The Director General of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Major General Garba Wahab (rtd), has said that the military’s primary role is to defend the nation against external threats and quell insurrections, with training focused on combat and tactical operations.
He stated that their expertise lies in high-intensity conflicts, not internal security or law enforcement, explaining that internal security, maintenance of law and order, and civilian protection typically fall under the purview of other agencies, such as the police, which are trained for these specific tasks.
General Wahab, in a chat with THISDAY, said: “We believe that it is cheaper, easier, faster to deploy the military. So we keep on deploying them both. We are failing to realise that they have a responsibility which is different. You can not continue to use them in internal security because they are not meant to maim people. They are meant to kill. By deploying, you are wasting resources. It is a monumental waste we are having right now.”
However, General Wahab advocated further training for the police and other agencies saddled with internal security to enable them to perform their functions, so that the military can be withdrawn to barracks to build capacity relevant to modern warfare.
According to him, “We must find a way of training those whose job it is to maintain law and order, as well as other internal security operations in society, to enable them to take over from the military. That is why I spoke about process and procedure. We must start putting the process in motion because, even if the military are not trained for internal operations, they are already deployed.
“So, do you want them to remain? If you don’t want them to remain, who is going to take over? You must start training those who are supposed to take over. Therefore, if you don’t effect corrections on these identified gaps now, we will continue to go round and round, and the same problem will continue to manifest.”
He stated that there are issues with the nation’s security architecture that must be corrected.
He explained, “Those who are responsible for internal security are either not well-fitted or there is a problem. The Minister of Interior mentioned it recently. We need to look extensively at the provisioning for internal security. Because if we don’t correct those anomalies, the military will remain out there.
“So, the first step is: what is wrong with those agencies in the Ministry of Interior and those that are not – police, customs, and Federal Road Safety Corps? The Minister said Road Safety has about 20,000 personnel. What are they using them for? Can they pursue vehicles the way they were pursuing in the past? The answer is no. So, what are we doing with that workforce? Should we continue to pay salaries? Can we convert them? Yes, we can.
“But more importantly, they need to be well-funded. They need to be properly trained. Even if state police pulls through, we still need a central police that will perform its job. Because there will be cross-state jurisdiction.”
Linus Aleke
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