Nigerians want results, not excuses, Tinubu tells service chiefs
From Left: Chief of Defence Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Undiandeye; Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede; President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Chief of Army Staff, Major General Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Idi Abbas and Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sunday Aneke, during the president’s audience with the newly nominated Service Chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday 27 October.
President Bola Tinubu has charged Nigeria’s new service chiefs to deliver tangible security results and end the cycle of excuses that have long defined the country’s fight against insecurity.
According to a post on his X account, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to Tinubu, the President was speaking during a meeting with the service chiefs at the Presidential Villa on Thursday.
He said Nigerians were weary of excuses and demanded visible progress against the growing wave of armed groups spreading across the country.
“Security threats are constantly evolving, constantly mutating. Of grave concern to our administration is the recent emergence of new armed groups in the North-Central, North-West, and parts of the South.
“We must not allow these new threats to fester. We must be decisive and proactive. Let us smash the new snakes right in the head”, the president said
Tinubu, who pledged full support for the armed forces, urged them to embrace innovation and technology in their operations to outsmart the country’s adversaries.
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“I charge you, as the heads of our nation’s armed forces, to carry out your duties with patriotic zeal. Nigerians expect results, not excuses.
“Be innovative, pre-emptive, and courageous. Let’s stay ahead of those who seek to threaten our peace. Let us deploy technology where necessary. We cannot allow the crisis that began in 2009 to persist any longer”, he said.
The president’s remarks come amid renewed violence in parts of the North and growing public frustration over recurring attacks and kidnappings.
While some Nigerians welcomed the president’s tough tone, others questioned the government’s consistency in following through on such promises.
Reacting to the address, Adegoke Victor wrote on social media, “This is medicine after death. We only wake up to warnings when lives have already been lost.
Must we always wait for tragedy to teach us the value of life? How many more must suffer, how many more must die, before we finally understand that every life is precious?”
Another user, simply identified as Freeman, urged greater transparency and accountability in security operations.
“As he is charging them to do their job, let them also be accountable and provide Nigerians video evidence of every operation carried out to ensure peace and stability in this country,” he wrote on X.
