By Augustine Ehikioya
Despite rising insecurity, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, has said that the challenges are surmountable.
According to him, everything is being done to secure the country and ensure the necessary environment for progressive development.
The General, who was the Theatre Commander of the North East Operation when intense pressure was mounted on terrorists in the region which led to them surrendering in mass, said that no criminal in the country will be allowed to go free as they will be hunted down.
He spoke exclusively with Security Watch Africa (SWA) team in his office in Abuja.
General Musa said “Criminals benefiting from this, will not want it to end. It is just a matter of time and I want to assure Nigerians that we are positive that change is here and it’s only a foolish fly that will follow coffin to the grave.
“Things have changed and people should understand that it is no longer business as usual. We will not allow any criminal to go free. We will come after them, wherever they are and whatever it takes.
“And I am happy, I’m getting the full support from the President, who has told us directly that whoever is part of the act of criminality must be brought to book.
“I am happy with that and that has given us the impetus to do what we are doing,” he stated.
He said as members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, their jointness is not in doubt as they work and discuss on daily basis and also monitor what the troops on ground are doing.
“Anybody who errs faces the music, we do not hide anybody,” he warned.
Asked if he was worried that the military is in every part of Nigeria, he said, what is going on in Nigeria is a reflection of happenings around the world.
“The insurgents, the terrorists, the bandits are all over. We have to have concerted efforts in dealing with them. When you have joint operations, it makes the job easier.”
Speaking on the recent incident that claimed innocent lives in Kaduna State, he said, it was a mechanical mistake which was beyond human control.
He said “Wherever we make mistake, like the Kaduna issue, we make amends. There are things that are beyond you as humans. You are dealing with machines and machines could make mistake. We are training more with our personnel, jointly so that we avoid such mistake in the future.”
Apologizing to Nigerians again, he said what happened was a mistake and that the Armed Forces of Nigeria were meant to protect Nigerians and not to harm them.
In the recent Plateau crisis, he explained that the troops were neutral since there were counter allegations from the two parties claiming separately that the troops were taking side with the other party.
According to him, there would have been cause for alarm if the allegations were coming from only one side.
“The two sides were saying we were supporting the other side, that means we are neutral. We are apolitical. We don’t take side with anybody.
“We deal with things decisively as we meet on ground. We only go after criminals. The AFN is the most unifying factor in Nigeria, we are from everywhere, every tribe, religion, every local government is represented.
“We work together and don’t even know these things until people start talking about it. The only religion we know is Military job, just go there and get the result out.
“We don’t do religion, we don’t do tribe, what we look for is who are the criminals affecting the issue.”
Noting that so much is being done to improve troops’ welfare, the General also urged Nigerians to take ownership of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
“People should be proud of their armed forces and we are doing so much for them.” he said
The CDS therefore urged Nigerians to encourage troops in any little way they can instead of insulting and demoralizing them.
Maintaining that social media is causing a lot of havoc all over the world, he warned that passing around falsehood could lead to the death of innocent souls.
“We should try to talk about positive things and if there are challenges, we should look at the brighter side and bring solutions to the challenges,” he added.
Describing the announcement of his appointment as CDS as thrilling and exciting, he expressed gratitude to God Almighty, President Tinubu and Nigerians for all their supports.
“I’m sure if I didn’t have the support of Nigerians, it will be impossible. It was their support that made us succeed in the North East, and I’m sure it is what propelled us to where we are today. We are ever grateful.”
According to him, on assumption of duties, the President tasked him to ensure security, to check oil bunkering in the South South in order to increase oil production, and to ensure no infighting in the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
Stressing that the Armed Forces under him is doing everything to ensure peace in the country, he noted that the issue of security in the country is work in progress.
On the legacies he would like to leave behind, he said that he would love to see a peaceful Nigeria where nobody is molested, development in the country, increased respect for the AFN and the political leaders doing the right things.
