Nigeria is at a crossroad. Yes,
we are caught in a web of multiple crises and overwhelmingly unprecedented too.
Never have we been exposed to this orgy of monumental violence and national
disgrace, occasioned by arms bearing non-state actors on the loose like wild
animals except perhaps the ugly days preceding the Nigerian civil war of 1967.
Here, hapless citizens are potched and killed with impunity without regard for
the consequences of the law.
No matter how hard our leaders,
(ensconced within the labyrinths of Aso rock) may pretend or down play the
enormity of the security crisis; the reasonable man who lives off the streets
whether in Zamfara or Port Harcourt or Abakaliki or Kaura Namoda or Onitsha
feels the pangs of the crisis. The implication is that there is no safe haven
anywhere, any more in the country. Men of the underworld have
"Somaliarized" our dear Nigeria. We live by the mercy not of government
but of non-state actors and by the grace of God.
There is tension everywhere, an
indication that all is not well. The spasm of insurgency, kidnapping and
brigandage spreading like tidal waves across the nation calls for concerted
action. From the north east to the south east and south south the story is the
same. It is obvious that the obsession for crime and criminality has reached an
all time high. We are, without doubt, sitting on a time bomb waiting to
explode. And perhaps to further expose our vulnerability. As faith is lost in
the mechanism of state security apparatus, since they have also become
endangered species, we seem to be moving inexorably towards atavistic days of
"wetie" made popular in the old western region.
Meanwhile what passes for
national discourse on the state of insecurity in the land, is ever stringent,
it's participants are often mired in cliché, ignorance and banality as they
skirt the rough edges of the subject matter without necessarily contextualizing
the gravity of situation or taking look at the root causes of the crisis. While
the debate is in session on television screens, beer parlours and on the
airwaves, the non-state actors wielding an assortment of weapons are getting
more audacious by the day. This is not the time for sophistry which is what we
are wont to do depending on our individual perspectives fueled by our various
backgrounds.
Or how else do we explain the mayhem
visited on the people of Imo State in the wee hours of Easter Monday. The share
bravura of the escapede leaves one wondering if there's a serious minded
government in place in Nigerian? It was a smooth operation that took over three
hours to execute. All through the night, there was no visible response from the
different security agencies in the state capital, Owerri.
The faceless urchins numbering
over 100 brandishing lethal weapons brazenly sacked the state police
headquarters. Not only did they burn parts of the building, they also torched
over 70 vehicles parked within the premises. The men effectively paralyzed the
operations of the state command. Not satisfied with their dastardly acts, they
crossed over to the state correctional centre, where inmates were set free. No
less than 1850 inmates were let loose like cannons. In my my view no decent
government anywhere in the world would allow ragtag brigands to over run its
established facilities. It's not possible.
The wave of violence continued
the next day. A group of criminals were again on rampage in the suburbs of
Owerri as another police station was ransacked and arms carted away in broad
daylight. Governor Hope Uzodinma who was visible shaken by the attack was
however too hasty in assuming that the act was sponsored by the opposition. The
former inspector general of Police, Mr. Adamu also toed the same line of
thought by attributing the incident to the Ingenious People of Biafra (IPOB) and
others. None of the dignitaried spoke about the failure to be proactive on the
part of the security agencies even when they had a prior intelligence briefing.
We need to exercise caution especially when the report of the investigative
panel is yet to be made public. Why jump into unnecessary conclusions thereby
heating up the political temperature of the state. The governor could have done
better.
Indeed, it is now fashionable
for criminals in the south east to visit their spleen on innocent police men.
Uniformed officers are maimed and killed at will while police stations are
razed and arms carted away. In the last one month, no less than six police
officers were gruesomely murdered by unknown gunmen in Abia State. Correctional
centres were also not spared by these unidentified gangsters. The attack and
killings is still continuing on a daily basis. Only recently it was reported
that unidentified assailants attacked the former Central Bank of Nigeria
Governor, Mr. Soludo in Anambra State. In the process three police men were
sent to their early graves.
Analysts are quick to point out
that the events in the south east portend danger for the country. It is, if you
wish the harbinger of a stream of violence and anarchy waiting to envelop the
country. It is not in doubt that the miscreants in the south east may have
learnt some lessons from the portfolio of Boko Haram insurgents. Given the fact
that members of the group started their bizarre campaigns in Bornu State by
ransacking police station and military formations. The criminals in the south
east may in earnest be involved in stock pilling arms and ammunition for a full
scale war against the people. The next stage of the trajectory would be to make
the south east ungovernable through coordinated security breaches. After that
the warlords would take over territories by building enclaves for themselves.
At that point, your guess is as good as mine.
It is still early in the day to
concede defeat. With the needed political will we can crush these misguided
youth groups, otherwise they may metamorphose into another version of Boko
Haram, another bone in the throat of the nation. What that means is that
commerce and industry would be brought to its knees. And the rate of poverty
and hunger may climb to to the roof. Wither Nigeria.
The state of insecurity in the
country is no more than a representation of the decay in our socio-political
culture but much more, it is a key symbol of the level of mis-governance,
injustice, nepotism and corruption and crass ignorance fostered by the ruling
elites. All these negative tendencies have taken a toll on our union. Hence,
the clamour for restructuring of the country. No thanks to a docile and
insensitive ruling class who seem to be far removed from the anguish of the
people. It is not unlikely that a privileged few in the corridors of power may
have been benefiting from the chaos we found ourselves. How else can one
explain this inertial on the part of government?
But guess what? Very soon, it
will be turn of the south-south to bear the brunt of the bandits. And that
would be catastrophic and deadly. Trust me. Life will be unbearable, given our
dependence on outsiders for vasually every stuff we need. It is about time we
all rise above ethnic chauvinism to confront our common enemy. With one voice
let us say - no to armed banditry everywhere in the country. Like John Major as
prime minister of Britain in the peak of the IRA attacks once cried out loud:
"I feel strongly that society needs to condemn a little more and
understand a little less." Security is a collective responsibility. All
hands must be on deck, if we are to make any head way in the fight against
insecurity.
How did we get to this point?
Where did we miss the mark? The answer is simple. Our leaders led us into this cul de sac by their actions, either
deliberately or inadvertently through policy formulation in governance. These
leaders have over the years, entrenched nepotism, corruption, inequality,
injustice, religious bigotry, tribal sentiments and many other social ills. The
effects of deprivation, unemployment, lack of equity and fairness have opened
the field to non-state actors to take up arms against the state under different
guises.
To get out of this quagmire, the
federal government must demonstrate sincerity of purpose in its avowed desire
to fight corruption, insurgency and total overhaul of the governance process.
It must put in place the mechanism for job creation. Encourage the rule of law
and back down on its deliberate policy of nepotism. Nigerians must be given
equal opportunity to the wealth of the nation. And above all, it is time we set
in motion the process of restructuring the country.
Let me serve our leaders a
caveat, unless and until these issues are addressed, we may not wake up to see
2023. If we engage in window dressing the real issues of insecurity, instead of
confronting it with all determination, 20 23 may just be a mirage. The
President must show leadership now or never. It's either we scale the hurdles
now or we sink with the tides. The decision is ours to make now or never.
This is my stand
Thomas Ebikabowei Peretu
A social commentator and
political analyst