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From all corners of Nigeria, condemnation has continued to pour in over the escalating insecurity situation of the country. The country is hanging on tenterhooks.
More worrisome is the seeming helplessness being exhibited by those expected to reassure the masses of their safety. The expression “OYO’ (on your own) appears to make a lot of sense in a country that prides itself as the giant of Africa.
Nigeria is sitting on the brink, unemployment rate has soared to 33.3 percent and inflation rate is 17.3 percent, according to recent figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics. Both worsen insecurity.
From the Presidential Villa to all the government houses, and from the military to the police headquarters, the fear is palpable that the government, indeed, has no clue as to how to tame the dragon called insecurity
Boko Haram is on rampage in the North East; bandits hold the North West to ransom; kidnappers lay siege to travellers on the nation’s highways, herdsmen take over forests and farmlands, dispossessing natives of their ancestral inheritance, and cultists rule the nation’s institutions of higher learning.
When President Muhammadu Buhari announced the appointment of new service chiefs on January 26, 2021, Nigerians cheered, thinking that Daniel had eventually come to judgment. But they were wrong. Since the service chiefs assumed office, the wave of insecurity has raged stronger than before.
What is their scorecard, meanwhile? They have moved from Borno to Oyo, to Zamfara and to Kaduna, but unable to move the needle. This puts a question mark on the essence of their appointment in the first place.
If it were in climes where people take their work seriously or where people understand the link between their appointments and the general wellbeing of their country, the new service chiefs would have voluntarily thrown in the towel after the abductions of school children repeatedly.
Is the reward of past service chiefs, whose best the president said was not good enough for the country, with ambassadorial appointments an incentive to resign?
The new service chiefs won’t feel any urge to throw in the towel, when President Buhari rewarded the Inspector-General of Police with a three-month extension of service despite the manifest failure of the police echelon in protecting lives and property of Nigerians.
Come to think of it: How possibly would a police chief, whose failure at taming the officers under him resulted in the nationwide #EndSARS protest, the consequence of which the country is yet to recover from, continue to occupy his seat in a sane country?
What we have heard all along from those who should protect us is endless moaning, buck-passing and throwing their hands resignedly. The Federal Government appears to be sounding like a broken record on its efforts. Today, a promise is made; tomorrow, another fresh promise will be made. The cycle has continued endlessly.
The receding security situation in the country is affecting every aspect of the nation’s life. The socio-economic and political life of Nigeria has been brutally bruised.
The herders-farmers crisis has continued to be a serious issue in the country. At the moment, there are concerns that Nigeria risks food insecurity as a result of the disruption caused by herders who chase away people from their farms.
The warning on Monday, March 22, 2021, by a former political associate of President Buhari, Buba Galadima that bandits may take over the Nigerian government if the government fails to pay attention to their activities, is telling.
Hakeem Baba Ahmed, spokesperson, Northern Elders Forum, the other day, berated the president over non-performance. Ahmed said: “One of our prayer points is that either God shows the President the way, or shows him the way out!”
Everyone believes, and rightly so, that the buck stops at Buhari’s table.
In a recent interview, Wole Soyinka, Nobel Laureate, also sounded a note of warning, saying, “I think that we are on the brink. We are on the brink because we are being served a toxic brew; a toxic brew of ethnicity, greed and also distorted history.”
The situation is creating political instability as governance is being affected while elected officers pretend to focus on fighting insecurity. The country is up against an existential problem that may destroy Nigeria if drastic measures are not taken now.
Nigeria appears cursed by the brand of politicians in the country who, for self-interest, sponsor thugs to assassinate opponents. The genesis of the current wave of insecurity has since been traced to the activities of politicians who wanted power by hook or crook.
While the lamentation over increasing abductions and killings rage across the country, mindless politicians are busy talking about 2023. Even those who got the people’s mandate in 2019 have side-stepped today’s responsibility, setting eyes on something that is not guaranteed.
Nigeria has been further torn apart on account of insecurity. There is no more unity of purpose, but a “we-versus-them” mentality.
Government appears to have abdicated its role to non-state actors, who now call the shots in society. They boldly brag of being responsible for the attack on a sitting governor. The government is still busy deceiving itself with investigation. The Presidency is now overtly partisan; backing these non-state actors who grow bolder by the day.
It behoves the politicians to do something drastic; history will hold them to account that they failed the nation.
Many citizens voice their regret for being Nigerian. Little wonder an increasing number of people are leaving the country to ply their trades elsewhere. The best of Nigerian doctors, nurses, pharmacists, scientists, among others have either left or are leaving.
But it is not as if Nigeria lacks the potential; it is a great country. This is evident in the number of her citizens that win laurels at home and abroad.
The country lacks competent, visionary and focused leadership.
There must be a rethink in the manner the Presidency is handling the affairs of the country. Something is wrong somewhere. The National Assembly must purge itself of the “rubber stamp” appellation, by putting the nation first above party and self.
There must be that political will on the part of the Federal Government to fight the monster no matter whose ox is gored. Fingers are pointing to people within the government circles working to subvert the unity of the country. These enemies within must be fished out.
We indeed, advise the powers that be to get cracking or leave the kitchen if they feel it is too hot; for it is of no use to continue to hang in there to the detriment of the entire nation. Time, indeed, is running out in Nigeria.
