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Human rights activist, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, has criticised President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration over the manner in which it is handling the security challenges in the country.
Odinkalu, a former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), decried the level of insecurity in the country, especially the renewed attacks by terrorists in recent times.
He also faulted the President for his trip to Liberia in the face of the attack on troops of the Presidential Guards Brigade in Abuja.
“The tragedy of our current crisis is that President Buhari is neither present nor capable of providing leadership,” the lawyer said on Wednesday when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily. “Even worse, he does not care, in my respectful view.
“You cannot have, with all profound respect, personnel of the Presidential Guards Brigade being killed in Abuja and the President (travelling) to Liberia to deliver a lecture on security, are you serious?”
Channels Television had reported that troops of the 7 Guards Brigade which provides security for the Presidential Villa and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were attacked by gunmen suspected to be terrorists on Monday night.
While the spokesperson for the Guards Brigade, Captain Godfrey Abakpa, said the attack was successfully repelled by the troops, there were reports that some soldiers were killed.
Although Odinkalu acknowledges various critical roles of the President, the believes the country will be better secure with adequate coordination.
“The job of the President is a lot of things in one job; the President is a party leader, the President is a head of government, the President – in the current administration – is also petroleum minister, the President is a diplomat as well, the President is also a Commander-in-Chief,” he said.
The former NHRC chief advised the President to delegate some of the roles, including as a party leader and a diplomat.
He, however, stressed that the role of a Commander-in-Chief should never be delegated no matter the situation.
“There is only one element in the job of the President that can never be delegated as long as the President is terrestrial, that is a Commander-in-Chief,” said Odinkalu.
“If the President is in the hospital and under life support, he cannot delegate the job of the Commander-in-Chief, and when the Commander-in-Chief is as lazy and uncaring as the one that Nigeria has, the country is exactly where it deserves to be.”
