While one is not interested in setting off any ‘short fuse’, it is has become most expedient to thoroughly interrogate some assertions made by Mr Femi Fani Kayode (FFK), in his widely circulated tirade against the Nigerian military following the unfortunate invasion of Kuje Prison. This is with the aim of deconstructing his real intention and probably revealing those who sponsored him.
A man gifted with oratorical prowess and ability to hold his listeners spell-bound, FFK is also notorious for his truculence and uncanny ability to attract contempt for himself owing to his well-known intemperance and lack of enduring principle. He is also adept at seizing any and every opportunity, no matter how tragic or somber, to launch himself into public discussion, most times shooting himself on the foot or digging deeper into controversy.
Just when Nigerians were coming to terms with the shocking attack on the medium custodial facility in Kuje, Abuja, FFK came out smoking; not with coherent insight on what has just happened nor any modicum of suggestion on how to avert future occurrence. For him, it was an auspicious time to relaunch oneself, and no better way than to launch a spirited attack on the Armed Forces of Nigeria and bring them into public ridicule.
In the video he made and circulated, FFK devoted the entire time to pillory the military, sparing no horrible word to describe its leadership. But if he had stopped at denigrating them and diminishing their efforts at combating internal security challenges, his intention would have been a little more concealed; after all, it has been established that the easiest way any displaced Nigerian politician could launch himself nor herself into public reckoning is to seize media opportunity take potshots at the military, believing that in rubbishing the military they are getting at the Government. What actually is more concerning about his rambling invective was the calculated attempt to inject bad blood and stir unhealthy rivalry between and among security agencies in Nigeria. Even more startling was his blatant effort to brew malcontent and pitch service personnel against their superiors and commanders!
If you are yet to understand the implications of that FFK’s harangue which was abounding in censorious devil’s advocate mission, perhaps you need to imagine the eventual outcome of the kind of scenario he was trying to instigate and nurture.
When a former cabinet Minister orchestrates a deliberate falsehood against the Armed Forces with the aim of misleading the general public or hurting the sensibilities of service personnel and their families, it becomes expedient for the discerning to be worried. When a former Minister elevates an unsubstantiated roadside banter of how “DSS passed intelligence report to the military and they refuse to act” into public discuss, you begin to suspect the ulterior motive.
You are chagrined when a former member of the Federal Executive Council displays (or feigns) a lack of understanding of Nigeria’s internal security operations mechanism (which places the military as the last line of defence and to be called upon when the security threats are well beyond the capacity of the civil police to deal with), and decides to hold the military responsible for every security infraction in the country.
It is certainly curious when such a person who lays claim to statesmanship to take to the social media to rant about issues of national security and deliberately provoking toxic rivalry between and among security agencies working in a joint environment by singling out some to praise and the other to excoriate. Of course you get the idea of how vacuous the understanding of a former Minister is about the workings of the military when such a fellow begins to make a video for public consumption where he bandies unsubstantiated claims that “junior military commanders and non-commissioned officers are working hard while senior commanders are doing nothing”.
In any case, it takes only a conflicted soul battling self-inflicted political and personal wars to be so callous, insensitive and ungracious by using the unfortunate prison break as an opportunity for self-glorification and media popularity. For FFK and irascible ilk, not even the gallantry and sacrificial efforts of the Armed Forces and its leadership can be spared deliberate malicious, cyber, physical, psychological and emotional coordinated attacks.
The point really is that the Nigerian military has earned its place in the enviable rank of one of the global bests in terms of professionalism, courage, resilience and combat efficiency, with glowing tributes from her regional and global peace-keeping outings, as well as the management of the hydra-headed monster of insecurity within her borders. The Nigerian Armed Forces deserves every accolade, encomium and support not excoriation and demonization by some disgruntled politicians.
But it calls for concern this propensity by some Nigerians to constitute themselves as the mouthpieces of the adversary and willing agent of division and destabilization. Despite the unquantifiable sacrifice of our gallant officers and soldiers in the discharge of their patriotic duties of protecting the nation’s territorial integrity, isn’t it worrisome that some dark forces, even within the system, are clandestinely sponsoring willing tools to throw spanner into the wheel of inter-agency harmony and collaboration? To what end, one might ask?
What the likes of FFK failed to understand is that every Nigerian citizen is expected to have a role to play in the quest to take back our country from the firm grip of our adversaries. We must integrate preventive education, involve civil society organisations, promote peace and moderation as a counter-narrative, ensure conflict-sensitive reporting in the mainstream media and more effective and patriotic use of social media in containing terrorists’ or violent separatists’ messages online. These things are not impossible. That is what other countries do. They don’t see their military as possessing the magic bullet that shoots down every internal security challenges.
I cannot end this intervention without commending the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor for his visionary leadership which is seeing the Armed Forces of Nigeria and other security agencies working in closer synergy than ever before. I also commend him for his clear-headedness and sense of purpose even in the face of distraction and provocation by some irritants masquerading as statesmen.
Same commendation goes to the Service Chiefs, frontline commanders and troops of the Nigerian Armed Forces who have braved all odds to defend and protect our dear country from external aggression and internal insurrection.
Kalu N Kalu is a Nigerian-born American political scientist. He specializes in comparative institutional development, national security policy, and organizational systems. He is based in Norway.
