BEVERLY HILLS, October 05, (THEWILL) – Nigeria celebrated its 60th Independence Anniversary on Thursday, October 1, 2020 amid increasing cases of armed banditry and general insecurity. This ugly scenario, as well as the financial straits the country has suddenly found itself, among so many other social ills facing the once peaceful and prosperous nation, are all pointers to the fact that, indeed, all is not well with Africa’s most populous country.
Sixty years ago, despite just being freed from the colonial masters, Nigeria was a very peaceful and secured country. Unfortunately, six decades after, nobody seems to be free any longer as Nigerians now live under constant attacks from armed bandits and die-hard insurgents.
The recent attacks on Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, are a further indication that not even the “high and mighty” could claim to be immune from these attacks. This is evident as the governor, being the chief security officer of his state, was attacked by daredevil insurgents, twice within same weekend, during which he lost over 18 members of his security details in the deadly ambush.
Before the weekend attacks by a Boko Haram factional group members of Islamic State West Africa, Zulum had survived an earlier attack on his entourage after visiting an Internally Displaced Peoples’ camp. The governor had described that particular attack as sabotage from the security forces, which he has continued to criticise over their handling of the insurgency in the North-East.
If Governor Zulum is bold enough to be determined in going ahead with his official duties despite the daily threats by Boko Haram, the immediate past Zamfara State governor, Abubakar Abdul’aziz Yari, was not.
For the most part of his second term in office, the then chief security officer of Zamfara State became an “absentee governor.” Yari was fully operating from Abuja, with occasional visits to his state under heavy security, as kidnappers, cattle rustlers and armed bandits made the state a killing field.
The 2019 Nigeria Security Tracker, a report by the Washington-based Council of Foreign Relations, put the Zamfara killings from the first quarter of the year at 262 civilian deaths against the 288 recorded in 2018 and 52 in 2017.
The report thus indicated what it described as a sharp rise in killings of members of armed groups, including bandits, vigilantes and others involved in criminal activities. The Global Conflict Tracker actually put the figures from Boko Haram insurgency since 2011 at 37,000 deaths, 2.5 million displaced in the Lake Chad Basin area and 244,000 Nigerian refugees.
Not too long ago, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State also had an encounter with armed bandits along the Akure-Ibadan Expressway, a development which clearly proved that armed banditry and insecurity are not limited to any particular region but the entire country as a whole.
However, the Northeast region was the hardest hit and still continues to be the hotbed of armed insurgency in the country with the more deadlier and ruthless Boko Haram factional group of the ISWA terrorising the area despite heavy mobilisation of the armed forces against their activities.
In March, Nigeria lost no fewer than 50 soldiers in an ambush laid by the terrorists in the Goneri area of northern Borno State as the 10-year-old insurgency which has claimed tens of thousands lives continues.
Aside insurgency, kidnapping has also become another major security concern in Nigeria over the years with notorious kidnappers even masquerading as philanthropists until some of them were busted after a long chase. Deadly armed robbers, in some cases, have decided to go for kidnapping because of the high returns.
The targets are always high network individuals, including expatriate workers, and members of their families. The activities of these kidnappers have made the country one of the highest places for kidnap-for-ransom in the world.
Ritualists and cultists have also added to the increasing criminal activities and general insecurity in the country over the years thus compounding the already bad situation. Their notorious activities have continued to aid the work of the kidnappers as some of them work in partnership.
The situation on ground in every part of the country is very serious despite efforts by the various security agencies to offer protection to the masses. Gone are the days when people travelled from one part of the country without any fear. Now, the situation is quite different as danger lies at almost at every corner. The criminals strike even in broad daylight as most of our roads have now become highways of death.
While the well to do move around with private security operatives and armed escorts, the ordinary Nigerian is left to his or her fate. While the government continues to do its best, the efforts are limited by poor logistics and infrastructure, as well as inadequate funding.
THEWILL therefore calls for a total return to sanity where human lives would have the value it naturally deserves and a situation where desperation to have money by all means would no longer be the order of the day. The celebration of our diamond independence anniversary should be an opportunity for us to take another look at our value system, which, really has to change through a re-orientation.
ALSO READ: THEWILL EDITORIAL: Breaking The Loud Silence On Igbo Presidency
On the lingering insurgency, it is worrisome and really sad that despite the increase in defence budget from about US$1.44 billion in 2009 to US2.81 billion in 2018, among other interventions, the military-led counter-insurgency operations against Boko Haram Nigeria are still facing some challenges. All these could be traced to corruption even within the system, which often leads to sabotage and heavy casualties on the side of the military.
We therefore join other Nigerians in calling for a change of the military operational tactics despite the much-flaunted claims of dealing heavy blows on Boko Haram. We also condemn the corruption in the system and outright sabotage from within as we now have evidence of soldiers’ mutiny, desertion from war fronts and low morale which have resulted in high success rate of Boko Haram insurgency.
Nigeria has the full potential for greatness with enormous resources to take care of all the citizens. It is never too late to return to the path of righteousness and peaceful co-existence where peace and harmony reign supreme.
About the Author
