Kaduna security second and third quarters: Silver lining in the dark clouds

No responsible leader can afford to sleep with his eyes closed when his people are robbed, raped, kidnapped or slaughtered like rams by mindless bandits and terror merchants. This explains why Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state is ever awake, and frequently in the news. His state, among all others in the expansive North-west zone, is blighted by high level of insecurity. Victims are deprived of their right to life and the pursuit of a legitimate business. The victims are in their thousands, and they have fallen on the road, in their farms, at the market, in worship places and even while asleep on their beds. Indeed, insecurity is the ultimate evil, reason the protection of lives and livelihoods is globally regarded as the foremost responsibility of government.

At every given opportunity El-Rufai, more than any other person of comparable status in the current political setup, laments the scourge of insecurity, share in the agony of the victims, and propagate his preferred programme of action for tackling the monster. As a state governor, he can only do so little, since security matters rest exclusively on the overburdened shoulders of the federal government.

In his recent outing, at the presentation of the second and third quarter Security Report by the state’s Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, El-Rufai loudly re-echoed his call for the creation of a North-west Theatre Command to manage the war in a holistic manner. He said: “The existence of such a special-purpose Command would enable an holistic approach to counter-insurgency operations across the states in the zone”.

While noting and commending “the military and security forces for their efforts and sacrifices as they work to uproot the criminals” in the North-west, El-Rufai stressed that creating a special command for the zone “would enhance coordination of the resources of Armed Forces, the Police, the DSS, our respective state vigilance services, hunters and other local volunteers to fight the insurgents. If this was not done immediately, it is feared that the conduct of the 2023 general elections and the national population census might be greatly endangered.

Each time El-Rufai speaks on the worrisome state of insecurity in the land, and the best way to tame the monster, you get the feeling that he also serves as the de facto minister of defence or the national security adviser. He has spoken more often, promoted more innovative ways, and stayed more focused on the issues of counter-terrorism, than any other politician of note in the current setup, which is what leadership is all about.

Many interested persons can readily recall that El-Rufai was at the forefront of the campaign to get the federal government to properly designate the bandits as terrorists, so that the security forces could go after them with the most lethal weapons in the armoury, without incurring the anger of the international community. When that was achieved, El-Rufai openly called for carpet-bombing of the forests where the terror merchants take refuge after killing, maiming, raping, looting or otherwise inflicting pains on hapless citizens. In his estimation, the only repentant terrorist was the dead one. He further advocated better funding and judicious use of military allocations; recruitment of more men into the armed forces so they could launch simultaneous attack on the enemy on multiple fronts, maintain a hot chase on the vandals so they won’t have chance to plan attacks; and with more men, the patriotic forces can hold on to liberated areas.

In fact, Governor El-Rufai was rightly credited in some quarters for the recent increase in military onslaught against terrorist elements in Kaduna state and the entire North-west. While the security clouds remain somewhat dark everywhere in the country, unfolding events in Kaduna clearly paint the picture of a silver lining in the cloud. Highlights of the latest edition of the state’s pacesetting Quarterly Security Report showed a significant decline in the number of persons killed as a result of banditry, terrorism, violent attacks and consequent reprisals, and communal clashes. The quarterly report, which chronicled incidents of security breaches in the three senatorial districts of the state from July to September, 2022, showed that 161 persons lost their lives as a result sundry criminalities. Among the fatalities were eight women and six l. A total of 804 persons were kidnapped during the period under review.

Bad and unacceptable as the fatality and kidnap figures look, it is important to note that they represent a steady decline from the previous quarters. For instance, 360 deaths were reported in the first quarter of 2022, and 285 killed between April and June of the same year, compared to the 161 in the latest reporting period. The number of abducts also declined from 985 in the second quarter, to 804 in the third quarter of the year. The reduction and needless loss of lives and abductions give a glimpse of hope, that cases of insecurity and wanton destruction of precious lives and assets could brought to the barest minimum, if not totally eradicated, if all hands are on deck.

To their credit, the Kaduna state government has showed an unequalled commitment to the internal security project. We can recall that Mallam El-Rufai, at the onset of his second term as Governor, in 2019, created a full cabinet position and appointed a capable and dependable ally, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, to coordinate security matters. The Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs, the only of its kind in the country, has helped the government in no small measure, to stay on top of security challenges. It makes valuable inputs through intelligence gathering, liaising with the state’s Peace Commission and the 23 local government area peace committees to manage communal clashes peculiar to the state; and interfaces with federal security and law enforcement outfits to handle the challenges over which those agencies have exclusive constitutional responsibility.

While Kaduna state, indeed, the whole country, still has a long way to go in terms of bringing insecurity to a tolerable level, there’s no gainsaying that the operating model championed by Nasir El-Rufai has yielded modest gains, and is worthy of emulation and commendation. Each state of the federation, especially those with elevated level of insecurity, like Niger, Zamfara, Katsina, Borno and Imo, among others, should create a ministry and appoint a cabinet person to focus on security matters.

The periodic publication of Security Report, as done in Kaduna state, should also be copied by other states, and more importantly, by the Office of the National Security Adviser, which is increasingly being seen as moribund and dysfunctional. It is all about public accountability. The people reserve the right to be adequately informed of the sort of dangers that they faced, the nature of damage and destruction inflicted by the merchants of terror, and the efforts of the government to protect them. After all, the protection of lives and property of the citizens remains the primary purpose, indeed, the foremost reason for the existence of government.

When this role of government is compromised or or treated with levity, life quickly degenerates to what Thomas Hobbes called the state of nature, whereby life is nasty, brutish and short.

The Quarterly Reports of the Kaduna state Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs satisfy the need for public accountability, and much more. It has helped to minimise rumours, distortions and the false narrative that insecurity in the state was premeditated, and a clear case of ethnic cleansing targeted at the natives of Southern Kaduna District. Truth has been established that the unfortunate incidents of bloodletting in many parts of the country are an ill wind that blows only evil to all persons, irrespective of tribe or creed.

For instance, in the security report under reference, out of the 161 fatalities recorded, 120 deaths (75 percent) occurred in the Central Senatorial District, while the Southern District accounted for 20 deaths or 12 percent. The Northern Senatorial District recorded 21 deaths. The bulk of kidnapping cases also occurred in the Central District, accounting for 72 percent of the total cases in the third quarter.

On the whole, Kaduna state under Governor El-Rufai must be duly recognised and commended for devising workable and purpose-driven approach to security management. Some gains have been made, no doubt, but a lot more still needs to be done to get the state where it deserves to be in the security continuum. We can hazard a guess that El-Rufai would have achieved more if states gain concurrent powers in security matters, for instance, with the creation of state police formations!

Ogbuagu writes from Kaduna