General Lucky Irabor, the former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), has called on the Federal Government to formally declare a full-scale war against the bandits and insurgents responsible for the violence across Nigeria, stating that currently, “no legal instruments indicate that Nigeria is at war.”
Speaking on Channels Television, General Irabor argued that the government is merely assuming it is at war, which limits the effectiveness of its response.
The Case for Declaring War
Irabor contended that declaring war would make a “huge difference” by:
- Aggregating State Power: It would allow the government to directly channel all elements of state power towards the war effort.
- Resourcing and Accountability: Resources would be “properly channelled,” and clear accountability frameworks would be established, ensuring measurable results for expenditure.
- Beyond the Military: He stressed that the solution goes beyond just military power, involving the aggregate deployment of all state elements.
Policy and Political Solutions
The former CDS dismissed the perception that the Nigerian military is capitalising on the security crisis and instead pointed to the actions and inactions of politicians as contributing factors to insecurity.
General Irabor, who recently unveiled his book, ‘Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum,’ advocated a shift away from an over-reliance on military or “high power” solutions. He called for the use of government policies to address the risk factors for insecurity:
- He argued that reducing the number of out-of-school children and creating jobs would lessen the pool of vulnerable individuals available for recruitment by criminals.
The call comes amidst President Bola Tinubu’s Independence Day claim that the Nigerian military is “winning the war against terrorism,” a claim the opposition has often dismissed.
Source: Channels TV
