest instructions on how to prosecute the war against terrorism, as well as the status of his military chiefs?

As the Commander-in-Chief, and with the war plans kept close to his chest, Nigerians can only wait with baited breath for Buhari to fulfill one of his most important promises to Nigerians —security. The President, and not the service chiefs, fails if Nigerians continue to live in fear in their country.

Two other talking points

30 years after!

Let witches and wizards also endorse Atiku if they like, they’ll fall –Adesina

On August 7, President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020, which heralded a new dawn for doing business in Nigeria. It is regarded as the most important business legislation in Nigeria since 1990.

A statement released by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, notes that: “The President’s action on this important piece of legislation, therefore, repealed and replaced the extant Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990, introducing after 30 years, several corporate legal innovations geared toward enhancing ease of doing business in the country.”

Read also: ASO ROCK WATCH: Reading, decoding Buhari’s body language. Two other talking points

Buhari takes full credit for bringing CAMA to life and it is hoped that the country will sufficiently leverage the new law to strengthen the hands of its budding entrepreneurs and open the doors wider to foreign direct investments(FDI).

He, however, should move a step further and address other challenges that frustrate Nigerian businesses. Several companies have vacated the country due to the lack of basic infrastructure, especially electricity. It would definitely be a remarkable achievement for his administration to dare the infrastructural challenges and further boost the ease of doing business.

Do as I say…

On August 6, the Chairman, Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF), Boss Mustapha, during their daily briefing, in Abuja, stated that the President had directed State Governments and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to enforce the use of face masks in public across the country.

Mustapha added: “President Buhari asked the PTF to partner with states and local governments to improve community sensitisation and engagement to step up response to the COVID-19 response.

“He also encouraged state governments to collaborate with local government authorities to intensify necessary measures such as contact tracing, grassroots mobilisation and risk communication.”

The President, beyond calling for collaboration and synergy, was adding nothing new to the existing COVID-19 protocols as established months ago. Many had expected him to rather lend his thoughts on the flagrant disregard of same protocols by top government functionaries, some of them governors and para-military officials.

Even more interesting is the running debate on why the President himself has refused to lead by example, choosing to wear a face mask for the first time because it involved an international travel.

Nonetheless, the President needs to ensure that Nigerians are not brutalized, abused or killed by security operatives on account of flouting any of the established protocols.

By John Chukwu…

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