Since the return of democracy dispensation in the country in 1999 the federal government has done very little or nothing to curb the state of rapid increase in the numbers of state and local security outfits. The federal government watches it without foreseeing it is going to be like a timed bomb waiting to explode.
We have witnessed the proliferation of such security outfits like the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Indigenous People of Biafra and now the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN), codenamed Operation Amotekun all based on sectional organization, especially in the southern part of the country.
Due to the reasons best known to it, the federal government has done nothing to stop this potential danger without the considering the senseless killings and arsons perpetrated by the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) in 2002 when clashes engulfed between OPC and other ethnic nationalities, especially the Hausa living in the South-west.
One may recall that at the inception of the Ametekum security outfit, the Chairman of the South-west Governors Forum, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state, said there is no going back on the operation of the regional security agency, Amotekun. He said they are prepared to pursue its existence to a logical conclusion and emphasised that the governors of the region were committed to improve security and are particularly keen to address the rising wave of banditry, kidnapping and farmers and herders’ clashes.
Really, Governor Akeredolu matched his words with action by asking all the Fulani herdsmen in his state to vacate the forest reserves within the state in seven days. The governor issued the ultimatum while meeting with the leaders of Hausa/Fulani and Ebira Communities in the state. Indeed, the eviction notice to the Fulani community offered a different dimension to the security challenges.
One of the misfortunes we are afflicted with in this country is that our rulers show lack of concern to diversity, every other thing fails and it seems our rulers always mismanage the delicate ethnic and religious balances on which Nigeria pivots. Let the nation’s leaders provide leadership by taking measures that will reassure all and sundry that they are working on the problems and that nobody should lose interest in a united, peaceful, and progressive Nigeria. While in any civilise society leadership must be responsive to diversity. It is the rudimentary ingredient to fostering unity among variegated people.
How the country come to this stage is squarely failure of the federal government to take proactive measures to address security issues in the country this has given rise to non-state actors like local village hunter Sunday Igboho have a gut to issued a evictions to other Nigerians. What question left unanswered was it’s the Palace of Seriki Fulani, Alhaji Saliu Abadulkadir and other houses in the town including expensive cars were razed by angry youths is this justifiable and does he and other victims also live in the forests.?
Insecurity by itself is bad enough. When those in authority allow it to be layered with ethnic tensions, it is doubly dangerous. Rwanda is the clear experience. Section 43 of the constitution, which grants people the right to own properties anywhere in Nigeria, cannot be construed as taking other people’s properties.
Almost every state in the North is facing serious security challenges and Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa state said Boko Haram is regrouping in his state. This is a clear indication that the collapse of security system is all over the country and in all these, there are no actionable responses from the federal government.
There are many scenarios running through people’s head, but this particular one scares people a lot. As the notice expired, Amotekun launched offensives to evict their target, Funali. Let Rotimi and Akeredolu, regional security agency, Amotekun, read the constitution properly. What they are doing is a forceful eviction of Fulani herdsmen and it is unconstitutional.
The deafening support by key stakeholders in the South-west states is also worrisome. This supporting Amotekun is a dangerous tell-tale sign that things are wrong. This is not good for our country. We must all speak out and talk about the solution to this twin-problem of insecurity and threat to national unity. Nigerians need to live in peace with each other as we all do not have another country to call our own other than this one country, Nigeria.
Lack of actions against insecurity is most unsuccessful point of the administration and the situation is getting worse by the day. Insecurity has become the order of the day and it is fuelling disunity and criminal activities. It obviously requires urgent attention.
Dukawa writes from Kano via [email protected]
