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National Security Policy Should Address Structural Ambiguity – Agwai

Former Chief Of Army Staff, General Martin Luther Agwai (Rtd), says the most important solution to the collective security machinery in the country, is for the … Continue reading National Security Policy Should Address Structural Ambiguity – Agwai


General AgwaiFormer Chief Of Army Staff, General Martin Luther Agwai (Rtd), says the most important solution to the collective security machinery in the country, is for the national security policy to address the structural ambiguity.

General Agwai said that the structural ambiguity is seen the chain of command, the line of communication and the relationship between each of the security agencies.

Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, General Agwai insisted that ambiguity had always been in the system and the challenge was allowing  rumors to rule.

While acknowledging that rivalry like conflict is good sometimes, he said “it sometimes gingers people to work and perform better whereas it is better to make a wrong decision than to make no decision at all”.

“Not A One Man thing”

The General, who confirmed that there was a security policy in Nigeria and a drafted policy decision currently going on, said the policy would be backed with the constitution which had made it easier to control and run.

He admitted that the responsibility for Nigeria’s security was on the President, stressing that the citizens were justified demanding same of him, but explained that “security is not a one man thing” and advised  citizens to cooperate with the government.

On the killing of suspected Boko Haram members by the military, General Agwai said, although he was not justifying the killings, there were definitely two sides to the story and that the military had already started investigating the report.

He also warned that the country should learn better from the current insurgency situation, saying that it is a battle of mind that requires the collective gathering in order to recognise and know that “it is a fight against the survival of Nigeria”.

He said: “It is an issue of hearts and mind and the insurgents want to instill fear in the minds of Nigerians which could lead to them taking over the entire country”.

Several critics have said that the the Nigerian Armed Forces were not equipped to handle the current war, but General Agwai dismissed the claims, explaining that the military had tools to fight the war on terror. He, however, stressed  that the fight was more of intelligence, psychology and information gathering.

He further advised that the military should be more equipped to tackle the challenges.