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The spate of insecurity in Nigeria has gone beyond a tolerable level. Amid the killings, abductions and destruction of private and public property, the government appears incapacitated and overwhelmed. To put it mildly, life has seemingly lost meaning in Africa’s most populous country. Nigerians can be said to have also lost hope.
Last week, some terrorists attacked a military base in Birnin Gwari Council of Kaduna State. They engaged troops in a fierce gun battle and by the time they were through, 11 soldiers had been gunned down. Nineteen other soldiers were said to have sustained injuries. The terrorists also reportedly burnt down three Armoured Personnel Carriers and carted away several weapons from the base. It was in this same Kaduna that bandits invaded the Nigerian Defence Academy, killed two officers and abducted another last August. Similar attacks have occurred in military bases in Niger State and elsewhere.
If the military could be so attacked, the fate of civilians can be imagined. Kaduna has in recent times witnessed murderous attacks, including the security breach at the Kaduna International Airport, which led to the killing of a security guard and the attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train, which led to the death of eight people. Many others were either wounded or kidnapped. In different other parts of the country, it is the same story as gunmen of different hues have made life unbearable for the people. Last year, some terrorists attacked a 42-seater bus in Sokoto. They killed at least 23 passengers and burnt them to ashes. Also, in October last year, bandits killed no fewer than 40 people in a market in Sokoto.
All these have happened because our security agencies and the powers-that-be failed to take the necessary proactive actions. People imported and circulated Illegal arms in the country without any serious action to put a halt to it. Previous efforts to mop up illegal weapons in the country ended in futility.
Besides, we failed to take the war into the den of these terrorists on time. Security agents know the location of many of them. But we wonder if there is a conspiracy of silence. We wonder if there is a fifth columnist somewhere. Whatever be the case, the situation we are in now has met every definition of a failed state. Government should be wary of being seen to be complicit in all this. We know that if the authorities are willing to rout these bandits and if they provide the security agencies with the required support, insecurity would have been drastically minimised. Foreign investors are scared and are leaving in droves. We have had stunted growth economically and socially. Universities have been under lock and key. Frustrated Nigerians are relocating abroad. Simply put, we are losing it on all fronts. Government must rise to the occasion. An example of how a serious government should tackle insecurity is what happened in Anambra State recently. Gunmen have been terrorising the state for long. But last week, security agents invaded two camps belonging to the so-called unknown gunmen and smoked them out. The camps were destroyed and some of the hoodlums arrested. Reports have it that it was the fleeing gunmen that set the Aguata Local Government headquarters ablaze in retaliation.
Nigerian troops have been trying in this respect, but they need to sustain such actions across the country. No doubt, it will not be easy because these terrorists have acquired sophisticated weapons that can match whatever the soldiers have. Government should do everything possible to equip the military with modern and sophisticated weapons. If there is sustained air and land assault in the camps of the terrorists, they will be too weakened to pose any serious threat to the country.
We have repeatedly called for the decentralisation of the police. We have also called for restructuring of Nigeria. The violence all over the country is partly a manifestation of the skewed federalism. But the government of the day appears adamant in heeding these calls. The President has continued to give ineffective orders that are not matched with concrete actions. We don’t want to believe that the government lacks the capacity to fight insecurity or has run out of ideas.
This is why Nigerian stakeholders, irrespective of parties, should come together to map out how to save this country. If something drastic is not done, the crisis may affect the 2023 elections. Nigeria is at a tipping point now. Everything must be done to rescue it from total collapse.
