Blame Us If This Govt Fails, Says Defence Minister

The minister of Defence, Gen. Bashir Magashi, has said that as a key player in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, especially being entrusted with the responsibility of guarding and  protecting the country for peace and tranquility to reign, Nigerians should blame him for the failure or otherwise of the federal government on security matters.

Gen. Magashi stated this yesterday when he was honoured by a group, the Kano Concerned Citizens Initiative (KCCI).

He asked “President Buhari to be rest and allow us now to take full responsibility of what happens in your government.

“Nigerians should have full confidence in us and the government because we will be fair to all when it comes to the protection them and their properties,” he said.

Magashi declared that defence is a vital job that needs the participation of all Nigerians, adding that “we are willing to listen to all who are patriotic enough to offer sound and wise counsel.”

He told the people that President Buhari had truly appointed trustworthy hands to help his government succeed and pledged that they would not rest until they achieve the Next Level agenda.

The minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, who was also honoured at the event, said that Buhari had challenged him on food security and that he would not rest till he achieved the goal.

Nanono said that agriculture remains one sector that would save the country from the present security challenges.

He said that in Kano State there were about 20 irrigation dams that were not being fully utilised since the late governor Audu Bako regime and promised to put them to optimum use.

Meanwhile, the minister for Police Affairs, Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi, has said that the Nigeria Police would be well motivated with welfare, logistics and others for the overall security of the country.

While answering questions from newsmen on his blueprint for the new ministry, the minister said that he would do his best towards ensure that global standards of policing are met in Nigeria.

Dingyadi, who expressed worry on the increasing crime rate across Nigeria, Africa and globally, said that Buhari reintroduced the ministry as a way of bringing sustainable peace to the country.

He said: “This is our assignment and we will pursue it with all the required vigour. We will assist the police to fight all crimes.

“We will soon come out with our blueprint to assist the president to stem the tide of crimes. The Nigeria Police will be adequately reequipped.

“While according top priority to training and retraining, we will also ensure the proper motivation and welfare of the officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to make them more intelligently productive,” he said.

On the much-talked about worsening plight of retired officers and relatives of officers who died in active service, the minister said that the situation would be given the needed attention.

Commenting on the ongoing recruitment of 10,000 policemen across the country, Dingyadi declared  that the process is transparent, adding that “there is no way for the few senior citizens of this country to manipulate anything in this transparently inspired leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.”

While appealing to Nigerians to continue to see the police as their friends, Dingyadi solicited for genuine intelligence sharing and community policing, which he described as one of the surest ways to go other than the clamour for state police.