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The term of a President in Nigeria is four years, according to Section 135(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Whoever intends to be President is expected to have a plan to achieve all his objectives within four years, as this is the only period guaranteed to him by virtue of his being pronounced President by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Tinubu was sworn in as President on 29th May 2023, almost three years in office. From the level of insecurity going on in Nigeria today, it’s obvious that he didn’t have any plans for the security challenges in Nigeria.
In just one week in this month of November, Brigadier General Uba and three of his men were ambushed, abducted and publicly executed by Islamic terrorists in Borno State. Sixty-four civilians, including women and children, were abducted in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State by terrorists. Twenty-five female students were abducted from a school in Maga, Kebbi State by bandits, while their Vice Principal was killed. Thirty-eight worshippers were abducted from a church in Eruku by kidnappers in Kwara State. One policeman killed in an attack by Islamic terrorists in Geidam, Yobe State. Eight members of the Civilian Task Force killed and three abducted by Islamic terrorists in Gwoza, Borno state. Fifteen people abducted, including four nursing mothers and babies, and two killed in Sabon Birni, Sokoto state by terrorists. Four rice farmers killed in an attack by bandits in Edu, Kwara State. More than 312 students abducted in a Catholic school in Agwara, Niger state.
Nigeria has never had it this bad in insecurity. President Donald Trump warned that if the killing continues unabated, he would move in American troops with gun a-blazing to defend Nigerians. No Nigerian leader has ever attracted such open rebuke and threat from any foreign leader on account of insecurity. The threat shook Tinubu to his bones and for the first time, he pretended to show empathy. Before Trump’s threat, Tinubu has never cancelled any serious event or overseas travel because of insecurity. The massacre of hundreds of people in Plateau and Benue did not make him cancel any event at home or abroad. After the threat, Tinubu cancelled his scheduled trip to South Africa and Angola to face the most terrible week of insecurity in Nigeria’s history.
It’s obvious now that the insecurity situation in Nigeria has overwhelmed Tinubu. The Federal Government has confessed openly that it negotiated the release of the abducted children in Kebbi, and the abducted people in Kwara by speaking to the terrorists nicely. Whaaat! Speaking nicely to murderers, kidnappers, bandits, and terrorists? While the National Assembly is tightening the noose on the criminals to ensure death penalty for the kidnappers as deterrence, Tinubu is busy speaking nicely to criminals who murdered a Vice Principal in order that he would be saved from the embarrassment of his failure to tackle insecurity. Are the two arms of government on the same page in this war against insecurity? As a result of speaking nicely to the terrorists who abducted 38 people from a church in Eruku, Kwara State, the abducted citizens were released. However, just the week after the release of the victims, 11 different people were abducted in the neighbouring community, Isapa, in the same Ekiti LGA of Kwara State.
Paying of ransom has never worked in confronting the bandits. It’s simply worsening the situation. Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, warned all Nigerians to avoid paying ransom for the release of their abducted relatives as this will eventually help to fund further attacks on other citizens. He was correct. Today, the same government he is serving is releasing kidnapped victims by “talking nicely to terrorists.” Apart from his quest to be President and his instinct to survive as President, I do not know of any other reason Tinubu wanted to be President. The primary duty of government is the protection of life and property of its citizens. Any government that fails in this has failed in all. It’s only someone alive who will enjoy the amenities the government will provide.
As if talking nicely to terrorists is not bad enough, the next solution Tinubu ordered was the withdrawal of the security details of very important personalities (VIPs). Let it be said clearly that every life is important, and it is the duty of government to protect everyone, but the reason VIPs are given security details is because they have distinguished themselves in any chosen area of endeavour and have acquired so much fame or goodwill that some renegade human beings may even decide to harm or kill them just to become famous. Some rich ones among them are targeted for robbery and kidnap, while some politically exposed ones among them may be targeted for assassination. Bola Ige’s security details withdrew from him for hours, purportedly to eat, and he was instantly assassinated. Till date, his assassins have not been brought to justice. His wife, who was a Justice of the Court of Appeal, died out of heartbreak. Funso Williams was murdered by suspected political assassins when he was trying to become the Governor of Lagos State against the established political order in the state. Till date, the puzzle surrounding his murder has not been solved.
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On the international scene, Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare, the largest health insurer in the United States, was fatally shot and killed on December 4, 2024, in New York City. Luigi Mangione, an aggrieved citizen of the USA over the Insurance Companies’ handling of the health issues of Americans, was charged with his murder. Charlie Kirk was an American right-wing political activist, entrepreneur, and media personality. He was recently murdered in broad daylight simply because of his outspoken nature in defending his beliefs. Remember J.F Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, United States Presidents, murdered just for being Presidents. The Catholic Pope had been shot and nearly killed at a time for the reason that the assailant believed he would become famous for being the Pope’s killer. VIPs worldwide face unique challenges as to their individual safety. They all rely on the state to secure their lives and property. It was therefore horrifying when Tinubu ordered that the security details of the VIPs should be withdrawn, leaving them at the mercy of Nigeria’s horrible security situations.
The solution to the insecurity in Nigeria is not the withdrawal of the security details of the VIPs; it’s a conscious and well-planned strategy to increase the number of the security agencies on ground. Equip the agencies with the modern security gadgets available. Train them in the tactical use of these modern equipment. Motivate them by ensuring that they are paid handsomely well for their efforts and the risks they take in the protection of the lives of their fellow citizens.
The best strategy to increase the number of the security agencies is to amend the Constitution to make way for the establishment of the State Police Force. This will immediately afford the country about 36 different police agencies, including the Federal Police. For the avoidance of doubt, this issue of the police force is not a new innovation in Nigeria. It was in existence from independence. Certainly, the maintenance of law and order was better in those days than now. The state police officers will mostly be the indigenes of the state they serve and will know every nooks and crannies of the state. This will help in intelligence gathering and possibly lead to the flushing out of the terrorists and bandits. About 35 governors have agreed to the establishment of state police. Tinubu had alluded that state police is the way out. He added to his audience, “politics apart.”
It’s obvious that what is keeping out the issue of state police from the front burner is politics. The lawmakers would rather pretentiously be asking for the shutdown of the National Assembly as a protest against insecurity, rather than making conscious effort to make the necessary amendments to support the creation of state police. The Zamfara governor admitted that he knew where the bandits were and would wipe them out if he had state police, but expressed frustration on the incompetence of the Federal Police in not being able to flush out the terrorists.
We must note that the power to make laws for the operation of the state police must lie with the National Assembly. Just as the National Assembly has the sole right to make laws for the election of candidates for both federal and state elections, so should the National Assembly make laws for the operation of state police. This will enable the state police operate in similar fashion all over Nigeria. The citizens would not face different police force or laws from state to state as the attitude and conduct of the force would be the same nationwide. They would simply enjoy the presence and protection of more police officers on the streets protecting them. This centralisation of the law-making power will remove the possible abuse of the state police by the governors, as they would not have the power to make the laws to suit them, nor can they use the force to intimidate political opponents.
Tinubu should set politics apart and join the governors to immediately amend the constitution for the establishment of the state police. Anything short of this will be a wild goose chase, just as the recent establishment of forest guards agency is becoming another unnecessary bloating of the public service.
