Insecurity: How do we go to Kaduna?

The suspension of train services along the Abuja-Kaduna rail route following terrorist attack on the a Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) train enroute Kaduna from Abuja has travellers stranded as the road and airport had not been spared of similar attacks. In this report, KEHINDE OSASONA echoes the question in the minds of many: How do we go to Kaduna?

Gunmen suspected to be terrorists, who hijacked a Kaduna bound train between Katari and Rijana communities around 6pm on Monday, March 28, disproved the common saying: You can’t stop a moving train.

The terrorists, who planted explosives on the train track and immobilised it before firing gunshots at passengers, did not only end the passengers journey abruptly, they killed nine of them, some were whisked away while others were injured and are still recuperating.

The train attack came on the heels of a similar attack on the Kaduna Airport a few weeks ago leading to the killing of an airspace worker and preventing a passenger plane from flying out of the airport.

The train attack also came months after the bombing of train and rail tracks along the same Kaduna-Abuja route in 2021.

What baffled many was the fact that the terrorist appeared to have targeted Kaduna which is perceived as stronghold of different security formations with over six military formations.

While fielding questions from journalists over the spate of insecurity plaguing the state, Governor Nasir el-Rufai said 937 persons were killed by terrorists in 2020 while 1,972 others were kidnapped. This is as 3,348 residents were kidnapped in 2021 and 1,192 slain by the marauders.

Train attack avoidable?

In 2021 when similar fate befell train passengers travelling to Kaduna, the the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) fumed at the development, tasking the federal government and security agencies to go all out in total war against the terrorists and all forms of insecurity to rid the country of threats to lives and property.

The spate of bandits attacks on airport, train, roads and in various northern communities according to the pan-northern socio-cultural organisation had made it imperative to rid the country of all forms of terror and ensure lasting solution to security challenges across the country.

Speaking through its Secretary General, Malam Murtala Aliyu (Matawallen Gombe), the group said: “The new dimension of the terror attacks, in the country, both on human and infrastructure calls for total war.

“The authorities may look at the possibility of utilizing volunteers, such as the ex-servicemen and women, the civilian task forces, hunters and whatever is available to make every inch of Nigeria habitable and peaceful.

“We must appreciate the responsibility bestowed on us by providence as the largest black nation and as a leader on our continent must do everything within our powers to keep Nigeria stable and strong.

“The security of the country rests on the central government and so must employ cursory, calm, implementable and lasting solutions, including the invitation of foreign forces or mercenaries to fight our course.

“On the proposition to escort trains from Abuja to Kaduna, Ibadan to Lagos or the Itakpe routes, by the Nigerian Airforce, the Forum calls on the security agency to redesign their operations and instead deploy their machinery and manpower in launching attacks on the bandits and terrorists enclaves.

“Dedicating such operations to only railway lines, shall make air and road users more vulnerable to such attacks.”

Buhari overwhelmed?

While reacting over the development, the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo alleged that the security challenges may have overwhelmed the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The development, in the words of the former number one man, has shown that Nigerians are not safe anywhere in vehicles, on the train or on aircraft, regretting that the country is in a very serious situation.

“So, if anybody comes to say I want to see you, I want to talk to you, I will say ‘you’re welcome’. This is because I believe very strongly, and I have said it publicly and I will say it again that the situation we are in this country is not a situation where one man will say yes, he has a solution unless we are deceiving ourselves. I believe we need to sit down collectively and look at the situation.

“A situation where you are not safe on the road, you are not safe on the train, you are not safe at the airport, shows a very serious situation.

“I believe that all right-thinking Nigerians must know that we have a situation that has overwhelmed the present administration, but we should not allow that situation to overwhelm Nigeria,” Obasanjo stated.

Nowhere is safe now – TUC

The Trade Union Congress (TUC), which had a dose of the calamity that befell the nation with its Secretary General, Barr. Musa-Lawal Ozigi and the Chairman, Kwara State Chapter, Comrade Akin Akinsola, who were on an official duty to Kaduna were killed alongside other passengers in the train attack.

While confirming the incident, the President, TUC, Comrade Quadri Olaleye, said they were on their way to Kaduna for an official assignment slated for today, Tuesday, 29 March, 2022 when they met their untimely death.

Going forward, TUC called on the government at all levels, especially the federal government to rise to the occasion to stop the killing of innocent Nigerians.

“As it stands, nowhere is safe now, we cannot travel by air, the road is not safe and neither is the rail. Is Nigeria a failed state? It is unfortunate,” he said.

‘It’s undermining investment, industrialisation’

Speaking in the same vein, frontline labour leader, Issa Aremu, decried the increasing spate of insecurity on the continent caused by insurgencies, banditry, and avoidable wars.

According to him, the situation has undermined investment and industrialisation on the continent, citing the case of Boko Haram in Nigeria and the recent conflict in Ethiopia with Tigri region.

On Nigeria’s security challenge, Aremu, who is the Director General of Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MNIL), noted that: “Activities of bandits all over the country are undermining farming cultivation, Agro-allied, and industrial expansion.”

He noted that, “Insecurity will further make Nigerian industries uncompetitive with negative impacts on employment.”

Way out

While calling for collective effort in addressing the worsening security situation, Nigerian farmers noted that the level of insecurity across the country has caused about 50 per cent losses.

The union stressed that if the development persisted it would degenerate to a national food crisis as many farmers according to the association were currently scared of visiting their farms, particularly those in Northern Nigeria, where Islamist terror groups now control a vast swatch of territory.

According to the National President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Kabir Ibrahim, “Although it is difficult to quantify what farmers have lost as a result of the precarious security situation in Nigeria, the truth remains that our losses are very huge, saying it requires collective efforts.”