By Efosa Idehen.
With the security situation in the land worsening on a daily basis as bandits, terrorists, kidnappers, separatists, militants and assorted criminals enjoy a field day at the expense of innocent citizens and their properties, the defining moment has come for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to appoint a top anti-terrorism chief to oversee the ongoing war on insurgency in order to root the criminal and terrorist elements from our land once and for all.
To the question, who might likely be appointed as the top anti-terrorism czar, the hallowed name that readily comes to mind is Major-General Samuel Adebayo (rtd), erstwhile Chief of Defence lntelligence (CDI) and Head of the Defence lntelligence Agency (DIA), whose gloried tenure from 2022-2024 witnessed the drastic decimation of criminal networks and successive neutralisation of their dastardly perpetrators while making large swaths of the nation safe again for peaceful abode and commercial enterprise.
Utilizing his vast store of knowledge, invaluable experience and technical expertise to bear, an intrepid Major-General Adebayo deployed a vast array of modern technological tools of intelligence gathering, processing and application which greatly assisted in the destruction of Boko Haram terrorist cells and hideouts as well as numerous armed bandit camps in the North West and North Central parts of the country.
The former CDI’s methodical, tactical and strategic approach to counter-insurgency operations was the stuff of legend and is deeply admired and emulated both within and outside the nation’s shores.
The tenacious DIA supremo strenuously gathered critical intel, data and crucial info on the subject matter and diligently ensured that they were accurate to the letter before taking surgical action in order to minimize collateral damage to innocent residents.
However those who were culpable or allied to criminal perpetrators always bore the full brunt of Major General Adebayo’s counter-terrorist response, no more no less.
Major-General Samuel Adebayo was tough, dedicated, ruthless and utterly uncompromising supremo in the war against terrorism, armed banditry, separatism, kidnapping, militancy and all other anti-social crimes that threatened the peace, unity, stability and tranquility of his beloved nation.
Earlier in his career as a trailblazing Chief of Staff at the Nigerian Corps of Military Intelligence (NAIC), later Director of Military Intelligence, then Chief of Military Intelligence, Nigerian Army and Director of Operations of the Defence lntelligence Agency before his top appointment as DIA boss, Major-General Adebayo was creative, resourceful, energetic and proactive in the rapid dismantling of terrorist networks and their fellow travellers.
During his glorious tenure, Major General Adebayo repositioned and recalibrated the DIA in order to more credibly deliver on its onerous mandate to provide an efficient system of obtaining military intelligence for the Nigerian Armed Forces and Ministry of Defence, promote Nigeria’s Defence Policy, enhance military cooperation with other countries, protect the lives of Nigerian citizens, and maintain the territorial integrity of Nigeria.
The policy reforms he put in place majorly succeeded because Major General Adebayo ensured that all and sundry in the DIA fully understood and wholeheartedly subscribed to the agency’s inalienable mission which is tied to the indivisibility, indestructibility and indissolubility of the Nigerian nation.
Apart from policy decisions, the DIA helmsman also invested in the welfare and well-being of the Agency’s staff in order to further boost their overall morale and productivity
As far as a patriotic Major-General Adebayo was concerned, Nigeria’s existence as a corporate entity is settled and not open for negotiation QED.
Having set terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other assorted criminal cohorts on the run, scattered and seriously depleted, the DIA supremo continued to soldier on, ridding his beloved nation of terrorist deviants and their acolytes wherever they may be ensconced.
This was indeed the undiluted vision and untramelled mission of the tough, resolute,courage and utterly uncompromising Major General Samuel Adebayo which was summarised thus: No Retreat, No Surrender Until Total Victory is Achieved.
With the outstandingly courageous and overwhelmingly forward looking profile, resume and distinguished track record of the former defence intelligence boss, it is of no surprise that the clarion call is mounting across the nation for the urgent appointment of Major-General Samuel Adebayo by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the nation’s top anti-terrorism chief in order to restore security, peace, stability and tranquillity nationwide.
The indomitable and indefatigable Major General Samuel Adebayo has done it before and he can do it again. Let us make hay while the sun shines. There is no further time to waste.
To God be the Glory
BY EFOSA IDEHEN, A DEFENCE POLICY ANALYST WHO WROTE IN FROM GARKI, ABUJA
