NASS REPUBLIC: Lawan’s postulations on Kuje attacks.. Two other stories, and a quote to remember

The Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, last week, postulated that the attack on the Kuje Correctional Centre was successful because it might have been done with the help of an insider at the facility.

We selected two other stories that made the rounds at the National Assembly (NASS) within the week in review.

1. Lawan’s postulations

On July 7, Lawan asserted that a thorough probe was needed into the invasion of Kuje prison as such would not have been possible without the connivance of insiders.

The Senate President stated this when he led a delegation of the Senate leadership to access the level of destruction done to the correctional facility by the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), who also freed their members therein.

“It may not be far away from an insider job, someone, who is either working in this place or must have worked here. I think we have to look deeper into what happened, so that we find the culprits, because when things like this happen, then, there should be sanctions,” he said.

For sure, there is a high possibility that his submission is a reality of what may have happened. Hence, the need for security agencies, including relevant NASS Committees, to apply themselves dutifully to the task of investigating the disaster that was the Kuje correctional centre.

Given the visitations to Kuje Prison by various public officials, it is hoped that they were not all in it for the deceptive purpose of optics. The nation, indeed, awaits the outcomes of Lawan’s postulations, and those many others from a presidency that appears to have surrendered to bandits.

NASS MEMORY LANE

Who said;

“If I run for election in Adamawa State today, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar will sweat for defeat. I can say that because I know what I have done in Adamawa. I challenge anyone to show me what they have done in Northern part of this country.”

Answer: See end of post

Two other stories

2. Ndume’s shot at Buhari

The Chairman Senate Committee on Army, Senator Ali Ndume, on July 7, faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s response to the Kuje prison attack.

Ndume made his opinion public while speaking in an interview with Channels Television.

Read also:NASS REPUBLIC: Lamenting Ansaru’s reign of terror. Two other stories, and a quote to remember

“A President or whoever is responsible, is supposed to sit people down and get results. Not just making statements. I said it before. When it comes to issues like this, it is the President himself that is supposed to be talking to Nigerians, not some adviser on press,” he said.

Ndume’s displeasure is one of shared concern. Overtime, Buhari had been criticised for rarely having engagements with the victims, and communities that have fallen prey to criminal elements. Much of the interactions, critics say, have only come via statements by his spokesmen.

Sadly, there is little hope that the Senator’s submission would inspire any change as the President, despite repeated criticisms, has remained unimaginative in dealing with the country’s security challenges. Concerned Nigerians, however, will not fail to applaud Ndume for speaking truth to power despite being in the same political party with the President.

3. Kalu’s call against insecurity

On July 9, the Chief Whip of the Senate, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, called on State Governors of the South-East, security agencies, among others, to unite in the fight against insecurity in region, and the country as a whole.

He made the call in a post on his verified Facebook page.

“I’m appealing to the Governors of the South-East geo-political zone, security agencies, traditional rulers and relevant stakeholders to unite and tackle the high rate of insecurity in our region and Nigeria at large,” he stated.

Kalu’s call for unity in the fight against insecurity is a no brainer. This is attendant on the fact that even non-experts understand that the country’s security architecture has collapsed.

What, perhaps, needs to be emphasized is that the Buhari-led administration looks to have lost the will to frontally confront terrorists and bandits threatening the country’s sovereignty.

It is doubtful if Kalu would be courageous enough to call out the President on the matter of political will to confront Nigeria’s burgeoning security challenges.

For example, the issue of state police largely remains uneventful because the government won’t concede to a wholesale implementation of the idea by either the South-East Governors or their colleagues elsewhere.

It would be most interesting to see Kalu lead from the front on the matter of radically altering the country’s security architecture in favour of the federating states. But will he?

Answer: Senator Rochas Okorocha

Okorocha made the statement, on June 1, 2022, while speaking on Arise TV. He represents Imo West Senatorial District in the National Assembly. He was the Governor of Imo State between 2011-2019.

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