Elders in the country under the umbrella of Coalition of Patriotic Nigerian Elders (COPANE) have said that the best way to commemorate the 2021 Armed Forces Remembrance Day (AFRD) would have been for President Muhammadu Buhari to relieve the service chiefs of their posts.
The coalition disclosed this in a statement signed by its national coordinator, Prof. Habu Usman Galadima, national secretary, Dr. (Mrs.) Grace Onanefe and legal adviser, Mr. Muhammad Ibrahim Potiskum.
COPANE made the declaration following worsening insecurity in the country.
They said there was nothing to celebrate in this year’s Remembrance Day because of the president’s inability to address the numerous problems confronting living members of the Armed Forces, especially the frontline troops.
They vowed to begin imminent mobilisation of Nigerians against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) if it fails to immediately prevail on the president to act swiftly on restructuring of security architecture to save the country from further misfortunes.
The coalition observed that the inability of pigeons to fly after being released by the president to mark the AFRD in Abuja on January 15 was a strong indication Nigeria is ill at ease.
“While we celebrate and pray for our heroes past, who had served our dear country and paid the ultimate price as members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, we wish to state that there is nothing to celebrate in this year’s Armed Forces Remembrance Day, because of Mr. President’s inability to address the numerous problems confronting members of the Armed Forces alive, especially those in the frontlines.
“We observe with regret that the long and unnecessary tenure of the current service chiefs has not only affected career progression in the Armed Forces of Nigeria today, but has also resulted in low morale among officers and men of the services besides other forms of setbacks. This is unconstitutional…
The elders said the president’s speech at the Remembrance Day was empty, given that it failed to address insecurity threatening the country.
“We make bold to say Nigerians were not interested in the president’s speech today, because it does not address their yearnings, which is the long overdue sack of the nation’s service chiefs. The arguments by some selfish persons around Mr. President that he should not change the guard during war are the most irresponsible, misplaced, selfish and unprofessional arguments.
“Secondly, what if this current service chiefs are the reason the war has refused to end? As elders, we are aware that several eminent Nigerians have appealed to the president, both publicly and privately to relieve the service chiefs of their positions in face of the dwindling security problems in the country; yet, all have fallen on deaf ears.
“We, however, wish to remind Mr. President that we are still in a constitutional democracy, where the people’s voice is the ultimate. To this end, it is our humble appeal that Mr. President listens to the voice of people by not only relieving the service chiefs of their positions, but also restructuring the entire security architecture without further delay.”
