Military is tired, blame politicians for prevailing insurgency -Nyako

By Onimisi Alao, Yola

Insurgency and other forms of insecurity are rife in Nigeria because the military is tired and fatigued, a leading politician and retired military officer, Sen Abdul-Aziz Nyako has said.

Abdul-Aziz, who retired from the Nigerian Navy as Commander and was Senator for Adamawa Central Zone from 2015 to 2019, stated this in a chat with reporters in Yola in the course of an event organised in his honour by his benefactors.

Abdul-Aziz, who is the political heir of a former two-term governor of the state, Murtala Nyako, and was in the All Progressives Congress (APC) but left to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) under which he contested in the 2019 governorship election, insisted that if the political class had met the welfare needs of the people, the military would not have needed to intervene.

He said: “Majority of those in Boko Haram are not driven by any doctrine but by extreme poverty. If you sow poverty, you reap insecurity by way of kidnapping, cattle rustling, insurgency and other claims people are making.

“The reason for government is welfare and security of the people. If you can address poverty, the socioeconomic issues leading to these crises will go down drastically. If you make life bearable for all and a few people decide for criminality, maybe you can now use force against them, but first the underlining factor of welfare must be addressed.”

Responding to a question on whether the current service chiefs have run out of ideas and should be changed, Sen Abdul-Aziz said: “It is not a function of who the service chiefs are. We can’t push all the blame to them or to the armed forces. For me, the bulk of the blame should go to us, the political class.

“What are we doing to address these fundamental issues causing unrest in our communities? The political class is not doing its part and whenever there is any crisis they say, send the military. The military is overstretched. The military is fatigued. The military is tired.”

Giving example of a soldier he ran into who told him that he had not seen his wife and other members of his family for two and a half years, Abdul-Aziz Nyako stressed that soldiers were going through tough situations.

“The armed forces are overstretched,” he reiterated, adding, “They have done their best in the circumstances. The problem is that the politicians don’t sit with their people to discuss issues and plan ways to get us out of the mess that we are in.”

Nyako spoke Saturday night on the side of a ‘Gratitude’ Banquette organised in his honour by House of Assembly candidates of his party, the ADC, in the last general elections in Adamawa State.

The candidates said they wished to formally say thank you to him because through his encouragement and mentorship, they got the chance to join active politics and express their electoral rights.

The Chairman of the Adamawa State ADC State Assembly Aspirants Forum, Hon Abubakar Salihu Mohammed (Mai’wake), said: “Sen Abdul-Aziz singlehandedly sponsored and mentored the aspiring leaders under ADC,cutting across the 226 wards, 21 LGAs, 24 state assembly, eight federal constituencies, and three senatorial districts.”