For a successful and lasting solution to be found to any problem, we must first nip it in the bud and then create a condition for permanent positive change. The root causes of insecurity and disturbances in Africa are partly due to the abject poverty and ignorance that is prevalent among the masses and partly due to the corrupt, self-righteous leadership that is reluctant to relinquish power which has become common phenomenon in Africa.
Poverty has made our people angry and desperate while ignorance has made them suggestible and gullible. Poor leadership has taken full advantage of this unfortunate situation to achieve selfish interests.
Strong tribal loyalties, allegiance to questionable fraternities, blind obedience to tyrants and corrupt leaders and many other negative sentiments have thrown objectivity, fairness, peace and prosperity overboard. Prejudice, pride and perceive victimization have enslaved objectivity, mutual trust and respect for talent and merit.
A Hausa proverb says that “A drowning man will even grab a sword in the hope for survival”, People resort to violence and all forms of social unrest to try to escape from the horrible living condition they were born into.
There cannot be any imaginable excuse for the Rwandan genocide of 1994, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) massacre or the Boko Haram insurgency and all the senseless killing in Africa. Unfortunately, many of these fighters even think they are fighting holy wars while they are committing despicable atrocities.
“The essence of human civilization is to live and let live in peace and harmony”.
Leaders should lead by providing exemplary, accountable and selfless leadership. It is the most important to make life worth living for the masses by providing them with all the basic necessities of life and educate them to appreciate the sanctity of human life.
Peace and security in Africa can only be achieved and sustained when there is justice, equal treatment, strong cooperation between the African countries, cooperation between the security forces of a country and the masses at the lower rung of our communities and also when there is a security agency in all African countries that supervises the activities of religious leaders and preachers.
Though, to fight nefarious activities, we must have a well trained and equipped security forces but to bring an end to our enormous security problems and also achieve the peace we all strongly desire, the proposals outlined should be actively pursued with determination.
Africa is the most culturally diverse continent in the world with thousands of ethnic groups and languages
Some of these ethnic groups are at war with each other, most of the time, the war arises when persons from ethnic minorities are treated with disdain or are not being fairly represented in government.
Our leaders should ensure that all people of different tribes and religions are treated equally without contempt or dismissive. When this is achieved, every good citizen will feel duty-bound to ensure that peace and security is achieved and sustained by reporting all criminal activities without considering the suspect’s tribe or religion.
Today in Africa, we fail to combat nefarious activities and defeat our numerous groups of insurgents because we fail to form an alliance and fight collectively for the stability of our continent.
Insecurity in one African country is a threat to collective African security and affects the whole Africa.
Most of these rebels start as a local terrorist group in one of our countries but expand within a short time to neighbouring nations by operating through our borders and also by building camps in our forests.
Military strength alone cannot give us the kind of peace and security we crave but when we collaborate and also share some security information, we will achieve the peace and security we desire.
Our stability and economic growth heavily depends on the peace and security we can achieve together and maintain.
To end nefarious activities and ensure a lasting peace, African leaders must put aside their differences, rivalries and work together by sharing some security information and forming a strong coalition that will end crimes and criminals.
Security forces cannot know a place and its inhabitants better than its indigenous people. So, for any nation to rout its hardened criminals and rebels, its security forces must collaborate with the good indigenous people of its towns.
Our leaders must ensure that our security forces collaborate with the local people and also ensure that recruitments into security agencies are done in such a way that reflects the diversity and pluralism of our nation.
In Africa, we have lost hundreds and thousands of lives because of what preachers preach. They created most of African insurgents groups in the name of serving a particular religion.
Leaders must ensure that people are not left to preach without supervision and anyone caught preaching violence is ban before he does much damages and make to face the full wrath of the law.
And also the use of military force to solve social unrest will only be resorted to if absolutely inevitable and should be done with tact and caution.
Finally cooperation between the African leaders must be highly emphasized.
Written by Abubakar Abdulmusawwir
abubakarabdulmusawwir@yahoo.com
08069721169
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