Sadly, Nigeria is a nation sitting on the edge. Nigeria, the most populous black nation on earth with a population of over one hundred million people, is sadly sitting on a cluster of time bombs waiting to explode with a catastrophic outcome that many will dread.
The mélange of communal killings, religious riots/killings, kidnappings, extremist agitation, corruption, criminally minded populace, unemployment and poverty, lack of purposeful leadership, hopelessness, and an array of despotic leadership have not only made the nation fertile for the operation of Boko Haram, but have also converged to place the nation called Nigeria on a cliffhanger.
Nigeria is on the verge of falling off the cliff or deteriorating to precipice with the amalgam of lingering problems it is facing at this critical moment—notably, Boko Haram that has pledged allegiance to ISIS.
Unfortunately, when idle minds, especially the illiterate ones with a blinkered religious dogma, cultivating evil thoughts converge with criminal tendencies, extremists of worst kinds emerge. Nigeria harbors many people like these whose actions will continue to ignite the inferno that will engulf the nation sooner or later. In addition, Boko Haram terrorists are emboldened by the silence of their alleged highly-placed masterminds, who refused to condemn the indiscriminate killings of Christians and other citizens. As a result, Nigeria could be characterized as so fractured and heavily enamored of the extreme ethnic and religious terrorists whose nuances and actions are aimed at producing incendiary and destructive outcome. Sad still, the Avengers are operating with impunity destabilizing the one-product economy. Thus, the nation is, indeed, sitting on the edge and grappling with the situation seems elusive.
Some argue that the center lacks the vision and actionable plans to create a substantive and moral symbol that would arouse sense of national unity among the citizens of Nigeria to frustrate the activities of inhuman groups. Also, they contend that the center could be perceived as despotic and lacking the egalitarian principles thereby inhibiting the structural development of Nigeria’s nascent democracy. In the absence of those phenomena, the virtues of democracy, particularly lack of substantive national symbol, the nation is filled with hopelessness and a sense of despair.
Others feel that Nigeria’s insecurity is deliberately perpetuated by those who want to frustrate a particular segment of the society. That is definitely a cowardly machination. Who in his right mind would want destroy a country in order to rule it. But the destruction of lives and properties are not helping the matter; rather they seem to reveal how deep-rooted the problem of intolerance, hatred and the consequent insecurity is in Nigeria. The prejudice, coupled with some prominent leaders’ indifferent attitude about Avengers and particularly, the Boko Haram’s terrorist activities is also exacerbating the lack of unity among ethnic and religious groups thereby undermining the effectiveness of the federal government. Additionally, the consequent appearance of inconsistency of the center in dealing ruthlessly with the terrorists smacks deep into the credibility of the federal government to deal with issues of grave importance in a decisive manner.
All these help create dampening confidence of the people that enervates the foundation of democracy thereby leaving the nation susceptible to anarchy.
Nigeria needs leaders who understand the enormity of the security and economic problems Nigeria is currently facing. I sincerely empathize with President Buhari. It is a seemingly daunting task to solve Nigeria’s protracted problems.
It obviously requires enormous leadership with the cooperation of the citizenry to begin to find solutions to Nigeria’s security enigma.
However, we have now realized state of emergency will never be the answer to Avengers and the Boko Haram issues. It was cosmetic and did not address the root causes of the problem(s) in the past. It was rather reactionary instead of proactive. Yet, we still have a choice! We still have a chance even though the time is ticking to arrest the situation.
Yes, I agree with some of the actions President Buhari has been taking that resulted in the release of some the kidnapped schoolgirls. Nevertheless, the country waited too long to address the actions of this terrorist group, Boko Haram, dismissing it as a sectarian agitation. Before its evolution into a terrorist group, I assume that there were details of security reports concerning the sources and sponsors of the group, including its potential to destabilize the country to the adulation of some politicians. It is therefore unconscionable that the country’s security apparatus could not predict the obvious intentions of Boko Haram. As a result, the group has been allowed to be emboldened by the successes of its heinous activities.
In the face of faltering economy, terrorism continues to be a serious threat to the nation. Before the sky becomes the limit for Boko Haram, some drastic actions must be taken by the federal government immediately. In other words, to diffuse the bombs—the chaotic tendencies brewing in the nation—there must be bold actions taken decisively. The masterminds of Boko Haram should be identified, arrested and tried for treason.
President Buhari should not allow any arrested individual associated with Boko Haram be granted bail. Individuals arrested in connection with Boko Haram activities should be remanded in custody until they are brought to justice. There should be adequate policing and security infiltration in the areas to fish out the perpetrators of these heinous killings. Enough is enough! Innocent people are dying in the hands of Boko Haram and people cannot take it any longer. No society can make progress while trapped in fear.
When the country solves the Boko Haram problems and other related issues, the citizens will then truly have a chance to enjoy the abundance the Nigeria’s resources have to offer through the portal of democracy. Otherwise, the populace may be unprepared for the horrid reality of destruction cultivated at the center and harvested at the layers of the system. The center may then not hold if the recipe for anarchy is not replaced with a recipe for security, egalitarianism, and hope.
