“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.”
– William Butler Yeats
What is daily facing many states in the northern part of Nigeria, inclusive of the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, is insecurity such as never witnessed before in the country. Insecurity that ought to have been nipped in the bud by the President, who swore to protect the citizenry notwithstanding their ethnic, religious or party affiliations, has inadvertently been allowed to fester like the familiar Sahara wild wind. Notable components of insecurity include violent attacks, kidnapping for huge ransoms, violent displacement of farmers from their land and outright attack on government and security institutions. Report indicated that a total of 2,371 persons have so far been abducted across 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory. The tally was derived from media reports and the national security tracker of the Council of Foreign Relations, July 13, 2021.
The lamentation of William Butler Yeats in his epic poem, The Second Coming, which partly states “Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,” aptly desribes the Nigerian situation. In fact, one can replace the word “world” to be “Nigeria.” Indeed, anarchy has been let loose on Nigeria since 2002 and the situation still looks gloomy and insurmountable.
Before our very eyes, Islamic students and Muslim faithful indoctrinated with radical ideologies transformed into a jihadist group known as Boko Haram. It has been in armed conflict against the Nigerian Army and other security agencies ever since. Meanwhile, the war seems intractable, making it difficult to stop their excesses.
Instead, what we are witnessing are frequent attacks and kidnapping for ransom. These re-clothed or rebranded terrorists named “bandits” have continuously enjoyed hitch-free freedom as they have carried out their heinous crimes in marketplaces, educational institutions, security institutions, traditional palaces and home of politicians. They exhibit their true nature, to inflict pain and instil fear in the people, to prevent western education and collect huge ransom from the people to cater for their welfare and to upgrade their arms and ammunition.
Security observers believe that the three-angle (Triangle) approach, known to security agencies across the wotld have either been ignored by relevant authouritirs or there was a deliberate policy against its implementation.
In any community or society, security problems like ours are first identified by security agencies (intelligence section) or vigilant members of the society. These patriotic members of the society often pass the information to security agencies. On the part of the security agencies, it is expected that such information is refined and turned into intelligence reports, which are used for operational strategies. The purpose of such strategies could be shared among security agencies in a uniformed bid to nip the problem in the bud.
Unfortunately, that unity or collaboration is jettisoned on the altar of jealousy or inter-agency rilvalry, which has affected the operational activities of security agencies to the detriment of Nigerians. When proactive steps are not taken by either security agencies or government, the people bear the brunt of such inefficiency.
According to a former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun, who has been described as one of the best and most proactive police leaders of our time, with his introduction of an anti-crime strategy codenamed “Operation Fire-for-Fire,” which he described as inspirational, “The idea for Operation Fire-for-Fire was inspirational. It was to checkmate the crime level when I was appointed, as crime rate was getting to an astronomical stage. It was a proactive measure put in place by me to stop the growth at its embryonic stage. Such a measure is what is expected this time around with the insecurity situation.”
There are many Tafa Baloguns in the security community who must have reviewed the escalating trend of insecurity around the country. These bright minds must have at one time or the other reached out to either the security leaders, heads of security agencies and political office holders close to those closer to the President or his Vice. I cannot believe that all the retired army generals, IGPs and intelligence officers have not attempted as concerned and patriotic Nigerians to reach out to the Presidency.
The same thinking is what security analysts ruminate over: Could it be possible that none of the executive members from the security institutions across the country had made any presentations in the form of “Security Situation Documents” to the government? The question on the lips of many is, What have they done with all these security ideas?
How can Nigerians fold their arms and watch the government they voted into office exhibiting abysmal failure in tackling the rising spate of insecurity in the country?
Who are these bandits? And can they be compared with vicious armed robbers like Lawrence Anini and his gang, Shina Rambo and his gang, or Oyenusi and other vicious armed robbers that raided banks, residences and even bullion vans? (Read my book, “DARK CLOUD: Confessions of Notorious Armed Robbers in Nigeria”).
The gallant police officers that confronted these vicious criminals are still alive and their experiences can be tapped. The northern bandits’ operational tactics are the same with the robbers of the 1980s, except that the operational scene has moved to the forest. Their operational modus are similar and all it needs is an adjustment in security strategy of attack.
As earlier stated, the success of the triangle system is attributable to the imput of the government. Unfortunately, from the day President Buhari, a retired Nigerian Army general was sworn in as the President, his body language clearly suggests that he would be more comfortable working with his former constituency (military), which is consistitionally in charge of external aggression, rather than use the police whose consistitional assignment is to preserve the internal security of the country. No wonder the military is drafted into any internal issue in the country, so that more vote could be made available to the institution more dear to him, to the gross detriment of the police. What then do we have, a police not well remunerated, a police with no equipment and no training, a police with delapidated barracks and office buildings across the country, a police without guts and courage, a police being chased by ruffians.
The story today about the Nigeria Police can be re-titled “The Lamentations of Nigeria Police.”
This story must be changed to avoid the shaky internal insecurity the country is daily witnessing. The change may after all come if we eventually embrace the establishment of state police.
(Concluded)
————————————————
Security tips during rainy season
Do not park your car near a wall or fence.
Do not park your car near a tree or cluster of trees.
Do not park your car close to gutters or gullies.
Also, do not park your car at sharp bends, and ensure your car wipers are functional.
– By Dr. Olayinka Balogun, CP, Rtd. (Total Security Platform)