INSECURITY: Northern group begs Buhari to listen to Nigerians, sack service chiefs

A group from the North, Arewa Professional Forum (APF), has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to listen to calls for the sack of the service chiefs by Nigerians.

The group said Nigerians, who elected Buhari as their president, had since spoken through their representatives at the National Assembly, adding that it was important the president listen to them and sack the service chiefs.

APF stated this in a statement it issued after its third annual meeting in Kaduna on Thursday.

The statement signed by its national coordinator, Dr Ibrahim Nasir read in part:

”The time has come when the entire country expects new ideas, philosophy and method in the fight against insurgency in the country.

“We strongly believe that time has come for our president to bring in fresh hope and clear directions on how best the country will strategize to overcome the present insecurity situation in the country.

“Our president was elected by Nigerians and the same Nigerians have spoken through their representatives in the National Assembly.

“Our president should listen to them by dropping the service chiefs, who have since reached retirement age in the military and appoint new ones with fresh ideas to do the job for which we elected him to do.”

The group noting that there was no denying the fact that the service chiefs had tried their best to restore security in the country since their assumption of office, however, argued that given the dimension in which insecurity has assumed in the country, “we feel that it was high time fresh ideas and hands were injected. Nobody is an island in any area of responsibility.”

APF insisted that “president’s idea about insecurity has proved inadequate to deal with the threat to our lives and property”, hence the need for Buhari to “urgently change tactics and personnel in order to win the war against rising threats to the lives of Nigerians.”

READ ALSO: Buhari reacts to Senate calls for sack of service chiefs

The group added, “Our position is borne out of our genuine love for our country. We have seen that the unabated situation is threatening our corperate existence and food security.

“Our dear president needs to listen to this solemn call that is on the lips of every Nigerian because we are truly fade up with the unabated lost of lives and property on a daily basis.

“The current service chiefs have obviously exhausted all their ideals and have nothing left to offer.

“Our region is the most unsafe place to be in Africa today because of insecurity. Investors can not come, businesses are packing up and moving out of the country due to insecurity. What have the service chiefs done specially to deserve five years and still counting?

“We wonder why Mr president has refused to let them go against popular opinion. The entire country is bleeding and Mr president must act now to avert major food crisis in future because farmers have since abandoned their farms for fear of Kidnap and attacks.”

The call for the sack of the service chiefs has remained a reoccurring one by different groups and individuals in Nigeria including the National Assembly.

However, the calls have continued to fall on ‘deaf ears’ as President Buhari continues to maintain them even when the tenure of some of them had since expired.

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