Southeastern traditional ruler backs Buhari, Service Chiefs

Igwe Friday Imoko of Effium, a traditional ruler in Ebonyi State, has heaped encomiums on President Buhari and his Service Chiefs, commending the efforts of the President and the Military in tackling insecurity in the country.

The Traditional Ruler said this while speaking with journalists at Abakaliki during the launch of the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital.

He said that the President and his service chiefs were being unduly criticized. He also held that news media have played a contributory role in denigrating the efforts of our security agents, stating that from his interaction with the military in recent months, he has been tremendously impressed by what he has seen with regard to their efforts towards addressing the issues of insecurity in the country.

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“If you go by the herd mentality, you will think that the service chiefs are just sitting down and doing nothing and you may try to justify calls for their removal.

“But if you’re privileged to observe as I’ve done lately, the efforts of the military at a close range, then you’ll come to understand what is happening and the level of sacrifice by the military,” he said.

The traditional ruler further stated that the weight of insecurity problems at the moment has somewhat been overwhelming, particularly due to the fact that we’re experiencing unprecedented levels of internal aggression.

“The Nigerian military has never been tasked to this extent since independence. They are all over the country either fighting to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria or enforce peace or fight criminals.

They are in the Niger Delta, the Southwest, Southeast, Northcentral, Northwest and Northeast at the same time” He said apart from the insurgency in the Northeast, there are other challenges like banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, cattle rustling and communal clashes that the military is dealing with that Nigerians should appreciate.

He also enjoined Nigerians to desist from undue criticism of the President’s efforts towards tackling security issues in the country, as these negative remarks hamstrings the country from fighting the challenge of insecurity from a united front.