Tukur Yusuf Buratai,
lieutenant general and chief of army staff, says President Muhammadu Buhari
should not be pushed into sacking his service chiefs “because he knows where
the problems are”.
There have been
calls by federal lawmakers and other Nigerians on the president to sack the
service chiefs following what appears to be the resurgence of Boko Haram.
Buratai, speaking in
a special interview with TheCable and THISDAY/ARISE in Lagos on Tuesday, said
while not questioning the wisdom of the national assembly, the solution is not
the removal of service chiefs as Buhari “knows where it pinches” and is the
right arbiter.
“I am tempted not to
comment on this particular issue because I am directly involved. However, I want
to believe that whatever happens, the commander-in-chief is the right arbiter,
and he knows where it pinches, he knows where the problems are. I think the
decision should be left to him. He should not be pushed or prompted in this
regard,” he said.
Buratai said “we are
into a very serious issue which should not be taken lightly”, adding: “This is
why when you say a particular crop of leaders in the military should be removed
for whatever reason, it sounds very odd because we are not addressing the issues.
I am not saying this because I am the chief of army staff and I do not want to
leave. No, that is not the issue. It is beyond that because this is a national
issue, an issue of national pride and national interest. Those who would cry
loudly against the service chiefs are within, and they are the ones who should
be more vocal in the things that are not going right.”
The army chief also
said contrary to the notion that Boko Haram started in 2009, the “brainwashing
and indoctrination” started over 30 years ago, thereby making it difficult to
totally wipe out terrorism.
He said the military
has nonetheless won the war against insurgency as the Boko Haram militants do
not control any territory in Nigeria.
Buratai said,
however, that the war against terror will continue because the terrorists now
feast on attacking soft targets “for the sake of propaganda”.
He advised the media
not to help the terrorists ventilate the propaganda.
Tell Nigerians,where or who the problem is,there cant be secrets in this anymore,we deal with it once and for all,its a lie when we say its a top or confidential information,thats just an opportunity by the evil ones
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