The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Christopher Musa, Friday said, the myriad challenges confronting the country cannot be addressed in just one year. Gen Musa who said this while briefing foreign and local broadcast journalists in Abuja, also disclosed that the state forces cannot cover every nook and cranny in the country due to its vastness.
He however, assured that the Armed Forces of Nigeria, if called upon cannot fold its arms and allow criminal elements loot businesses and destroy public infrastructure in the guise of protest.
According to him, the incumbent administration at the centre is just one year plus in office and it is not possible for the government to have solved every financial, economic, and security threats confronting the country within one year.
He however, noted that efforts have been made by the incumbent administration, and more effort is still being made to tackle hunger and alleviate other socio-economic challenges ailing the nation.
Musa said: “I have seen government policies aimed at addressing the socio-economic challenges, including security threats in the country. Though we are not where we ought to be but things are improving, and I can assure you that we are headed in the right direction. If we have the support of everyone, we can in unison bring total peace, and the economy will grow. Just a few days ago, I was in the Niger Delta to also ensure that our crude oil production increases immediately so that we can have enough funds to fund our economy. So I want to call on all Nigerians to understand the government”.
Acknowledging that the protesters have genuine concern to hit the streets, Gen Musa however, noted that the excruciating hardship is not peculiar to Nigerian alone.
“Everywhere in the world, citizens are facing one economic or security crisis or the other. So, it is important to understand that we are not alone in this hardship. But what we can do is not to allow criminals, individuals that have lost out, to take advantage of this to destroy our country. We should realize that this destruction the protesters are carrying out would cost tax payers billions of Naira to rebuild. Funds that should ordinary be used to pursue development will be expended to fix destroyed public infrastructure first,” he argued.
He also appealed to the media not to give undue coverage to the destruction of critical infrastructure and looting of private businesses by hoodlums and criminal elements that hijacked the protest in certain quarters.
He noted that like terrorism, publicity is the oxygen that fuels the nefarious activities of the miscreants that hijacked the protest. Noting that the government has shown commitment to upholding its promise of allowing people to associate freely, the CDS said the security forces have done extremely well especially the Nigerian police force. The state forces, he said have shown a lot of professionalism, including where members of the armed forces had to step in.
Gen Musa said: “You can see that we have remained very professional in our conduct and we will continue to do that, as long as the citizens also understand that there is a difference between protest and criminality. What we saw yesterday at the beginning of the protest was some semblance of a very peaceful demonstration, which was quickly taken over by a bunch of criminals that don’t mean us well”.
He recalled that the military and other security agencies earlier warned that there are individuals that are ready to cause mayhem once this starts, following credible intelligence. Musa nonetheless, appealed to protesters to see reasons with authorities and shelve the protest as the federal government is doing the best it can for the country.
Ikechukwu Aleke
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