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It’s all too obvious. Nigeria is a terror-ravaged nation. Courtesy of a few political elites, a whole country has been plunged into the darkness of terror. Strangely, these terror merchants and their recruits still walk free while their damage to the nation lingers.
The Global Terrorism Index regularly published by the Institute for Economics and Peace ranks Nigeria as the 4th most terrorised nation in the world. This is an ignoble badge Nigeria shares with Pakistan, Niger Republic, Mali and Burkina Faso.
Statistics show that Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for six out of the top 10 countries most heavily impacted by terrorism and nearly half of all deaths globally. Unfortunately, some of these nations share boundaries with Nigeria. Of the six, Nigeria is the richest and until recent years, the least prepared to contain the terror bogey. For an evil enterprise that bloomed since 2009, you would expect, at this time, a near zero performance of their devious enterprise.
Curiously, too, the Islamic State (IS) and its regional affiliates are ranked the deadliest terror group in the world. This is the group that troubles Nigeria. From the far reaches of the Sahel, they have found a lucrative nest in Nigeria. And, hey, aren’t they making a kill? The vaults are open and terror groups are harvesting raw cash from Nigerians.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey reported that Nigerian households paid out about ₦2.23 trillion in ransom to kidnappers over a 12-month period (May 2023 to April 2024). This amount is a conservative estimate and it exceeds the 2024 annual budget of nine Nigerian states.
In the 2024 fiscal year, the annual budgets of nine states were as follows: Ekiti State (₦159.57 billion), Nasarawa State (₦199.88 billion), Ebonyi State (₦202.13 billion), Gombe State (₦207.75 billion), Yobe State (₦217.00 billion), Benue State (₦225.73 billion), Adamawa State (₦225.89 billion), Cross River State (₦250.00 billion) and Kebbi State (₦250.13 billion). A total of about N1.685 trillion. These were the nine states with the least budgets. It means that what kidnappers (terrorists) collected within one calendar year, can run nine states with some change left. Just imagine what ₦2.23 trillion could do for Nigeria in education and healthcare alone. Imagine the number of jobs and economies of scale that such an amount could trigger if ploughed into productive ventures like agriculture and its value chain of processing, packaging and marketing (both for local consumption and for export). But that’s what a nation paid out to some demented riff-raffs with drug-addled brains.
Note that there were other ransom payouts not captured in the national official tracker. Such is the fiscal attractiveness of the terror-induced kidnappings. That’s the reason the Nigerian government must prioritise internal security of the country. The President Tinubu government must not tread the path of the Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari Presidency. Both leaders, it has to be said, pampered terrorists. While Jonathan was too weak and terrified to obliterate the scummy scoundrels, Buhari treated them as extension of Nigerian families. He gave them more leeway and ensured that they flourished within the country. With Buhari’s obvious welcoming and receptive overtures, the gang of terror goons enlarged their apparition in Nigeria, moving from the north east through north west and north central to swathes of southern Nigeria. Now, they are everywhere. Killing our security personnel, kidnapping and turning captives to cash.
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Only in Nigeria does the government negotiate with terrorists. No nation that ever overawed terrorists negotiated with them. You hit them hard. No pity, no cosseting with someone who is ready to pull the trigger at you at any moment. First, an average terrorist is abnormal, happily suicidal, brutal and unforgiving. So, why treat them with niceties? Why indulge a bloodhound, which is what they are, with rehabilitation and so-called deradicalisation? Worst of all, integrating them into any space where normal humans live. This is a huge error by the Buhari government for whatever reason. Tinubu must avoid this same mistake. As Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Tinubu should wear the hat for war, not make peace with a killer mob.
Here’s the elephant in the room: the terrorists troubling and killing Nigerians are no longer jihadists waging Islamic war against Nigerians of other faiths. To hold this view, even these days and these times, is to live in denial. The manifest truth is that they are killing and kidnapping people of all faiths, including atheists. Christians, Muslims and all are their victims. Their mission is not jihadism but money. Cash is the pulley that drives their devilish desires. And Nigeria has become their cash cow; a ready and willing ATM dispensing and doling out dollars, naira and any currency their fetish mind could conjure. They even have the luxury of demanding and receiving foodstuff, cartons and crates of drinks including the hard hooch, cigarettes which relatives of their captives must bring to them like a family on a wine-carrying mission to their potential in-laws.
Tinubu, more than his predecessors, has demonstrated a superior counter-terrorism stratagem. His liaison with US, France and Turkey should be further harnessed to take down this tribe of terrorists. The news coming from Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) is cheering enough to succour the soul. DICON Director-General Major General Babatunde Ibrahim Alaya, has assured Nigerians of DICON’s commitment to enhancing national security and achieving military self-sufficiency through strategic domestic defence manufacturing, driven by strategic partnerships and the implementation of the DICON Act 2023.
Nigeria needs to ramp up domestic production of military hardware to combat terror. The reported production of the DG-103 rifle (an AK-103 variant) at the Kaduna factory, alongside plans for 4×4 and 6×6 military vehicles, UAVs, and security drones are expected to strengthen the hands of the military.
Partnerships with private defence equities such as a $2 billion joint venture with SP Offshore Nigeria Limited and MoUs with firms like Homeland Protectors and Rovin Guard, to locally produce tactical hardware, satellite laser systems, and ammunition will add to the arsenal of the nation’s defence.
The recent commissioning of the DICON Institute of Technology in Kaduna to train specialized local technical manpower, foster homegrown research, and reduce heavy reliance on foreign military tech is comforting.
Above all, the Jagaban Borgu must demand more from the military. With the recently implemented improved welfare for military personnel, let’s make enemies of Nigeria sing their own Nunc dimittis, this time, they shall depart without peace.
