In the last six months, Nigeria has witnessed many daring attacks by terrorists. The attacks include the attack on Kaduna airport; Abuja-Kaduna train; the President’s convoy; Medium Security Correctional Centre, Kuje in Abuja and that on President Guards Brigade in Abuja, among others. Many Nigerians have been killed, kidnapped and property worth millions of Naira destroyed. As Nigerians now live in fear over the worsening security situation, ABDULRAHMAN ZAKARIYAU seeks why it persists despite the central government’s efforts.
From the North-east to the North-west, North-central to the South-west, South-south to the South-east Nigerians now live in fear over the unabated security situation in the country. Many citizens have been killed, others kidnapped, schools and business establishments shut down and property worth millions of the Naira destroyed by terrorists and other criminals.
Like in 2014, during the reign of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, although the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government has reportedly done so much, yet the insecurity persists.
N4trn on security in last 7 years
President Buhari’s campaign in 2014 rode on the heels of fixing the pervasive security challenge in the country, thus the annual increase in the security budget.
Dataphyte in a chat revealed that the President Buhari’s federal government has already spent over N4 trillion on security in the last seven years. It disclosed that in the 2022 budget the sum of N4.27 trillion has been allocated to the nation’s armed forces, the Army, Navy and Air Force.
That will bring the total allocation to the Army over an eight- year period to N2.46 trillion, the highest among the three. The Air Force follows with N950.51 billion, and the Navy with N863.78 billion.
Presidency’s defence, disclosures
Meanwhile, the Presidency has insisted that President Buhari has done more than was expected of him as the Commander-in-Chief of the nation’s armed forces in ensuring the security of Nigerians.
This assertion was contained in a statement issued recently by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, stressing that the public outcry for a carpet bombing of terrorists’ hideouts in the North “defeats the entire aim of rescuing the innocent hostages alive.”
The statement partly read, “Terrorist activity using propaganda and the use of violence to force governments to accept or submit to political demands is not new all over the world. The country’s security and defence forces are not clueless or helpless. They have their plans and ways of doing things which they will not display in the media.
“The dilemmas in dealing with the specific case of train terrorists are manifold: punitive action like the popular call for carpet bombing of the known locations may assuage the desire of an angry public for revenge, but what about the hostages? They have committed no offence. All they did was to board a train.
“It suffices to say that the security forces are not relenting. They are acutely aware of their duties, responsibilities and what the nation expects of them. Whenever they embark upon those actions, they expect that the public should provide them with the needed support.”
According to the Presidency, terrorism is a global scourge that must be fought by all actors – the military, the civilian population and the communication service providers.
“The Presidency, in the meantime, wishes to re-assure the public that the President has done all, and even more than what is expected of him as Commander-in-Chief, by way of morale, material and equipment support to the military and expects nothing short of good results in the immediate.
“To help the nation against the ongoing situation, the media must increase their support for the fight against the exploitation of the internet and social media for terrorist purposes.”
An activist’s take
A social commentator, Olufemi Akindele Lawson, in his reaction, said President Buhari may have done all that is needed, but failed to demonstrate the political will which is most needed to end insecurity in the country.
In a phone interview with this reporter, Akindele said, “Firstly, let me clearly state it here that President Buhari has the capacity to dislodge these rag-tagged armies of terrorists currently ravaging Nigeria, and are about to unseat the democratically elected government in our country.
“However, recent events have now forced me to restate my belief in the position of Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd.) that they colluded.
“How do you explain a situation where terrorists, with known hideouts, keep kidnapping, killing innocent Nigerians, including the attack on Presidential motorcade and Presidential Elite Guards after audaciously threatening to kidnap the President and Commander-In-Chief himself?”
He said further that, “If you still doubt the capacity of the Nigerian State to end this madness, you are wrong. What is surely missing is the willingness of President Buhari and the cabal holding him and his government hostage to put an end to this madness. This is surely happening for some obvious reasons.
“I think the time has come for us to stop blaming the security agencies for failing to stop these rampaging rag-tagged armies, because they have also become victims and are now as vulnerable as everyone of us in Nigeria.
“How has the Buhari government been able to deploy those fighter jets and military hardware purchased by the Nigerian people in countering these rampaging rag tagged terrorists moving across the country, including the Federal Capital Territory, on foot and motorcycles? Is there any sanity in this at all?
“Fundamentally, I think the time is now for us all, as social commentators, activists, journalists, TV stations, newspapers, religious organisations, to suspend these 2023 political talks and galvanise efforts at saving our country.”
Bad economy
According to a security expert, Jackson lekan Ojo, the prevailing harsh economic situation as well as the lackadaisical attitude of leaders encourages insecurity to thrive.
Ojo, a golden member of the International security Association (IWA) Switzerland,
in a phone interview with Blueprint Weekend, lamented that the dire security situation “is getting worse in Nigeria.”
He, however, thumbed up the Nigerian Army, Air Force, Navy and the other paramilitary establishments for their efforts even as he expressed regrets that they cannot get the desired result “because of the chain of commands and control patterns that govern the system.”
On why the security forces cannot get results, he said it’s “because we are not in the military era; we are now in democracy whereas the President is the commander-in- chief of the Armed Forces.”
“There is no person that has the power to deploy security personnel anywhere in Nigeria, except Mr. President. The question is, is there the will power from Mr. President to end insecurity? No. In almost all the attacks carried out, nothing was done. Nobody was punished, nobody was fired at least to serve as a deterrent and the attackers are still operating unhindered.”
“So, when you look at it, as a security expert of global repute, I can boldly tell you that the political will to fight insecurity is lacking in Nigeria. The system is overwhelmed; we are now afraid of terrorists instead of the terrorists to be afraid of us. Nigeria is an unsafe territory.”
He said further that, “Another reason it persists and gets out of hand is due to the lackadaisical attitude of our leaders. The harsh economic situation is also a contributory factor. Those who are supposed to be gainfully employed by those who are in business now have nothing to do again.
“Government policies and the insecurity have destroyed many businesses. And what do you expect? They will take to crime. Another reason is that we politicised security in Nigeria.”
Ex-police commissioner’s view
On his part, a retired Commissioner of Police, security consultant and chairman/CEO, HITECH Security Services and Training Limited, Lawrence Alobi, said corruption and shortage of equipment also contribute to the security situation.
Alobi, in a phone interview, said, “There are so many factors, and human nature comes in. The systemic corruption in the country comes in. When things are to be procured based on need and the money is voted and that money is not judiciously used to procure those things due to corruption there is a problem, there will be a problem.
“Sometimes, they don’t buy quality equipment and all these affect the performance of security personnel in tackling insecurity. Corruption has eaten deep into all the fabrics of our lives. This also accounts for why insecurity persists.
“Another challenge that security agencies are facing in tackling these terrorists is the issue of man power and equipment. Security today is technology-driven and intelligence-based. Intelligence is procured through credible information; because you have to get information, analyse it and it becomes useful for the purpose it is meant.
“And again some of the arms the terrorists have are even more sophisticated than what our security personnel have. Again, the lack of trained manpower, the equipment they need to operate them. And because of the problem now, they may not have time to train the soldiers.
“Another thing is motivation. Are the soldiers and other security personnel well motivated to conquer the terrorists? Sometimes you hear that troops are protesting that their allowances are not paid as at when due.
“Another thing is that fighting insecurity is also based on the commitment of the leader. Is the leader committed to the welfare of the officers and men that will boost their morale? This will also motivate them to sacrifice.”
Alobi added that, “And again, how does the government appreciate the services of those who are sacrificing their lives for the nation. Also, the government itself seems not to have that will. It seems the government is not bothered the way things are going. These issues should be addressed urgently as they come.
“The government should go all out; security agencies should well-equipped, motivated and well-trained to fight these terrorists.”
