Emergence Of ‘Private Armies’ Fueling Rivalries, Religious Divisions – Agwai, Former Defence Chief

Gen. Martin Luther Agwai (retd), chairman of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment (SURE-P) Programme

A former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Martin Luther Agwai has fingered the emergence of ‘private armies’ for the rising incidence of rivalries and religious divisions in the country. Delivering a paper titled: Imperatives of a National Security Framework for Development and Progress of Nigeria,” Agwai, condemned the involvement of the military in politics, speaking during the celebration of the 78th birthday of former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta, on Thursday. 

GRAPHITTI NEWS reports:

Agwai called for transformation in the nation’s military system, stressing that the forces trained and equipped to defend the country had suddenly found themselves in a strange terrain.
He warned that should the military abandon its primary responsibility and engage in politics, the country might be doomed for it.

He said, “The military has to be transformed and this becomes necessary from the point of recruitment, training and assuming leadership role. Our forces that are trained and equipped to defend us are now in a strange field.

“We must have security sector reform because everyone that has anything to do with security must be re-branded for professionalism, efficiency and effectiveness.

“The military has nothing to do with politics and if we allow it, we will run into problems.”

Agwai, who expressed fear at the emergence of ‘private armies’ in the country, said this had led to rivalry and created religious division.

He expressed disappointment at the practice of democratic rule so far, which he said, had created few affluent citizens in the midst of suffocating poverty.

“When you have a scenario like this, there will be insecurity,” he added.

He called on the government to diversify the economy and ensure that “no Nigerian child goes to bed without food in his belly. Farmers should have enough food to eat and sell.”

Agwai, who is the current chairman of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, noted that religious bodies which should serve as   checks on corruption had become “facilitators of corruption.”