The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has called on Nigerians to see the fight against insecurity as a collective work and used the viral social media slang, “No gree for anybody” to drive home the message.
The Director of Defence Media Operations Major General Edward Buba made the admonishment during the DHQ’s bi-weekly media briefing in Abuja on Thursday, saying the military would act on tipoffs from Nigerians.
“This year 2024, I urge citizens of this country to see security as a collective responsibility of all. Therefore, no gree for terrorists, and no gree for perpetrators of insecurity. You see something, you say something and we assure them of doing something, ” he said in pidgin English, asking Nigerians to stand firm against insecurity.
He said, “the aim of our ongoing operations remains unchanged and clear even in the new year 2024. We aim to find and destroy the terrorist wherever they may be hiding to ensure their enduring defeat. This would deny the terrorist the ability to terrorize or hurt citizens across the country.
“Our operations indicate that we are hunting the terrorist commanders and their senior leadership. Indeed, from their topmost leadership to the lowest commanders are dead men walking and we will stop at nothing until they are dead or surrender.”
HOURS AFTER POLICE SPOKE AGAINST THE SLOGAN “NO GREE FOR ANYBODY,” ARMY URGES NIGERIANS “NOT TO GREE FOR TERRORISTS IN 2024” PIC.TWITTER.COM/SK8VCAA7XV
The comment came hours after Nigeria’s police authorities cautioned against the usage of the slogan.
During a briefing in Abuja, Force spokesperson Olumuyiwa Adejobi claimed that the slogan was targeted at causing a revolution in Nigeria.
“Let me say it again: the new slogan for 2024, ‘No gree for anybody.’ We have been informed by intelligence that this slogan is coming from a revolutionary sector that may likely cause problems across the country,” he said on Wednesday.
“No dey gree for anybody is being seen as a normal talk but in the security community, we have seen it as a very very dangerous slogan that can trigger a crisis.”
“No gree for anybody” is a phrase that gained mileage among young Nigerians in the new year. It is a slogan calling for resilience, and standing firm in the face of difficulties, and intimidation.
Meanwhile, Human rights activist Mr Femi Falana, SAN, has described the warning by the Nigeria Police Force, urging youths to refrain from using the trending slogan ‘no gree for anybody’ as laughable.
Falana said the police cannot ban the expression, which he said constitutes no threat to law and order.
His words: “I no gree for anybody is an expression of antiquity, and the police cannot stop or criminalise it. When President Bola Tinubu came to Lagos recently, Nigerians expressed their feeling to him that there is hunger in the land.
That is a form of ‘I no go gree’. The expression does not in any way constitute a threat to law and order. Nobody can be charged to court for using that expression, and if the police feel differently, they should refer us to the portion of the law that criminalises such ancient expression.”
Former 2nd Vice-President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Dr Monday Ubani, also cautioned that while the police have the right to ensure peace in the country, it should not become a ground to infringe on the rights of the citizens to express themselves.
“The security agencies are there to maintain law and order, so, if the police say that they have carried out an intel which suggests that the slogan is capable of causing crisis in the country, they have a right to prevent it.
“In doing that, there must, however, be a balance. If people are expressing themselves without ulterior motives or the expression degenerating into a security threat, it will be wrong to infringe on people’s right to express themselves.
“I think the slogan is just a motivation for people and generates the right spirit in them to do the right thing, stand against any form of intimidation or oppression, and improve their lives.
“As far as that is the case, it would be wrong for the police to stop people from expressing themselves. What is important is peace, and the police have the right to ensure peace in the country.
“If there is no peace in the country, investors cannot come in, so we must all ensure that there is peace in the country,” Ubani told Vanguard.
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