Defence Minister warns against fomenting violence

Nigeria’s minister of defence, Bashir Magashi has warned that the military agencies will not sit and watch some people destabilise the country.

The Defence Minister stated this in Kano after he revalidated his membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at Galandasi, Gwale Local Government Area of Kano State.

The Minister, while answering questions from reporters on the renewed protests at the Lekki toll gate maintained that the interest of the Buhari-led administration is to ensure that there is peace and security in the nation.

The minister said no one can predict the war on insurgency because it is not a conventional war in which the strength and weakness of the enemy could be established.

“We cannot sit and then you shoot at somebody and we allow you to go because somebody thinks that you are one that can kill and go away. Please, give us time; we are in a state where we want everybody to look up and see what he can do for this country, not what the country can do for you,” he said.

While acknowledging the cooperation of the members of the public in providing useful information to assist in the military operations, the minister said the ongoing battle against criminals could not be faced by the military alone.

He said: “To be honest, the role of the armed forces and other security agencies have really been very encouraging and we implore Nigerians to encourage us to do more. 

“But if you are only waiting for success, nobody can predict anything, especially with the kind of war we are fighting. The new concept of everything is not so conventional as to predict that you can beat the enemy at your own pace. 

“But the most important thing is the ability of the people that you are fighting for to appreciate the effort the military is putting in and encourage them to do better. 

Magashi called on Nigerians to provide more information to the military to help unmask the activities of criminal elements operating across Nigeria.

“We want to know what these people are up to; we want to know what they are doing so that we can predict where to hit them hard. “I am the minister of defence and the defence of this country is entirely my responsibility. We have the mandate to ensure that the lives and properties of people are protected.” The minister added.

Zainab Sa’id