There have been growing concerns over the state of insecurity across Nigeria, compelling the House of Representatives to organise a national security summit, which held in Abuja last week. JOSHUA EGBODO reviews issues from the gathering.
Repeated Reps’ interventions
In the life of the current House of Representatives, there have been tens of resolutions either in condemnation of one security related infraction or another, or calling on the nation’s security forces to wake up to their responsibilities. At a point, President Muhammadu was summoned over the massive killing of scores of local rice farmers in the northeast, though inexplicably not honoured to date.
Also in one of such instances on March 17, 2021, the House at the commencement of its plenary went straight into a closed door session lasting about a half of an hour, and ended up resolving to set up a special committee, intended to advice President President Muhammadu Buhari on what the House saw as way out of the lingering security challenges facing Nigeria.
Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila who announced the decision and why the committee was necessary also disclosed that during the closed door session, Majority Leader, Alhassan Doguwa had raised concerns over the steadily rising security challenges facing the nation, debate on which culminated in a resolution to raise the team.
According to him, the committee which had all 10 principal officers of the House as members, and a select group of other lawmakers across the states will be sitting for the next three to four weeksto brainstorm, “and come up with suggestions, and recommendations to the executive arm of the federal government”, explaining that initial meeting of the panel will be announced in the next couple of days, for work to start earnestly after which it will present its position, “for onward transmission to the President”.
Another move of similar nature came up on April 27, 2021, when after a marathon closed door meeting, the House resolved to summon the National Security Adviser (NSA), and heads of other security agencies, including paramilitary organisations. Prior to the closed door session, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila the day earlier, rushed to the presidential villa, where he had a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, apparently in response to reported renewed rise and widespread killings across the country.
Rising from the over four-hour long meeting, the speaker who made the announcement added that the House also resolved amongst other things, to urge Buhari to immediately declare a state of emergency on insecurity in the country.
Armed forces trust fund
With the unabated rise in the multidimensional security threats, a bill was presented before the house seeking the creation of a special trust fund to help the nation’s armed forces acquire the needed hardwares, which the annual budget had seemingly been unable to cater for. Gbajabiamila in a keynote remarks to declare the public hearing on the bill opened on May 17, 2021, lamented that just about 9 percent of annual defence budget goes into military hardware procurement.
“The fact based on appropriation records is that about 91 percent of the current funding to the armed forces goes on recurrent overhead, salaries and welfare, leaving only nine per cent for capital purchases. This reality has prompted the 9th House of Representatives to seek a way of providing funds that will be focused on the capital needs and training of our armed forces. Nigeria’s expenditure on military hardware and training in the last five years hovers between a paltry nine to 11 per cent of the total annual budgetary allocation to the armed forces”, the speaker said at the event organised by the Babajimi Benson-led committee on defence.
The security summit
In the understanding of many, the House appeared undaunted, even in the face of perceived failure on the part of executive arm of the federal government, which to them may have lost ideas on what to do in addressing the threatening challenges against the cooperate existence of Nigeria as a nation, and yet put in place, a national summit seeking ideas on the way forward.
The event initially billed to commence on Monday, May 24, 2021 was suddenly shifted to Wednesday May 26, owing to the unfortunate crash of a military aircraft in Kaduna, in which the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru died alongside 10 other personnel.
Stakeholders’ opinions
During the event, a lot was said by participants strategically drawn to make inputs. President Muhammadu Buhari, who was represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha gave assurance that he would look at the expected recommendations from the summit, and implement same in the interest of the nation.
Also in their separate submissions, Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila succinctly admitted that the nation was seriously under threat in the face of steady rise in violence.
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor; the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar; the Ooni of Ife, His Royal Majesty, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi; the Obi of Obinugwu, His Royal Majesty, Eze (Dr) Cletus Ikechukwu Ilomuanya, among others, were in attendance, they were also delivered goodwill messages, with the Sultan of Sokoto and Ooni of Ife specifically lamenting that enough of talks have been done done on the subject matter, but that it was time for action.
Gbajabiamila’s assurances
With the national security summit successfully held in Abuja, Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, over the weekend gave assurances that report of the event will be ready for presentation to President Muhammadu Buhari very soon, noting that the quality of inputs and presentations received from various stakeholders was unprecedented.
“For the past couple of days, patriots honoured the invitation of the House of the Nigerian people to discuss a very important issue that has become the concern of all of us – insecurity. As it is often said, so far, so good. I am very impressed with the way well-meaning Nigerians have come together to proffer solutions to a national issue as I am at the moment.
“I want to assure all stakeholders and Nigerians that this Special Committee of the House will consider all your inputs, come up with a report that would adequately proffer solutions to the problem and the report will be considered speedily. As I said during my speech at the opening, we would present our report to President Muhammadu Buhari for implementation by the Executive. The President has given assurances that the report would be considered,” Gbajabiamila said at end of the summit.
Task before the committee
With the summit concluded, the burden has shifted to the House’s Committee on National Security and Intelligence, from which inputs from critical stakeholders is expected to form crux of its recommendations to the larger house. Its Chairman, Sha’aban Ibrahim Sharada, while applauding Speaker and the leadership of the House for the vision and initiation of the summit, and also assured that the work done so far in the summit, and the work that will be done afterward, will honour the memory the late military officers who died while the summit was about to hold.
A new era?
It was clear from interventions of various speakers during the summit, that a lot had been said as far as security related challenges were concerned, and more actions expected from the appropriate quarters. As report from the engagements is being urgently expected from the assigned committee for adoption of the House, the question has remained whether this fresh move will usher in a paradigm shift from the status quo.