An experienced and renowned security expert, Brigadier General Ola Falade (rtd) was our guest on our weekly magazine radio show, Parrot Xtra/Ayekooto anchored by OLAYINKA AGBOOLA on Splash 105.5FM, Ibadan, recently. During the interaction, he spoke about why the Military should be unbundled and the reasons Boko Haram insurgency still persists among many other salient issues… Excerpts:
Can you bear your mind on what security is all about?
Security is vital as it affects all spheres of human endeavor and it has its root from the family. The issue of security should not be politicized and it is really out of place that our leaders are playing politics with the issue of lives and properties. Our politicians are only concerned about how they win an election and not concerned about the welfare of the citizens. They are insensitive to the plight of the masses.
Were you retired prematurely by the Nigerian Army?
Deliberately, I refused to dye my hair, I retired at the appropriate time according to the civil service rules, the armed forces act. I served for 35 years and retired in 2019 even though I wasn’t 60 years old at the time of retirement. I went to a military school in Zaria and got admitted to the University of Nigeria to read History. I didn’t go through the Nigerian Defence Academy directly. I was a beneficiary of the federal government scholarship from secondary to the tertiary level. Although, there were some people that were trained by the federal government through the Nigerian Army that benefited from the scholarship but did not take up a career with the Armed forces.
We must be careful about the information that the Army is retiring its personnel prematurely. No such policy exists in the military because there are certain parameters that are considered before an officer would be informed to go on retirement. You need to ask if the person has not contravened the laid-down rules of the armed forces.
Let me state it clearly, before retirement, officers are always assessed if they are still relevant to the system and can deliver in and out of the system effectively.
When I retired in 2019, I was offered a consultancy appointment as a facilitator for two years in one of our training institutions in Jaji but I left after serving one year. I saw that I have spent almost all my entire life in the army and I need a new challenging environment. I was not comfortable with the system anymore.
The federal government recently enacted a law that allows Judges, teachers and medical personnel to retire at 65. The military did not get to be included…?
We have different job descriptions. Sometimes, it is required that General Officer Commanding (GOC) and some other senior officials sometimes have to sleep in the trench with the troops to motivate them and how many 65 years old officers can still perform efficiently on the field?.
Well, government spends so much to train senior military officers only for them to be retired…does it not amount to wastage of resources…?
The government is not wasting her resources in training officers. Even though I am not in uniform anymore, I am still relevant to the government. Recently, For example, I was in Abuja for a workshop alongside my other retired colleagues to deliver a lecture based on the experiences we had in Sierra Leone, Liberia to train Nigerian hunters on internal security. The association of Nigerian Hunters and Forest Security Services are responsible for securing our forests.
Why is it difficult for senior officers to serve under (politically) promoted junior officers in the Nigeria armed forces?
You have a good and valid point. Firstly, this is a matter of policy, personally, I don’t see anything wrong in it because if it is happening in private corporate institutions, why can’t we introduce it. However, to change it in the military will be very difficult; it has to be done systematically and certain things have to be put in place.
In your own opinion, what is the reason behind the lingering Boko Haram insurgency we are experiencing in Nigeria today?
In the real sense of it, there is nothing that should be too powerful than the government. In the case of the Boko Haram insurgency, it has been on for a very long time because of the negligence of the government. The reason is that security has been neglected for a very long time and we are not mindful of it. I once served where Boko Haram started in Monguno in Kanuri land from 1994-1998. The government neglected the youths there for a long time and when there is nothing to engage a person, something else will engage them. One of the reasons behind the lingering insecurity is lack of political will.
Also, there are many ungoverned spaces in Nigeria. This is some kind of vacuum – and they are being used to breed insecurity and the government is not paying close attention to it.
We also lack visionary leaders in Nigeria; our politicians are only interested in winning the next election. Let us all be part of security in Nigeria, it should not be left alone for the security operatives. I am an advocate of empowering the Police, Amotekun, Army, the local vigilante. We must all play our roles to curb insecurity in Nigeria.
What do you think should be the general focus of the current Chief of Army Staff, General Taoreed Lagbaja?
His nickname is warrior and we have done a lot of courses together. The challenges the Chief of Army Staff has is not different from what the other occupants have experienced in the past. The only difference might be how it is managed. I think his focus should be on the territorial integrity of the country, he should be given an enabling environment to operate and one of the enabling environments to me is that the army (military) should be unbundled of some of these things.
What is the soldier doing guiding residential houses and companies? I see no reason why Nigerian soldiers should be operating roadblocks, guiding private individuals and installations. There are security agencies statutorily assigned for these roles. The soldiers can only come in when the current situation overwhelms the conventional police force, but is it every time the situation will overwhelm them? The Nigeria police should be empowered and allowed to carry out their constitutionally prescribed duties.
People should not use the police on a regular beat for their own private policing. Security is not cheap, if people need security, they should engage private security agencies. What is the United Nation’s established ratio of police officers to citizens? I think the ratio is one police officer to almost 400 citizens, but in Nigeria, it is about one police officer to about 20,000 citizens.
What is your opinion on desirable democracy?
I am not a political person; nevertheless, everyone has the right to his personal opinion. The definition of democracy is your own personal interpretation. Although the western world folks have given their views, what is going on presently in Rwanda – is it a proper form of democracy? Yet Rwanda is developing rapidly. There are components of democracy that I think should be put in place.
What security advice will you wish to give to Nigerians?
Nigeria is in a difficult situation and virtually almost all Nigerians are angry because of the current situation we found ourselves. People should be aware of their immediate environment, and should avoid what can trigger their fellow human beings. We all need to be careful.
