THE security situation in Nigeria has degenerated to a point that requires very urgent measures if Armageddon is to be avoided. It has been a long drawn issue in the country’s landscape, but instead of the situation abetting it is worsening, giving the impression that either the government is overwhelmed by the situation or lacks the political will to deal with it or both. Whichever it is, the price is becoming too high; and Nigerians have moved from being just apprehensive to being frightened.
The menace of insecurity, indeed, has taken an amoebic orientation, dividing and spreading like a dangerous cancer. From the highway robbery of old to kidnapping, to ritual killings, to terrorism, to piracy, to banditry and then all forms of insurgency, all targeting the citizenry and making life more brutish and scary. There is a chain connection from one incident to another. Peace and freedom of movement have been censored and restricted; and the country has become smaller as people now move in measured steps across short distances. Long range movements are done at higher risk levels as the roads, seas and rails are no longer safe.
A lot of factors are claimed to have given impetus to the worsening situation, which has not only terrified the citizens but has put a burden on the economy. In fact, there is a link between insecurity and the country’s current economic travail. Some believe that the attempt to salvage the local economy and boost self-sufficiency in food production triggered the wave of banditry in the North Western part of the country. They cite border closure by government, which was an attempt at stemming irregular trans-border activities, as the development that forced many young persons who hitherto were engaged in economic activities along the border areas to take to banditry and other crimes for survival.
Corruption and low morale within the country’s security forces have been cited as other factors giving impetus to criminality and insecurity in the country. Security agents have variously been alleged to collude with criminal elements to frustrate efforts at curbing infiltration and activities of these undesirable elements through the country’s borders. They have become accomplices in the criminal enterprise. Senior security officers have also been accused of benefiting from the unhealthy situation. They care more about their personal interests than public and national interests. Again, motivation is low among the officers and men, who now see patriotism as a misnomer and national sacrifice as a waste since appropriate rewards and compensation hardly come the way of gallant men, especially those who pay the supreme price in national service.
Religion and ethnicity have unfortunately become the fuel inflaming the situation. In fact, they have become the catalysts that inflame passions and provoke untoward actions. Inflammatory rhetoric by religious and tribal leaders have contributed in no small measure to the spate of communal and occupational clashes across the country, leading to sectarian upheavals which often degenerate into physical attacks, abductions, killings and sacking of communities and destruction of religious abodes.
Impunity walks the streets of cities and communities across the country while there is near absence of law and order. People now believe they can commit any form of infraction and get away with it. They indulge because others have actually been getting away with felony and, indeed, other heinous crimes. Obedience to law and order is practiced by just a few; and law enforcement agencies seem to have abdicated their responsibilities. The criminal justice system has been heavily compromised and there is no strong deterrence factor against criminal tendencies any more.
The raving phenomenon of “unknown gunmen” has added another dimension to the insecurity scourge. People in some parts of the country live with the spectre of the unknown gunmen who abduct, maim, kill and destroy with reckless abandon. They attack police stations and correctional facilities and release dangerous criminals who thereafter vent their anger on the society and its security structures for daring to arrest and incarcerate them in the first place.
Also, the establishment of security outfits by states and communities may look like a convenient solution to the current situation, but it portends more danger as it puts more lethal arms in the hands of unconventionally trained persons whose professional and ethical dispositions might not just be subject of abuse but have the potential of generating worrisome issues in the future when the recruits are no longer relevant. It also opens an avenue for uncontrolled acquisition of lethal arms and the proliferation of command centres. The multiplicity of this is already creating the impression that Nigeria is at war on so many fronts with various sets of combatants fighting without standard rules of engagement.
There are serious implications in the unfolding scenario. Apart from slowing down the pace of the economy, the optics is not good for children growing up in an environment that commonly features violence, crime and apprehension. It is socializing the young people into callousness and violence. Such children are likely to grow up believing that it is a normal way of life; and that would be a very dangerous orientation that can never be helpful to the growth and progress of any society. Inflammatory remarks by sectional leaders and incendiary commentaries by members of the public are unhelpful in the current situation the country finds itself. There is also the looming famine as farmlands have been abandoned by farmers for fear of being abducted or killed by bandits and marauders.
As the situation degenerates, it is being suggested, rightly or perceptively, that those with political responsibility have not yet, collectively, convinced Nigerians that they have the necessary political will to deliver solutions in line with the worsening situation. It is a frightful contemplation as this would even be more dangerous than admitting that the country’s security apparatus has been overwhelmed by the situation, given the hydra-headed nature of the affliction.
A review of all of the above leaves a horrendous picture of what would result if concerted efforts are not made towards addressing the situation. We are of the view that continuing with a business as usual attitude almost certainly means dangerous, perhaps a more catastrophic security challenge as we move towards the 2023 general elections in the country. And we must, in view of the ugly picture, keep asking what government is doing; and prodding them to do more even in the face of various explanations. Everyone must be part of the process at the various and respective levels.
The situation might be grim, but certainly not beyond redemption. In working towards tackling the challenge, we must be realistic; we have to be pragmatic and decisive. We must not live with the impression of exaggerated expectations. Government and its agencies might have the primary responsibility of protecting lives and property of its citizens, but security is the responsibility of everyone. The unfortunate indulgence in the notion that security is the responsibility of government alone has emboldened criminal elements to operate with impunity where there is absence of government security posts; or engage in the destruction of such posts, where available, to enable them have a free rein. We believe strongly that the moment government becomes decisive about solving the unknown gunmen riddle, it would be the beginning of the process of solving the worsening security challenges of the country.
Government has often laid claims to having the capacity to deal with the situation. There is no doubt that it has both the constitutional authority and professional capacity to do so, but what seems not to be obvious is the political will to tackle it decisively. It must adopt constitutionally sanctioned stick approach since the carrot offering seems to be unhelpful. We have a drastic situation in our hands and it requires drastic action. In fact, it is our recommendation that government should declare a state of emergency on the situation, even if it means adopting unconstitutional powers in the interim, to deal decisively with it.
A sizable number of security agents spanning all the service arms are currently deployed to guard senior public officials. Such men who have been trained in anti-crime duties should be redeployed to beef up the nation’s security forces which seem overstretched by the spate and spread of criminality and insurgencies across the country. Officials desiring protection could hire private security guards. It would put everyone on a level of security consciousness that would create a greater desire to frontally and decisively deal with the current situation.
Alongside military action, concerted efforts should be made to revive the economy and reduce the unemployment levels among the younger people as well as make life more comfortable for the society to reduce the urge of taking to criminal activities for survival. A situation should be created for farmers to return to the farms to stave off the looming famine.
A conducive environment must be created for business to blossom as no reasonable business can thrive in a state of insecurity. It is already becoming late in the day but a stitch in time saves nine. The little bird Eneke, as popularised by Chinua Achebe, said ‘since men have learnt to shoot without missing, I have learnt to fly without perching’. Government should adopt that philosophy in dealing with the situation at hand.
