Buhari’s Inauguration: Nigerians Demand More Security

Few minutes after President Muhammadu Buhari took the oath of office as president and Commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Nigerians from all walks of life are demanding total overhaul of the nation’s security architecture for better performance and stability.

The presidential inauguration in the nation’s capital was on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 marked with low key as earlier announced by the federal government.

Apart from President Buhari, 29 states governors were also sworn in as chief executives of their various states across the country.

New governors were not sworn in seven states such as Kogi, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Bayelsa, Imo and Anambra where governors have earlier took the oath of office.

Many states across the country have battled with various security problems including kidnapping and armed banditry.

President Buhari had few days ago blamed the Nigerian Police force and prominent Nigerians for the security situation in the country.

While several calls to the president to change his service chiefs have been ignored, there is heightening tension among Nigerians that the president may have made up his mind to work with the same set of security chiefs for the next four years.

The same appointees Nigerians insist failed to rein in crime and other vices across the country.

Recall that 24 hours before the inauguration the president met with all the Service Chiefs in Aso Rock, Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power.

Top security apparatchiks who met with President Buhari at the presidential Villa, include the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Air Staff.

Others are Chief of Naval Staff and the Inspector General of Police.

Across the country, well-meaning Nigerians who spoke with the magazine said the president failed to live up to expectations in the area of security during his first term in office.

The northern part of the country has been mostly hit by insecurity as the activities of insurgent Boko Haram and deadly Fulani herdsmen were on the rise, analyst say.

Communal clashes in Jos, Plateau state where many were believed to have lost their lives, few days to presidential inauguration have further aggravated instability across the country.

But President Buhari has assured Nigerians that the issue of security will top the agenda for his second four-year in office.

The president stated this during his media chat on Monday, 48 hours to his taking office as the fourth president, marking 20 years after the nation returned to democracy in 1999.