By: Jack Okude
The incumbent National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, is a busy man. It’s the demand of his office, especially at these times. Ribadu has a pedigree. A brilliant, fearless police officer. He was the first Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He came highly recommended and President Olusegun Obasanjo wasted no time in appointing him at that time. And my word, he fared well. Investigating and convicting high profile Nigerians who soiled their fingers in the broth of sleaze.
Ribadu won the hearts of many Nigerians with the manner he courageously reined in the untouchables, some of whom were either jailed or made to return money stolen from both public and private tills. He gave anti-corruption war a bite and a bounce. His hand was further strengthened by Obasanjo who openly supported him. Under him, the creed was “the fear of EFCC is the beginning of wisdom.” Ribadu was ruthless against the looters. And Nigerians loved him to no end. His success at his duty post as anti-corruption czar also won him enemies. Envy from certain quarters foreshadowed his every action. Threat to his life became a routine. But he was unfazed. He left behind undeniable imprints of integrity and raw boldness at the EFCC.
Fast forward to 2023. Ribadu was appointed National Security Adviser, NSA, by President Bola Tinubu. An appointment at a time Nigeria was deep into an internal war against insurgents. For over a decade, Nigeria has been globally branded a terrorist nation. It doesn’t matter our sentiments at home. Overseas, the world sees Nigeria through the eyes of terror. Terrorism and its financing have come to define Nigeria and global media, and to some extent local media, has played into the hands of the terrorists by promoting their heinous acts against the nation.
Let’s be clear. The Office of the NSA (ONSA) is administrative; basically, to coordinate security activities among the various security agencies and brief the President on matters of security. Nigeria copied the ONSA concept from the United States APNSA (Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs) which is more popularly referred to as the National Security Advisor (NSA). Created in the US in 1953 during the Cold War era under the National Security Act of 1947, its duties include to coordinate defence, foreign affairs, international economic policy, and intelligence.
The NSA reports directly to the US President and it’s the duty of the NSA to brief the President on security situations regularly, especially in periods of emergencies and war. Within the United States security structure, the NSA is regarded as the person who has the ears of the President at all times, at the shortest notices. It’s regarded historically as the mother security office that paved way for the creation of the Department of Defence (DoD) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The NSA chairs security meetings in the absence of the President. That’s how critical the office is. Largely advisory, the NSA sits atop all the security agencies, monitoring operational efficiencies and strategies. He holds regular meetings with the heads of security agencies and he’s the first and last person to talk with the US president on matters of security. Very critical office.
In Nigeria, the architecture is in many ways the same. The NSA has (or should have) the ears of the President at all times. Anything outside that is an aberration. So far, Ribadu has enjoyed the good ears and confidence of President Tinubu. This has shored up the performance of the NSA especially in the core area of helping to forge effective synergies among the security agencies. Despite the recent attacks in Benue and Plateau and isolated cases of kidnapping in Delta and Edo states, there has been a significant shift in the manner the terrorists attack persons and institutions across the country. This stems largely from the degradation of the ranks of the terrorists by the stealth neutralisation of their leaderships in various cells by the Nigerian security apparatchik.
This improved synergy has resulted in improved security nationwide compared to the situation in the pre-Ribadu era. The heads of the various security agencies have themselves attested to this improvement in synergy which has boosted intelligence gathering and sharing leading to a drastic decimation of the leaderships of the insurgents. Under Ribadu, no fewer than 14 terrorists’ leaders have been neutralized. They include the notorious Kachalla Ali Kawaje, Kachalla Halilu Sububu, Kachalla Damina, Kachalla Dangote, Kachalla Jafaru, Kachalla Barume, Kachalla Shehu, Kachalla Yellow Mai Buhu, Yellow Sirajo, Kachalla Dan Muhammadu, Kachalla Makasko, Yellow Hassan, Kachalla Dan Ba Birki, Auta Dan Mai Jan Kai and the dangerous duo of Tsoho and Boderi.
The decimation of terror leaders has whittled down their hitherto brazen audacity to attack city centres and security units and formations. They have restricted their operations to soft targets in rural areas. But even that is only a matter of time. They will soon be pushed out of the country.
Lest we forget, before Ribadu, Nigeria has had cases of terrorists attacking the Presidential advance convoy of security personnel (Presidential Guard). A Presidential convoy is a combined team of military, police, DSS and allied security personnel. Such was the profile of the convoy ambushed by terrorists in July 2021 on its way to Daura, President Muhammadu Buhari’s homestead. That was an attack on the President, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The terrorists succeeded in injuring at least two security personnel in a blitzkrieg of gunfire.
That same Tuesday night, terrorists, armed to the hilt, invaded Kuje prison in the FCT, a supposedly well-manned prison. They burnt vehicles, detonated explosives, and released in one fell swoop over 600 inmates, including over 60 Boko Haram members. How about the orchestrated bombing of trains in Edo state and along Kaduna-Abuja highway? Or the daring attacks on military formations by the insurgents in Kaduna and parts of the North east? It has been a litany of losses by Nigeria to the terrorists. But all that is abating these Ribadu days. Prognosis: There’s more work to be done, but there’s hope.
Aside taming the bogey of terror, the manner top security chiefs including the NSA himself has responded and made physical appearances at scenes of terror attacks in recent times only attest to the responsiveness and collaboration among the agencies.
Next level, Ribadu should create a mechanism for internal vigilance among the security agencies to fish out moles and saboteurs whose evil brief is to frustrate the efforts of the good ones. Such moles should be checked out of the system as quickly as possible. From the way these insurgents ambush Nigerian troops, it’s all too obvious that they have embedded themselves in the midst of the troops from where they leak intelligence to their fellow terror merchants fighting against the nation.
The Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr. Tosin Ajayi, recently, at a security summit, alluded to the improvement in the synergy among security agencies. This is a credit to Ribadu who has since his appointment firmly kept his foot on the throttle. He should maintain the momentum and the ascendancy as he continues to forge intelligence-driven synergies within the nation’s security ecosystem.
Okude, public policy analyst, writes from Jalingo