Recruitment of 400 Civilian JTF into Nigerian Army raises dust

 

BY NICHOLAS ABE

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The recruitment of 400 members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Borno State into the Nigerian Army has received a backlash from prominent socio-cultural groups in the country.

Except for the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) which hailed the action, the Ohaneze Ndigbo, Afenifere, Middle Belt Forum and the Pan Niger Delta Forum all described the exercise as tantamount to regionalising the Nigerian Army as it is against the federal character principle of the country.

RELIABLESOURCENG.COM had published Wednesday that Borno State governor, Prof Babagana Umara Zulum, same day commissioned 400 members of the Civilian JTF who were being enlisted into the Nigerian Army.

The ceremony was conducted under the watchful eyes of military commanding officers from Operation Lafiya Dole, leading the fight against Boko Haram in Borno and other states of north east Nigeria.

According to Zulum, the men, among whom are hunters, were being enlisted into the Nigerian Army’s supper camp strategy and formed the first batch to be recruited by the Army as subsequent batches would soon be added.

FG sectionalising Army – Afenifere

Reacting to the news, the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, through its National Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, accused the Federal Government of regionalising the Army.

Odumakin, according to The Punch, said, “There is no other name to call this than regionalisation of the Army for a section of the country without necessarily saying so. The rest of the country is not daft about what is going on. There is no way you can build confidence in national institutions when you continue to paint them in sectional colours. And these are the same people, who said the South-West could not do Amotekun a few months ago.

“Borno is afflicted with crisis the way other sections are and we cannot turn our supposed national Army into the outfit of a section of it in addition to the sectionalism and parochialism of this regime in the last five years.”

Recruitment against federal character principle — Ohanaeze, M’Belt Forum

Similarly, The Punch reports that the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, insisted that the commissioning of the 400 civilian JTF members in Borno State into the Nigerian Army violated the federal character principle in national appointments.

It said the action of the Army leadership showed that the security apparatus of the country had collapsed.

The President-General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo, who spoke through his Media Adviser, Chief Emeka Attamah, condemned the action of the Army, saying it had negative implications.

“It runs against the spirit of the federal character principle, which ensures equity in national employment. Can this be replicated in other parts of the country?

“Who has guaranteed the integrity of the people absorbed into the Army? Who is sure they are not even sympathetic to the Boko Haram cause?”

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In the same vein, the Middle Belt Forum faulted the recruitment of the civilian JTF members into the Army.

The National President of the forum, Dr Bitrus Porgu, said the action of the Nigerian Army negated the principle federalism being practiced by Nigeria.

Porgu said, “We are not objecting to the absorption of the CJTF members into the military for assisting them in the fight against insurgency.

“However, there should be equity in everything we do as a country, because we are a federation and are not supposed to do things haphazardly. So, if the Nigerian Army wants to recruit CJTF members into its fold, it should also bring in similar outfits in other parts of the country, so that there will be equity in representation in the Army.”

Recruit JTF, vigilante members from other regions — PANDEF

Likewise, the Pan Niger Delta Forum said volunteers and vigilante members in other parts of the country should be commissioned into the Army like what was done with the civilian JTF in Borno State.

The spokesman for PANDEF, Ken Robinson, said this would bring about fairness, adding that it would raise suspicion if what happened in Borno was not replicated in other parts of the country.

He added that the armed forces and the police were understaffed and would do with more personnel.

Nigeria in war situation in Borno – ACF

However, the pan-northern socio-political organisation, the Arewa Consultative Forum, said the conscription of 400 civilian JTF members into the military was normal in a war situation, according to its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Emmanuel Yawe.

Yawe said during the Nigerian civil war, many citizens were conscripted into the Army, adding that some were even given military ranks, but after the war, they were disbanded.

The ACF spokesman stated, “We are in a war situation in Borno. What you do at the warfront should not be compared with that of peace time or decisions taken in a peaceful environment. You embark on conscription and field promotion at the warfront. All these are not normal military traditions.”

Do same in other regions

But a Borno State elder statesman, Zanna Boguma, advised the Army to replicate the commissioning of volunteers into its fold in all states experiencing insecurity in the country to ensure fairness and balance in the system with the aim of achieving speedy restoration of peace and security.

He said the decision of the Army to recruit civilian JTF members in Borno State to help in the fight against insurgency was a global practice that allows volunteers to participate in the restoration of peace and order in different localities.

“These non-armed militias have been trained and trusted by the Army; they have been at the forefront of the counterinsurgency fight; it is only ideal for the Army to conscript these into its operations if it wants to effectively combat insurgency,” he stated.