Banditry, terrorism, highway banditry by ethnic militias, sponsored killings, politically motivated murders, abductions, kidnappings for ransom, ritual killings and brigandage and ethno-religious bloody crisis, just name it!
Sadly, 63 years after our independence as a sovereign nation, our Nigeria is still not free economically and politically. We are unable to move far away from the old tribal prejudices and build a true Nigerian citizenship. We still identify ourselves with our localities where precisely we come from or the tribe we belong. It is common in some parts of the country that fellow Nigerians are rated and treated as strangers, or settlers while others are shamefully and tribalistically identified as sons/daughters of the soil even without contributing to the development and sustenance of that claimed soil. What, that means for public endorsement remains a mystery to true nationalists and patriots.
When the so called settlers were busy deploying their resources and sweat to develop the land, the natives parroting to be indigenes were nowhere close but hidden in caves and mountain tops until foreign missionaries arrived and risked their lives to reach out to them in hiding.
63 years after independence, we are still a divided house more than ever before and have elevated tribal and religious fault lines without any rallying national leadership most especially at this critical period where the academic credentials of the person ‘awarded’ the presidency are allegedly forged that portrays him a fraud and trickster not minding the circumstances that paved way for the award of the presidency through active connivance with a certified and renowned hypocrite along with accomplice all from Bauchi state now enjoying the reward of political offices.
63 years after independence we are not able to secure our lives, properties and feed ourselves while criminals and gangsters have hijacked governance with their juniors in crime ‘allowed’ to levy heavy taxes on unfortunate and helpless communities as if there isn’t any government in place.
63 years after independence, criminals attack and murder our security personnel and cart away their weapons without reprisal action or even arrests just as tribal militia groups out of cowardice attack innocent passersby through their environments as reprisal from previous or not attacks from even known source.
Insurgents, terrorists, drug peddlers, separatists, armed robbers, oil thieves and kidnappers and tribal militias attack and ambush security patrols and convoys without consequences. Bandits kidnap school children and travelers on the highways without consequences; families grieve and pay heavy ransoms to free their loved ones in criminal dungeons.
63 years after independence, we still dine and wine and respect our thieves who artificially created the problems bedeviling our comforts and security through unbridled corruption and theft of public funds budgeted for our development. When we cry loud, we are labeled either as ingrates or unlucky not to have the opportunity to also steal.
Just the other day, brigands attacked the Kaduna-Abuja bound train and abducted scores, and killed many of the passengers; a government led presumably by a tough military general went into discreet negotiation paying off huge ransom under cover to secure the release of remnants of those unfortunate victims.
We have lost count of number of schools and school children abducted in the northeast, northwest and north central sub-regions alone and most of them never returned or rescued. The pattern of attacks and abduction is Taliban-like campaign against girl-child education in Afghanistan and our leaders have the guts to go to bed with their two eyes closed and even to snore.
The spate of insecurity has become grim and frightening when soldiers are ambushed and killed on the lines of duty by brigands who share the links on social media.
At the end of the day, the only response from government and security agencies is the platitude that the criminals will be brought to book, which book?
Our rights to life and freedom of movement have been abrogated not by force of law or the constitution but by the abdication of responsibility by the government that has woefully failed to live up to its bidding to provide safety and security to the people.
Brigands levying war on the state and ethnic agitators for self-determination are crowned as celebrities, heroes and freedom fighters. These are people who are laying siege to our ways of life and attacking symbols of authority of the state. They operate from the heartland of the communities with some of them honored with chieftaincy and religious titles from their traditional and religious organizations.
Politicians, clerics and clergies present these brigands as activists fighting for economic or landing liberation of their people demanding that the federal government negotiate with them and grant them amnesty or pardon. Political leaders, clergies and clerics cannot be holding brief for criminals and expect the problem of insecurity to disappear!
Sadly, the military has been misled by the wrongheaded political campaign and advocacy to embrace negotiation with the brigands and terrorists establishing dedicated units and personnel to engage in de-radicalization, training and reintegration of the so-called repented terrorists and others marauding beasts. Negotiation with terrorists, ethnic militias and other criminal elements just cannot be the business of the military and security forces; that is up to politicians and those religious leaders where necessary, when soldiers are invited, the method of dialogue and negotiation has to change. What I understand as a global best practice and doctrine of military negotiation with enemies of the state is through the barrels of the assault rifle. A soldier’s dialogue with criminals and brigands should only be through the back-sight aperture of their AK47 rifle with a view to neutralize the miscreants. Soldiers are not trained as diplomats and arbitrators; they are trained to maim, shoot and kill!
The spate of insecurity is alarming almost always at this time of the year and the entire country has become a huge theatre.
We may not get to know the scale of casualties and victims in statistical exactitude but the situation is grim everywhere you go. To live the next day in this country is counted as gain and miracle. You have to be cautious always watching your back anywhere you find, yourself whether it is in the market, on the roads or in places of worship. Even though our residences are built like correctional centres with high prison walls, the homes do not offer the usual protection and peace as places of safety.
Insurgents, kidnappers and bandits are always on the rampage. The recent kidnap of some students of Federal University Dutsinma in Katsina State is not just an isolated case where the federal and state governments traded words over the usual negotiation and pacification of the brigands. It is a common and daily experience of ordinary Nigerians. We get to know of the latest students kidnap because of the social profile of the victims and the deployed efforts of the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof Armaya’u Bichi.
Nigeria now compares to Haiti because kidnapping in Nigeria is not a class war as everyone is a political and economic target by the gangsters including street beggars and orphans. Any target that enters their net and range is captured and ransomed; the more opportunistic, the target the better.
The insurgents, bandits, kidnappers and ‘unknown’ gunmen and other criminal elements take on the security forces, soldiers and the police as a campaign of terror and intimidation on the state. The government has been caught almost in a helpless situation engaging in pacific method of appeasement which has driven the stake high for the criminals while the victims languish in internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps scattered across the country without adequate care or even proper attention.
Sometimes the so called repentant terrorists even go on street protest making demands on the state for promises not redeemed while their unfortunate victims are left to rot in camps.
The catalyst to insecurity in the country is the ethno-cultural and filial defense of the criminals whether it is banditry, insurgency or ethnic cleansing and agitation for self determination. Banditry and kidnapping have become a more lucrative trade than oil and gas. Again, we may never know the mafia Dons and Capone behind the cartel who appear to have connection with official bureaucracy giving them ideological imprimatur and asking for state pardon and amnesty for the hardened criminals.
To fight insecurity, we have to also confront the pervasive corruption that permeates the ranks and file of the security agencies under the payrolls of the cartels behind the heist both in the oil industry and the merchants driving the insurgency, banditry, highway banditry by tribal militias and ethnic cleansing particularly in Taraba, Plateau and Southern Kaduna axis.
Official lethargy for political correctness must also be dealt with while the military and other security forces must up their game.
That these criminals are allowed to get away with the audacious attacks on the police and the military without damning consequences send jitters to the spines of citizens that security is run and oiled by a cartel with political influence. Typical of such is the murder case of an innocent military general by Dura-Du tribal militia in Jos South local government area, Plateau State and several of such murders by the tribal beasts along the highways that passes through their impoverished communities. We are yet to hear of the outcome of the case from a Jos High Court.
Time there was in this country when the mere presence of one single soldier in a neighborhood would send miscreants and criminals scampering for safety as they take hurried flight for fear of the symbol of the state in their presence. Today, criminals boldly carry fights to soldiers and dare our security forces even in their deployment and patrols. The expectations from the military after these attacks should be swift and almost a scotch earth response on the miscreants capable of permanently neutralizing the audacious bravado and temerity. The brazen attacks on security forces and kidnapping and abductions have to stop. But can it be stopped and by who? If it can be stopped as wished, then corruption would be wiped out with ease from our shore. I have some doubts!
Sometime ago, some soldiers on patrol were brutally attacked and cut down in Shiroro of Niger State by bandits and after the usual threat of consequences by government, we have not heard or seen the heads of those criminals on the platter from the consequences promised.
Moving forward, we should accept the fact that the insecurity steadily enveloping and crippling the country is both political and criminal in their dimensions with a seamless mix. We must also accept the fact that we cannot win a war against criminality by pacification and patronage; criminals do not rationalize. We should try and severe the ethnic cord and filial bonds and attachment with criminal groups and stop offering them political covers and shield. The security forces should build up capacity and separate their military callings from political message and patronage. Corruption in government institutions that sustain criminality and banditry should be fought with heavy hand and conscience to be dismantled!
Clerics, clergies, traditional religious priests and politicians who offer platforms and ideological protection should be dealt with without sentiments. If we fail to stand up now to confront this behemoth of insecurity, then the picture of tomorrow looks bleak. We can still rise above the old prejudices and build a Nigeria of our desire from my perception.
Muhammad is a commentator on national issues
