There are strong indications of a rift over the control of the
country’s defence spending, with the Ministry of Defence and the Office
of the National Security Adviser split over where the power to spend the
fund should reside.
New Telegraph gathered from highly-placed military and intelligence
sources over the weekend, that the rift between the two occupants of the
high-profile public offices, the Minister of Defence, Lt-Gen. Aliyu
Mohammed Gusau (rtd), and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Col.
Sambo Dasuki (rtd), centres on the control of the huge fund for the
procurement of military equipment and arms, to prosecute the ongoing
terrorism war in the North- East. Only recently, $1 billion was approved
by the National Assembly for rearming and equipping the Army.
An intelligence source, who spoke in confidence, said until recently,
the purchase of military hardware was done by the Defence Ministry,
with the involvement of the Service Chiefs, depending on which of the
Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), was the beneficiary. He said the direct
involvement of the Armed Forces in arms purchase in the past, was
necessary, in view of the fact that they determine which equipment are
bought at any given time, and the need to physically examine their
potency, as the case may be.
However, the source said the status quo has changed to the extent
that the Office of the NSA is now saddled with the authority of direct
purchase of arms to strengthen the critical war on terror in Adamawa,
Borno and Yobe states. This, he argued, could lead to the purchase of
items that were either inadequate or not fully compliant to modern
warfare.
The intelligence source argued that Gusau naturally feels embarrassed
because, as an intelligence officer, who was NSA to former President
Olusegun Obasanjo, he believes he should be given a free hand to
coordinate military operations, including the procurement, nature as
well as calibre of weapons for re-equipping troops in the frontline of
battle in particular, and the military, in general.
His position was corroborated by a senior military officer, who
claimed that the development, in a way, was affecting the effectiveness
of the counterterrorism operations in the North. “If the two powerful
men are not on the same page as far as the war efforts are concerned,
progress will certainly be hindered. There is the urgent need to resolve
whatever differences that exist,” he said.
The source drew New Telegraph’s attention to the involvement of the
office of the NSA in the recent seizure of $9.3 million and $5.7 million
by South African authorities, meant for procurement of arms. “It is
important to allow the (Defence) minister to handle arms procurement
deals. I’m sure the embarrassing seizures of $15 million in South
Africa, would not have happened, were the minister saddled with this
responsibility,” he said.
The source further alleged that the twist had left the Ministry of
Defence with just personnel operations, among other less critical
responsibilities.
To give vent to the cold war raging between Gusau and Dasuki, the
source claimed that “both men are hardly seen attending the same
function. That is to avoid a situation where they will exchange
pleasantries.” A source, however, said Gusau has no reason to complain
because “at the time he occupied the office of the NSA, he took charge
of defence spending.
So there is no basis for the minister to complain. What is important
for him is to work with the office of NSA to ensure that the security
challenges are tackled, not about financial matters. Defence Ministry
should not only be about contracts.”
A breakdown of the 2014 Appropriation Act, had indicated that of the
total national budget of N4. 962 trillion, Defence (Army, Navy and Air
Force) got about N968. 127 billion; about 20 per cent of the budget sum.
Meanwhile, former Head of State and presidential aspirant of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), Major- General Muhamadu Buhari (rtd) has
exonerated the military from any blame over failure to tame the Boko
Haram insurgency threatening the nation’s sovereignty. Buhari, who spoke
while addressing APC delegates in Enugu State, said it was wrong to
accuse the military of complicity in the current challenge of insurgency
when the soldiers have been complaining of inadequate equipment to
combat the terrorists.
The former military ruler said that rather than blame the military,
Nigerians should hold the Federal Government responsible for the
shortcomings of the security agencies as huge funds budgeted annually
for security do not seem to have been utilised effectively. He said that
in spite of the trillions spent on defence budget in the last three
years, soldiers are still complaining of being poorly equipped to fight
the insurgents.
“If you consider the foreign revenue Nigeria has generated since
1999, you will be shocked at how inefficient and corrupt PDP has been.
Soldiers have been saying they are illequipped, yet trillions have been
voted for defence in the last three years. If we don’t vote out PDP,
they will vote out Nigerians and we will all be the losers.
Cast your votes for us so that wecan all fight this inefficiency and
corruption” Buhari said. However, Minister of National Planning, Dr.
Abubakar Sulaiman,has asked Nigerians to stop blaming President Goodluck
Jonathan for the growing spate of terror in the North.
Instead, Sulaiman told newsmen in Ilorin, Kwara State, that Nigerians
should begin to ask questions from the leadership of the armed forces.
According to him, the issue of Boko Haram insurgency is not just
political, it is fundamentally, a military issue. Suleiman blamed the
insecurity in the North East on alleged animosity between Nigeria and
her neighbours.
His words: “I don’t think Boko Haram are having their ways because
government is not working. They are having their ways because we are not
getting enough support from the sub-region. It’s fundamental. “People
should be mindful of one thing when they try to criticise President
Jonathan on issue of terrorism.
We should know that when it comes to fighting terrorism,
counterterrorism and warfare, presidents do not go to war. It’s the
handiwork of the armed forces.
“It’s the primary responsibility of the military. And let me say
this, Nigeria’s armed forces today are dominated by northerners and the
Boko Haram spate is in the north. If there is a problem there, we look
at our tactics, military operation and suspect some subversive
tendencies in the armed forces.
“The Inspector General of Police is from the north, the NSA is from
the North, the Chief of Defence Staff is from the North. So, why must
anyone blame the President? I think we should appreciate what the man is
doing by mobilising all these forces.
So, if there’s problem therefore, we should ask questions from the
military and troops. “Yes, it’s a political issue, but fundamentally a
military issue.
And am not saying they’ve not tried. The issue of terrorism is a
global issue, regional issue and sub-regional issue. Secondly, the
terrorism we have in Nigeria has internal and external dimensions to it.
Some of the terrorists are not Nigerians, they are not operating from
Nigeria, they are operating from Nigerian borders and they have some
back up from neighbouring countries.” Efforts to get the Director of
Defence Information (DDI), Major- General Chris Olukolade, to comment on
the matter, were unsuccessful.
On his part, spokesman for the NSA, Mr. Karounwi Adekunle, neither
picked repeated calls to his telephone line nor did he reply our text
message. However, the imagemaker of the Defence Ministry, Mr. Shehu
Maikai, said Gusau will be in a better position to respond to the
inquiry.
“I’m not the minister; how can I know? Why not get across to the minister? It is a personal thing,” he told New Telegraph.
New Telegragh
No comments:
Post a Comment