The Defense strategist and security expert consultant, Col. Hassan Stan-Labo
The Defense strategist and security expert consultant, Col. Hassan Stan-Labo said the former Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari made the military fight against terrorism hard to win with no serious effort put into plan. Col. Hassan Stan-Labo
Col. Hassan, dredged up this issue during an interview televised on Arise News channel on Wednesday morning, bemoaning the former president’s neglect of Federal Ministers who were involved in relationships with terrorists. Col. Hassan Stan-Labo
In his own words, Hassan said, “I agree with the opinion that General Buhari in the last eight years or thereabouts did virtually nothing in our fight against terrorism. If anything, he promoted and enhanced our hardship as far as the fight against terrorism was concerned.
“It is unfortunate that we are talking about our number one citizen as of then within the period of the last eight years, a period which I referred to that Nigeria had no political leader. Col. Hassan Stan-Labo
He said the president even entrusted these corrupt ministers with national data, which ,of course, was meant to remain classified and protected from terrorists and their allies.
“We saw all the lines of actions taken by the political-strategic level decision-making taken from the presidency, even from ministers who had business or things to do with terrorists, were made to remain in their positions as ministers.
“One was even in charge of our national data. We allowed undue sentiment right from the presidency, to be visited in our purported plan or action against terrorism.”
Col. Hassan Stan-Labo also pointed that, during the administration of the former president Muhammadu Buhari, It was common talking about “amnesty” with terrorists and the country saw a rising increase in tribalism and religious extremism. (3)
“You could read religion, you could read tribalism, you could read ethnicity and so on. It is unfortunate and at a subnational level, we had governors, especially from the North under that administration that had all sorts of romance and unholy relationship with terrorism, degenerating to a situation where some of them were even talking of amnesty.” Col. Hassan Stan-Labo
“It was shocking to some of us. Amnesty for who? You tell me they are repentant terrorists. Repentant from what? We are soldiers. Our duty is not to grant repentance, our duty is to hasten your appointment to God in heaven or hell he will grant you penance,” he said.
“Then you give their godfathers sitting in government houses to talk about amnesty and even referring us to how amnesty was granted to some chaps way back under President Yar’Adua in the creeks.”
Hassan noted that nothing has yet really changed from the past administration, and advised president Tinubu to avoid advice from those who had a relationship with the Buhari administration.
He said, “We now have a new administration in place. In the last six or seven months, I have not seen a change from what has been happening in the last eight years. We hope that the President now is not listening to some ill advice coming in from some elements who had sympathy with the last administration, to him as to how to fight terrorism.”
