Nigeria: CAN leader defends Azazi

Calls for the removal of the National Security Adviser, NSA, Gen. Andrew Owoye Azazi, from office over the security challenges have been described as unjustified and ill-advised.
A Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, leader in the 19 northern states and former Chairman of Adamawa State chapter, Professor Dan N. Babayi, made this known in a statement issued yesterday in Kaduna. He said the security issue is a complex one which nobody in particular should be blamed or held responsible for its hurtful consequences.
Babayi asked the civil society to co-operation with the security agents in their quest to rid the country, especially the North, of irate Boko Haram members and their nefarious activities. He acknowledged that the security operatives are now taking firm control of the situation unlike when the insurgence started some months ago. Parts of the statement read thus:
“The reasons for the violence are numerous and the vehicle through which the campaign is being orchestrated and waged (Boko Haram) is nothing if not nebulous. Like much else in our country, the operations of our security services have been systematically denigrated and as such, the level of preparedness for tackling Boko Haram has been exposed as grossly inadequate.
“The security agencies have been left to play catch up in an effort to come to terms with what for Nigeria is a new genre of threat altogether. While coordinating responsibility for security matters clearly lies with the country’s National Security Adviser (NSA), it is clear that the whole can be no better than the parts from which it is constituted.
“For every bomber that gets through and explodes an incendiary device, several attempts have been frustrated. Quite rightly, what makes the news and grabs attention are the ones that get through and we must never relent in demanding greater vigilance and victories from our security agencies. We must however be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
“While one can empathise with the sense of frustration and anger at bombings during the high point of Christian festivities (commemorating our Lord’s birth, death and resurrection), it is neither accurate nor helpful to describe the NSA as a “decoration”. To do so would be to perpetuate fallacies that are espoused by those that would rather have a pliant NSA.
“By the very nature of their work, our security agencies are judged only on their failings rather than their successes. It is nevertheless important to recognize that in this day and age, the security of modern societies is in the hands of, and is the responsibility of all its citizens.
Let us prayerfully look to strengthen their resolve and assist them in their vital role in our society in this time of great strife.”