News Investigators/ A civil war veteran, Retired Maj.-Gen. IBM Haruna, has advised the Federal Government against engaging private military contractors to assist the security agencies in tackling the security challenges currently confronting the country.
Haruna, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja, said rather, more personnel should be recruited into the country’s security agencies to tackle the menace.
He also emphasised the need for a multi-faceted approach to the security issues beyond employing a mere kinetic force.
When asked whether he was in support of the calls in some quarters that retired military officers should be brought back to assist in combating insecurity, the retired general, who turns 85 on July 24, dismissed such an idea.
According to him, Nigeria is not short of military officers who have the competence and ability to tackle insecurity.
“Nigeria is not short of military officers or people with the intelligent and the ability to apply modern warfare techniques,” he said.
Haruna, a former Federal Commissioner for Information, said that with 230 million population, the country should engage more personnel to security the lives and property of Nigerians and ensure tranquility.
He also stated the mechanisms for tackling insecurity in the country should extend beyond mere deployment of security forces for kinetic operations.
“The mechanism that government should adopt is not just employing the police and the military to do what they call the kinetic destruction of the little we have in terms of development.
“Rather, they should look at the social, economic and political dimensions that will create an amicable atmosphere and commitment from the citizens as a whole,” he said.
NAN
