SERDEC lead Director making a Presentation at the National Civil Society Forum on Peace and Security.

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT A DIALOGUE ON FOSTERING CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS IN NIGERIA HELD AT ABUJA., MAY 17, 2015

PREAMBLE

Civil Society Organisations under the platform of the Nation Civil Society forum on Peace and Security anchored by the civil society legislative advocacy centre CISLAC organised a One-Day Dialogue on Fostering Civil-Military Relations in Nigeria. The event took place at Kanem Suites, Abuja on Tuesday, May 17, 2016. Papers and discussions at the Dialogue centred on topical issues such as Understanding the Military as an Institution and Addressing Civil-Military Challenges in Nigeria amongst others.  Highlights of the Dialogue are as follows:

OBSERVATIONS

·         The current counter terrorism operation in the North East of Nigeria necessitates fostering cordial civil-military relations due to the increasing presence of the military across civil space.

·         The military has moved from its primary Constitutional role of defending the territorial integrity of the nation to mainly internal security operations in support of the civil authority thus resulting in increased friction between them and civilians. This has implications for civil-military relations.

·         In view of the asymmetric nature of terrorism, there is the need for the populace to understand the adoption of a formidable counter-terrorism strategy by the military.

·         Knowledge about the role of the military in internal security as constitutionally provided by the populace is very shallow. This is often a major cause of civil-military conflict.

·         The Nigerian Air Force in its bid to promote favourable civil-military relations has established medical outreaches and emergency hospitals in some IDP camps across the North East to support of existing facilities.

·         Some communities are taking to self-help because they have lost confidence in the ability of the security agencies to protect them due to incessant attacks, not realising the importance of giving the military and other security agencies necessary the support to aid the counter-insurgency operation.

·         There seems to be a challenge identifying the difference between entitlements and privileges among security personnel as they are in the habit of taking privileges for entitlements.

·         Attitude is a major challenge in achieving favourable civil-military relations. The military often see themselves as superior and the others as inferior thus resulting in inter-Service rivalry.

·         Professional arrogance often displayed by military personnel discourages support for them by CSOs and other stakeholders who should ordinarily help to foster civil-military relationship.

·         Some major causes of inter-service rivalry among different security agencies include duplication of roles, indiscipline, and struggle for appointment among others. These are noted to negatively affect information and intelligence sharing.

RECOMMENDATIONS

·         Leadership of security agencies should endeavor to continuously train their rank and files on basic ethics required in discharge of their duties to promote civil-military relations.

·         There is need for security agencies to keep to/focus on their constitutional roles as well as intensify joint training to promote inter-service cooperation and collaboration.

·         In the asymmetric warfare currently prosecuted by the Nigerian military, maximum cooperation of civilians is needed as the terrorists live among civilians. Therefore they need to support the military.

·         Protection of civilians should be the first line/mandate of the military when engaging in any form of warfare.

·         There is need for improved synergy between the military, the media and CSOs.

·         The creation of Civilian Protection Policy should be considered. This should be done through a tool known as the Civilian Harm Tracking Response Mechanism to minimise collateral damage.

·         A mechanism to monitor and evaluate operations should be put in place in order to tactically manage future operations regarding civil military relations.

·         Pre-deployment training should be organised for security personnel involved in joint task force operations.

·         Specific roles should be spelt out for each security agency by an act of the National Assembly towards eliminating duplication of roles.

CONCLUSION

Participants at the Dialogue were resolute about the recommendations above and are determined to engage relevant stakeholders to ensure that the concerns relating to fostering civil military relations are addressed.