 It's still plus politics. Now, gunmen suspected to be bandits earlier attacked the convoy of President Mohammed al-Buhari in Katzina State. The senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday. He explained that a convoy of cars carrying the advanced team of security guards, as well as protocol and media officers ahead of the President's trip to Dura for Salah came under attack near Dutsima in Katzina. Now, the attack on the President's advanced team is the latest in a series of criminal activities by these outlaws who have continued to terrorize communities in the northwest and parts of the north-central of the country. Meanwhile, Femi Fanikayade, former Minister of Aviation, has said that the federal government can no longer defend the current spate of insecurity in the country. Joining us to discuss this is Dennis Amakri, a senior security consultant and former assistant director of the DSS. Mr. Amakri, it was a pleasure to have you join us. Good evening. All right. I'm wondering, this has to be the biggest story today, because even though Mr. President was not in that convoy, it seems to hit too close to home. This is not the first that we've had of series in Katzina, but this seems to be the closest support, a 300-man team of terrorists trying to shoot at, and I'm sure they were aiming to kill. Why do you think that this has gone so far that there is no fear whatsoever even when it comes to the President's convoy? Oh, well, these are terrorists, okay? And because they are terrorists, they could attack anywhere, on the same road that people have been passing and they've been attacking them, you know. But there's one significant thing that people don't understand. The President is the most protected person in the country. In fact, presidents all over the world are the most protected people in the world. So they carry a lot of security around them. And what does that mean? It means that they could be attacked. They could be attacked. So it is not strange that this particular convoy has been attacked, you know. But again, remember, this is just an advance party. It's not in the President, it's not in there. But it is the President's convoy. Now, I am happy that those security details that were going through that convoy did a good job. They did a good job. Because although we have collateral damages, which is expected, they re-attack, you know, they finally repel and then, of course, went through and arrived at their destination. So that is the situation. It is not an irregular thing for a presidential convoy to be attacked. In fact, here in the United States, the President who has been killed in his convoy, you know, so remember that these convoys are meant to be attacked. And that's why they put a lot of security around them. But do you not think that this is a statement of sorts? If these people dared enough, I mean, again, you said they're terrorists, so we can't talk about whether they have the temerity or not. They've done it. Does this not seem like a message that they're trying to pass? Again, if this is an advanced team of Mr. President, if these people were, God forbid, disarmed or one way or the other, overpowered, this means that the security around Mr. President could have depreciated at the time he got to Daurah. So again, I'm asking, what is the game plan here and why is Katzina gradually becoming a domain or a headquarter for these dastardly acts? Well, you know that we have a swap from outside the country that have operated around that Daurah, Bordeaux, Axis, Niger, Republic and all those areas, Chad. So these foreign terrorists have a lot of capabilities, including the manufacture of bombs and then, of course, the use of bombs in what they have to do, including what we have at the railway, this location there. So we have these people in that area. And then, of course, they are making a statement. Yes, they are making a statement that we can call in and then, of course, do what we want to do, including attacking the presidential or even the governorship. The governor of Bordeaux State is covered with attacks so many times. So these are the things that we are experiencing from the terrorists. But again, you sit back to ask, why are we condoning these terrorists? You know, why are we condoning them? Big question. I'd just like to, you know, backtrack and give us some information before we go to what FFK had to say about this. In May of this year, I think of the 24th of May, terrorists attacked a community in Katzina and killed 12 people. Now, in January of this year, NSCDC boss had lamented about the killings of their own operatives in Katzina state. And there have been several other situations. And I remember one time when Mr. President was also in Katzina and there was another attack. So I'm asking, where is the might of government, the sure force by security agencies? If this is nowhere to be found, could this mean that these so-called terrorists have taken advantage of the lapses of our security agencies and the foot-dragging of our governments to continue these acts on a basis knowing that nothing may really happen, apart from the government condoling with people and talking tough, but no action following it? Exactly. I agree with you because I think the posture that we are using dealing with this particular situation looks like we are having kids gloved. We are playing kids glove with them because we are not out to really bear down on them and then crush them, you know? Even when they were not this strong, we were playing, putting politics into it, ethnicity into it. And now these guys have grown like a Frankenstein and then, of course, trying to attack the Nigerian state. And I think with all these, the security chiefs have to really sit back and say, are we going to, you know, shut this down once and for all or we'll just continue. Because what they're doing is becoming an international embarrassment, you know? They even have to come all the way to the middle of Nigeria to attack a maximum prison, you know? So somebody will ask, how do they come all the way from wherever they are? How do they find the way without running into security operatives and getting there? Although, yeah, we agree that there must be an insider who is working as a double agent or saboteur. But they did it, they got all the way down there, attacked the place, removed their perpetrators, and then they're gone. How do they even get out? Because if we have a quick response, we should give them a fight for their body. But this does not happen. So somebody has dropped the ball. And I think further investigations will show what is really going on. I'm not a security person. And so I may not be you know, as intelligence when it comes to security issues, but I'll try my best. What kind of surveillance, active surveillance is there in Nigeria right now, especially in those areas where we would consider as hot zones? Is there any whatsoever? Because what you just said now points to that. Well, how did these people get to this point? 300 men on motorcycles, 300. We're not talking 10. We're not talking 30, 300 armed with guns. What is the surveillance system? Is there any right now as we speak? And how walkable is it? Again, the APC government led by President Mohammad Buhari had in 2015 campaign mostly on this issue of terrorism, promising Nigerians who came out to vote for human mass, that he was going to deal with the issue of insecurity. But right now we don't even know if the president is doing anything in that regard. I'm sure that if you were a government official, you'd tell me the government is trying its best. But let's talk about surveillance and let's talk about election, which is just around the corner where the ABC has a candidate who they're fielding right now. And of course, they're going to tell us a story about how they're going to change Nigeria, but they are in power. So what exactly is going on? Well, I think that there is some kind of like a physical attitude towards security, because let's talk about surveillance for now. I don't think there is any effective one that they're using right now. And it has been recommended over and over again. I in the sky is not a new technology. I in the sky, if it is covering all the federal capital territory, should be able to see them when they are even coming. And when they finish attacking, if they succeeded, we could also see that when they are leaving and where they are, their present location and the Air Force can go into action. But you know, for political reasons, nobody is trying to look at that. So I don't know why the complicity, you know, because these are national issues, existential, that you've mentioned the election that is coming up. How do you run an election where your house is bought in? You know, it's a very serious issue. And I don't see how we can even run credible election while there are some terrorists occupied, some local both beds. And then I like we just reject it because it will not be a credible election. Let's talk about finally the issue of, I mean, there are so many people who have said that there are people, strong men in quotes, who seem to be maybe in the corridors of power that have a hand in this. I remember when the government of the UAE put out a list of people who they said they had tried for funding terrorism in Nigeria. This is the UAE. But our country that is facing the terrorism, whose people are dying as a result of terrorism, we're yet to hear the names of these people. We're yet to hear the naming and shaming and dealing with these people. So again, I ask you, even though I might sound like a broken record, how serious are we about fighting this insecurity? We need to have a go away if at the height of it, there's nothing really being seen to be done. I can tell you with a single sentence, the security agencies are doing their best, but the politicians are not helping issues. Because, you know, the politicians are the ones that have the authority to authorize and to, you know, say do this or do that. We have this common phrase that is being bantered around political will, political will, you know, and it all is in the hands of the politicians. So they have to be serious. I know all of them want to succeed. You want to succeed, you want to tell us how good Nigeria will be later. After you win, you will do better than the present administration. But the present the present situation will not allow you to do it. Because with all these terrorists around, it becomes so difficult. You can't hold elections. You can't, you can't move freely. Your people are even scared. How many people will come out to go and vote when terrorists are shooting? They will not come out. So we have to reorder our priority and look exactly where we're going, because we cannot continue like this. And finally, our security agencies, a lot of, there's been a lot of chat, chatter, about the fact that they do not have enough gear to fight this hydra-headed monster called terrorism. And that's because they differ from zone to zone. We have heard that trillions have been voted to fighting insecurity in Nigeria over 2022, 2021 into 2022. My question is, where does this money go? If these men and women are complaining about them not having the wherewithal to fight this terrorism that we're all complaining about, where's the money going? The money is just not there, because the government has, we have a very funny way of managing our budgets in Nigeria. You can hear all the first, and they give the money billions, but the money is not appropriated. So you find out that, yes, the defense budget is billions, but there is no appropriation. So it's not backed by money. It's not backed by cash. And you find out that, yes, they are not able to get all the amounts they want. They are not able to recruit, because that's another one. Our number is too small. They cannot recruit as they want. And when you recruit, you arm them, you train them, you kick them up, you know, you pay them their salaries. All this is money. And of course, politicians feel it is too much money to spend, excuse me. So this is the situation. We have to, we have to be very, very truthful to ourselves, because when we say we are spending money and the money, we are not getting the results. And when people do certain things, they are not held responsible, that is a real big flaw in our system. Hmm. Well, on that very gloomy and uncertain note, I want to say thank you to you. Mr. Dennis Amakre is a security consultant and of course, the former assistant director of the DSS. Thank you so much for speaking with us. We appreciate it. Thank you for having me. And thank you. That's all for the show tonight. But before I go, I'd like to give a take. It's about that time of the year again when these people come to us and ask for our votes. They tell us stories, stories that are very pleasing. And sometimes you wonder if they really live on the same planet as you, if they live in the Nigeria that you are experiencing. When was the last time you went to the market? When was the last time you hopped on a bus? Are you paying the same amount of money you used to pay back in, let's say, two months or three months ago? Is life as easy as it was before the Bahá'í administration came into power? Insecurity is seriously on the rise. And these people have come out again to tell you that they want to make your Nigeria, the one you and I live in, the one that you and I are experiencing insecurity, people being killed, our children unable to go to schools because the same spaces are not safe, they're telling you that they want to change that Nigeria. But they are the party that are in power. So I always ask, as you go out for those campaigns, or you listen to these people speak, ask the right questions. Don't be afraid. And if you do not get the answers that sit well with you, take a vote elsewhere because we will all be the ones to sit through another eight years, if not of pain. Do you want to be that Nigerian or you want a different Nigeria? We see everybody running away from Nigeria, but those of us who have to stay, what do we stay and experience? That determination or whatever we do on election day will determine if Nigeria will be good for us or the worst. I'm Mary Annacle. Have a good evening.