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EBONY HERALD @ 15: NIGERIA’S UNSETTLED CRISIS:
A matter of Regret.
BACKGROUND
For more than a decade, Nigeria has been caught up in a ”Great Debate” over profound issues of National Security. The range of debate varied, perhaps even unique in several respects. It has been sustained for a longer period over the unrelenting killings, kidnappings and other criminalities engaging a wider segment of the public than with earlier controversies like civil protests in the form of #ENDSARS and #ENDBADGOVRNANCE we witnessed.
Skeptics have asked whether attrition of kidnappers of students from Chibok schools may explain their apparent success and thereby raised doubts about the prospects for replicating that success at a lager scale. Little wonder some Nigerians have switched allegiance or are hailing terrorism (as happened in Dapchi) because the people of Dapchi and elsewhere saw the kind of power that should reside with their government being exercised by enemies of the state. How ironic!!!
Discontent with mass murder in Mara, Zamfara state and the show of shame on return of Dapchi girls in Yobe state, with the killings on the rice fields of Zabarmari in Borno State spans the political spectrum. These are a pointer of crisis of accountability, or, better yet, of unrepresentative government, which is deep and long-running, as the broken electoral promises that government institutional and security crisis amply demonstrated. Are we seriously in democracy? How do we differentiate elections and democratic governance?
Unhappily, in a society whose politicians and intellectuals tend to sectionalize/tribalize/polarize the country as in North versus South on security and other important national matters, our people must choose between uncritical support for the ruling class or greater involvement with the security establishment in the fight against insecurities in general, where jobs, food and good living standards for Nigerians are provided.
CIVIL PROTEST
I would argue that preventing internal collapse or self paralysis of our security at the hands of some popular front coalition like the #ENDSARS and #ENDBADGOVERNANCE can never be a remedy for the fight against terror. Indeed, the #ENDSARS has not been very effective or able to translate practical politics and ginger greater public awareness of fighting insecurities.
Many commentators, of course argued that our security has been breached while insurgents operating under the doctrine of secrecy and surprises have shocked the nation with thousand deaths and kidnappings in our communities, a fearful price for our political leaders to pay. The question often asked is how much human waste can we suffer while debating for a viable political solution to insecurities.
Of course we have had problems other than those of security and defense which #ENDSARS and #ENDBADGOVERNANCE protests pressed the claim of reform as deserving high priority. Claims of domestic reforms as deserving high priority should be heard and, as appropriate heeded. But the security of our people can scarcely be deferred until our political houses are in order.
It must also not be regarded as a simple trade-off for more desirable welfare programs, like the distribution of palliatives etc.
AVERTING SOCIAL DISORDER
In the late 1960s and 1980s, Nigerians endured the plagues of 1967/70 Civil War and MAITATSINE uprising respectively. Since the dissemination of Maitatsine group, which brought the downturn of its fortunes, the fear of appearing weak provoked the emergence of Boko Haram in order to show case its strength and determination against our social cohesion and attributes that are assumed to be shared by all human beings, that is “Humanity”.
Perhaps fewer than 1% of Nigerians are concerned about serious recruitment drives of our youth by Boko Haram and other organized criminal groups. What this says of our society is that, Nigerians and Northern Nigeria in particular, are not troubled by the mass recruitment of youth into sectarian religious orders that would send thousands of them to early grave in any attempt to engage the military and civilian collation in a fight to end crime.
During the First Republic, Prime Minister Balewa declaration of state of Emergency in the Western Region attracted attention and the government was blamed for not doing enough. As a result, the Armed Forces staged a military coup d’etat in 1966 with PM Balewa amongst prominent Nigerians losing their lives.
In voices of fear, hatred and concerns, Nigerians talked of marginalization, unemployment, corruption, police brutality, executive’s excesses and even attempted tenure elongation of the President beyond the constitutional terms of office.
Gloomy as these prognostications sound, however, it is worth stressing that there is nothing inevitable about the end of insurgency and restoring normalcy in Nigeria. These ideological and sectarian groups have hidden flaws, unreliable allies and internal weaknesses that are a sign of vulnerability.
How do we identify the positive objectives of overcoming insurgencies? We recognize that we can no longer afford to pay every price and are unwilling to mount every road block to secure our communities, We then ask “WHAT ARE THE LEGITIMATE INTERESTS OF NIGERIAN CITIZENS?”
GREATER PARTICIPATION
Since Nigeria is an open society, we cannot be secretive and remain indifferent to problems caused by Criminals, so it is for the Government to use its economic strength and creative management to create a condition under which peace can return to communities.
Let rivers Hadeja, Kamugou and other tributaries discharge their waters into the Lake by removing any obstacle of the water flow. This shall bring stability to communities living and earning their livelihood from the lake and its environs.
Maintain; even enhance the credibility of our military presence in the North-East, North-West and North-Central in particular, and all trouble spots countrywide. To avert further catastrophe, a substantial armed deployment is justified. From my view point, additional military power in the Northern zones can be justified.
OUTLOOK TO FOREIGN COOPERATION
Nigeria status with her neighbour partners and within the African continent is rising at an astonishing rate, and a better share of our future economic well being will depend on a healthy investment climate, especially in the Northern region coerced by Boko Haram, Kidnappers, Insurgents and Terrorist groups. Northern region of Nigeria shares border with Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin Republic.
PROMOTE EXISTING ALLIANCES
Safeguard the stability of the Lake Chad by adhering to all agreements among member state of the Lake made up of Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, TChad and Central African Republic. The most important of the agreements is the Joint Military Operation which grants member state the right of hot pursuit into another member’s territory. The Lake Chad basin is inseparable from the future security network of the North in particular and Nigeria in general. Not even ECOWAS is more important to our border security.
Nigeria should support Cameroon with its ongoing civil war with separatists group. We can cultivate this to our advantage by remaining firm in our support for united Cameron at every International forum like the UN, AU, Commonwealth, LCBC and ECOWAS. To avert a policy of ‘divide and rule’ especially in the LCBC region Nigeria’s initiative to remedy a weakness in our common defense initiative was evident in the 1994 decision to include the Central African Republic (CAR).
NEED FOR MORE ALLIANCES
Nigeria should identify, initiate and further engage the enlargement of Sahelian alliance by joining states such as Mali, Sudan, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana, Libya and Algeria. This initiative has tremendous advantages in containing insurgency, kidnappings and terrorism activities within the Sahel region.
This proposed initiative is more agnatic that must generate a truly deliberate partnership based on multinational real politic that links the economic, energy and security concerns of family members. The alliance would recognize the need to substitute hostility for cooperation. The task before PBAT is to innovate a diplomatic framework in which mutual security can compensate for some economic loss that the willing partners may suffer.
THE DANGER OF ARMS PROLIFERATION.
Owing to the proliferation of small arms and ammo, increased political polarization in some African Countries, with massive migrations due to political, economic, religious as well as border issues, Nigeria will continue to slide into protracted crisis without increase in recruitment of personnel into its security agencies.
The proposal put before the Federal Government sometimes ago by the Borno State Governor to approve the engagement of “Mercenaries” to help in fighting Boko Haram can also be inferred from statements made by the Katsina state governor Dr Umar Dikko Radda. No prudent planner can discount Governors Babagana Zulum and Dikko Radda’s positions. It is imperative to prevent these States from the feeling of hopelessness over Nigeria’s intentions and as a consequence, seeking alternative sources of security for their States. The States might be driven into some authoritarian politics with its attendant unattractive features for security, if they concludes that the Federal Government is unwilling to protect the lives and properties of their citizens.
There is growing evidence that, notwithstanding the rhetoric employed by the Federal government that a number of states have concluded that the Federal government cannot handle security challenges the country is currently facing. There is a growing agitation for State police, with the likes of South-West creation of Omotekun and Kaduna State Vigilante Services in Kaduna.
NON STATE ACTORS
Indeed, we should not lose sight in the fact that insurgency, kidnapping and terrorism may have an extremely useful agenda setting function for non-state actors. If the reasons behind insecurities are skillfully handled by these non state actors, terrorism can put the issue of political change on the public agenda. This is what Nigeria must not allow to ever happen again.
We may wish to recall that Mr. Sasore of Sahara Reporters came out with a demand for revolution, urging total transformation of all existing conditions, and a new form of restructuring, to give way for an entirely new relationship of people to each other and also of people to nature. He wanted a total and radical brake with all that is, and with all historical continuity. Nobody in his right mind is averse to restructuring, but cutting off historical continuity of relationships amongst Nigerians is Utopian.
CONCLUSION.
To end this narrative, I want to appeal to the President, the Commander-in-Chief to approve for the convocation of a retreat to examine the areas of concern to our National Security challenge.
National security isn’t state security, nor is it the personal security of the e President and C-in-C.‘ It is security of jobs for the unemployed, foods and good living for the citizens. The forum should examine the various dimensions of the current security challenges which in my view would constitute an important contribution to the ongoing debate over the future of our National Security Policy and Strategy.
Malam Mohammed Kabir Ilyasu, Chairman Editorial board Ebony Herald International Magazine, writes from Kaduna Nigeria (kabirilyasu@yahoo.com)
20th September, 2024.
