By Ola ‘Kiya, Reporting
FORMER Presidential aide and socio-political commentator, Reno Omokri, has criticised Nigerians who mocked the Armed Forces for successfully helping to foil an attempted coup in the Republic of Benin while insecurity persists in parts of Nigeria.
In a statement shared via his social media platforms on Monday, Omokri described such criticism as “low intelligence”, arguing that countering insurgents and bandits operating in remote forests cannot be compared with tackling coup plotters marching through urban centres.
According to him, “If terrorists and bandits come with tanks and march down the streets of Abuja, Lagos, or Kaduna, our Air Force and ground troops will neutralise them the way they took out the coup plotters at Cotonou in the Republic of Benin. But when they hide in forests the size of some European countries, it is not so easy.”
Omokri, who made the list of ambassadors released by President Bola Tinubu recently, highlighted global security challenges, noting that even the United States struggled for two decades to flush out the Taliban in Afghanistan despite superior military might.
He reminded critics that Abuja had previously been a hotspot for high-profile terror incidents.
He referenced the July 5, 2022 invasion of Kuje Correctional Centre by terrorists who freed more than 500 inmates, the subsequent attack on the Presidential Brigade of Guards on July 29, 2022, and the March 2022 Kaduna–Abuja train attack, which resulted in casualties and mass abductions.
Omokri stated that under the current administration, key terrorism masterminds behind the Kuje prison break had been arrested — a development he credits for the relative calm in the Federal Capital Territory.
“This was a city that used to experience bomb blasts and gunfights. But these are now a thing of the past. Do be appreciative of this,” he said.
Using an analogy, he suggested that insurgents operating deep within forests remain harder to capture.
“Terrorists and bandits in Sambisa Forest and the Sahel are like monkeys in a forest. Yes, it is possible to catch and cage them, but it is time-consuming,” he said.
Omokri also praised Nigeria’s long-standing reputation in conventional warfare, recalling the military’s involvement in Congo, Tanzania, Lebanon and ECOMOG operations as proof of its competence.
He urged the public to encourage troops rather than dampen their morale through ridicule.
“Our military … is trained for conventional warfare. But now we are dealing with an unconventional security threat that is not easy to overcome,” he stressed. “Rather than understand and encourage our troops … you are seeing this as an opportunity to mock and undermine them.”
He concluded with a plea for Nigerians to appreciate those “sleeping in foxholes so you can sleep on your beds.”
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