The Former GOC of the Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, Retired Maj. Gen. Danjuma Ali-Keffi, has blamed insufficient troops, low morale, and lack of political will for the worsening security crisis in the nation.
Speaking during an appearance on Arise News, he criticised the government’s handling of security operations, using the recent Kebbi State abduction incident as a case study.
He argued that the recent change of service chiefs would not address the insecurity crisis, adding that the appointments were simply for cosmetic purposes.
“This is a surprise. I’ve been on your show since January last year, two years now, calling for sufficient troops. I kept calling for replication of what Sri Lanka and other countries have done. But I think we have a government that is funded, I mean, this is a succession of failures, because it’s not just this incident; the previous ones weren’t addressed either.
“Look at his cabinet piece in the security sector. Those are not the right guys for the job. Recently, we had a change of service chiefs. That won’t change anything; it is a cosmetic change basically. They are not addressing the real issues. You can bring a famed German general or Patton or Rommel; it won’t matter because the political will is not there. The military and other agencies are insufficient. You can’t expect them to be everywhere. That’s the fact,” Ali-Keffi said.
He also highlighted troop inadequacy and challenges in responding to threats: “Yesterday, members of the National Assembly called for an increase of about 100,000 troops in the Senate. That’s coming too late. Nigerians are fed up, frustrated. The country is a killing field.”
On the nature of the recent abductions, he said: “I don’t think this is ideological insurgents trying to absorb women into their ranks like the Chibok girls. In this case, it is obviously for ransom.
“But since President Trump met the threat of invading the country, perhaps the bandits are daring America. They have upped their ante because they want to see the collapse of the Nigerian state and humiliate the government. And the government seems not to care. I have been calling on Nigerians and the government for the past three years to act, but this seems like lethargy.”
