Minister of Defence, Major-General Bashir Magashi (retd), has said the armed forces will not sit idle while Nigeria is being destabilised.
He spoke to journalists in Kano at the weekend, shortly after revalidating his All Progressives Congress (APC) membership at Galandanci Ward, Gwale Council.
“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,” he declared.
“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.
He acknowledged the cooperation of the members of public in providing tips to assist the military, stressing that that was the only way the war could be won.
“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” he said.
On when he thought the war with banditry and Boko Haram would be won, he said it could not be predicted, because it was not a conventional war where you could fairly assess the strength of the enemy and when you can beat them.
“The only way a conventional warfare is fought is to know the strength of your enemy, his weaknesses and compare with what you have. Then, you can certainly predict whether or not you can win the war.
“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.
“Today, everybody seems to rely on success, without corresponding interest to assist the military. However, I think Nigerians are getting it better. They know that the military cannot do it alone and they are doing all their best to see that they assist us in whatever manner — intellectually, materially and anything that will make us to get out of this thing, especially, in the area of intelligence.”
