A Coalition of Civil Society Groups Against Terrorism in Nigeria, has called for the immediate sack of Mohammed Babagana Monguno, the National Security Adviser (NSA) to Former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Several groups have been calling for his sack during the era of President Buhari over worsening insecurity situation in the country.
The Coalition in a statement by it’s convener, Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi and Secretary, Barrister John Atani, Monguno has in the last eight years as the National Security Adviser, has displayed limited capacity in security process and could be one of the reasons why the last administration was challenged by insecurity despite the gallant efforts of Service Chiefs and the gallant troops.
“Fighting insecurity, gathering of intelligence, provision of strategic direction, tactical management, security planning and coordination of the nation’s security and advising the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces on security issues are far beyond wearing of expensive designer Suits and Tuxedos, which is the pass time of the present NSA.’
The group also expressed strong reservations by the attempt by General Monguno to patronize President Bola Tinubu by inviting him for a tour of the Newly built office of the National Security Adviser and facilities at the National Counter Terrorism Center, Abuja, which till date Monguno has not come out with the actual cost of the enormous facility, in other civilise world, we believe the budget, and actual cost of the project should be part of the briefing to the President during the visit.
“While, we are not advocating that he should reveal sensitive information about the center, because of its implications to national security, but Nigerians ought to know, what was expended on the facility in terms of Naira and Kobo. As a coalition, we are not against infrastructural development of the Country, or befitting offices for our security agencies, or the facility itself, we believe such humongous amount of money expended on giving Monguno such a beautiful office to compliment his love and insatiable taste for expensive designer Suits could have been used for the procurement of more arms and ammunition for the Armed Forces of Nigeria were General Monguno a more proactive National Security Adviser.
“We believe a personality like General Monguno is morally and psychologically unfit to continue to serve as NSA to President Bola Tinubu. Even on the moral front Monguno ought to have resigned immediately the Former President left office, he out to have borrowed a leaf from the Chief of Staff to the Former President, the cerebral Professor Gambari, and other various Senior advisers and staffs of our former President, who immediately left office with him aside individuals whose services are tenure based.
“From the psychological perspective, it appears that General Monguno is trying to lobby and patronize President Bola Tinubu to continue to serve as NSA, manipulate his term of reference as NSA, he probably wanted to be the most longest serving and powerful and to also have unlimited say on the affairs of our security agencies and their budgets.”
“We will like to bring to the attention of President Bola Tinubu, the various attempt to manipulate Former President Muhammadu Buhari by NSA Monguno to domicile arms procurement under his office which was outrightly rejected by the then President, who directed that Arms procurement must be handled by the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Police Affairs, not the office of the NSA as the practice was before 2015.
“This is to also bring to the attention of President Bola Tinubu, that NSA Monguno has never been a team player, rather an over ambitious, divisive and manipulative individual, we can recalled vividly that before the demise of Former President Buhari’s first Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari, the same Monguno wrote series of memo, that he leaked to the media accusing the then Chief of Staff of Interfering in Military Affairs and the Counter Insurgency war. What such of an NSA will leak a security memo to his Commander in Chief to the media, if not an opportunistic, over ambitious and manipulative character.
The Coalition further said, the NSA Monguno has a history of working at cross purposes with various service chiefs, there was a time he made a false claims about funds meant for arms procurement against the then Service Chiefs, he suggested in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, that money appropriated for arms under the then President Buhari’s Service Chiefs, who served with him for almost five years – “is gone”. Hours after the said interview due to public out cry about the negative news, General Monguno was quick to dismiss his earlier comment, saying he was quoted out of context.
“Such a divisive individual should not the found around President Bola Tinubu, long before this time, NSA Monguno has betrayed the sacredness and dignity of the office of NSA by that singular act of undermining his Commander in Chief by leaking otherwise official security memo to the President to the media. That’s a serious abuse of office.
“On a final note, as a coalition who have been supportive of our security agencies, especially, the Armed Forces of Nigeria in it’s non kinetic approaches to rid the Country of the remnants of various insurgents and perpetrators of violent crimes in the Country.
“We believe a personality like NSA Monguno is morally and psychologically unfit to continue to serve as NSA to President Bola Tinubu due to his several gaffes in the past, attempt to undermine his Former President, not showing enough synergy with the Service Chiefs. On this basis, we demand for his immediate sack as the President’s NSA, this will afford President Bola Tinubu the opportunity to appoint an NSA who is mobile, well informed and respected both in military and intelligence circle, especially also in the diplomatic environment, especially his kinetic and non kinetic approaches to warfare, an NSA who can effectively coordinate our security agencies without malice, and more importantly, a patriot, not a self serving individual.
