The Chief of Army Staff, General Ibrahim Attahiru is dead. He died today, 21st May, 2021, in a plane crash enroute to Kaduna in a plane piloted by the Air Force. This crash happened near the Kaduna Airport. Attahiru was not alone in the crash. All his aides perished with him.
We have no information, yet, as to the cause of the crash. The military didn’t disclose this information.
Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, Nigerian Air Force Director of Information confirmed the mishap in a statement
“An air crash involving a @NigAirForce aircraft occurred this evening near the Kaduna International Airport.
“The immediate cause of the crash is still being ascertained. More details to follow soon,” the spokesman noted.
Attahiru was among the Service Chiefs appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in January.
Others are General Leo Irabor – Chief of Defence Staff; Vice Admiral A. Z. Gambo – Chief of Naval Staff, and Air Marshal I. O. Amao – Chief of Air Staff.
They replaced General Abayomi Olonisakin who was chief of staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai (Army) Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas (Navy), and ex-Air Chief, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (Air Force).
The demise of the number one army officer at a time when Nigeria is passing through serious security challenges with calls, in certain quarters, for the military to “intervene” is sure to open a can of all sorts of conspiracy theories.
“Money can solve the insecurity problems in Nigeria”
A majority of Nigerians easily see the chief of army staff as the successor of the president in the event that the military take over. Thus, it would be hard to distance his demise with the politics of the presidency, of federal power, and of federal might.
Before his demise, Attahiru had made efforts to fight insecurity. This has not yet yielded results. In any case, the Southsouth and Southeast which have been in relative peace have become a tensed duo where security structures such as police stations and prisons have been attacked. INEC offices, too, have been targeted.
Perhaps the insecurity problem was bigger than Attahiru’s force and can only be solved with diplomacy and strong political will outside of the job description of the army.
Perhaps, Attahiru needed more time to stamp out the insecurity in Nigeria. But, so far, the approach may be wrong. Under his command, Orlu in Imo State was reportedly bombed and then there are strong rumours that the soldiers coming to the Southeast to enforce peace have been asked to shoot at sight, a prelude to genocide against Ndigbo.
The army did not categorically deny this allegations against them.
Many may have a problem with the Nigerian Army as they carry out their duties or as for specifics just as the Python Dance, the Lekki Shooting, the Orlu attacks and many may conclude that the army is incapable of solving any security challenges.
But General Attahiru was given the job all the same and the odds of success couldn’t have been zero; no one has zero chances of succeeding. One thing is certain now, we would never know how the regime of Attahiru would have fared in handling security.
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