SHORTLY after their swearing in, the Service Chiefs appointed by President Bola Tinubu, have swung into action. By the way, we applaud Tinubu for choosing officers who have proven themselves, particularly in combat postings. The situation on our hand is not for armchair Generals appointed because of political connections to merely occupy opulent, powerful and juicy offices.

We are impressed with the early opening moves by the Nigerian Army, which, according to its new spokesman, Major General Edward Buba, has activated “war mode”. Also, the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, appears serious in putting the Nigeria Police Force back in its proper place as the nation’s primary law enforcement agency able to tackle violent criminals.

The Nigerian Army under the new Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja, has already deployed in 15 sectors across the country. We believe they are now in hot pursuit of terrorists, bandits, herdsmen militias, violent separatists and other criminals destabilising the country and killing unarmed citizens in their communities. We hope that the Tinubu regime will depart from the Muhammadu Buhari regime’s cuddling of the armed herdsmen who have killed more people than any other criminal group.

We call on Nigerians to rise and give this military initiative all the support it needs to succeed. We are fully convinced that our insecurity has only lingered this long because past leadership lacked the political will to face our enemies squarely. Also, ethnic sentiment and obvious bias against some groups in the country helped to spread violence to erstwhile peaceful areas. These, the Tinubu administration must desist from, if it is to succeed in restoring law and order.

Happily, the military high command looks fairly inclusive. We’ve always argued that inclusion helps to bring all hands on deck because it gives every section a sense of belonging to a united country that must be upheld.

The military and police must be professional and adhere to universally-approved rules of engagement. They must be accountable for their actions and open to public scrutiny. They must cultivate the support of the ordinary people in their theatres of operation for credible intelligence and cooperation. They must also be ready to take “repentant” criminals into civilised custody for proper processing according to the law.

Strong emphasis should be placed on rooting out the sponsors and support structures of these violent groups and dealing with them accordingly. Those involved in one political agitation or the other should be engaged in dialogue, while the root of their grievances should be addressed, provided they renounce violence and armed confrontation. Any agitator ready for dialogue and constructive engagement should be embraced.

Let us join our military forces in this war to rid Nigeria of insecurity. It is the only way the economy can stand a chance of full recovery.