The Nigerian government appears to be running from pillar to post as insecurity across the country escalates.
Kidnapping has hit an all-time high in a country that brands itself as the giant of Africa. In a space of one month, terrorists have abducted a countless number of citizens, including school children and their teachers.
On Friday, March 12, 2021, a-yet-to-be-established number of students in Kaduna State were abducted by kidnappers.
Recall that President Buhari had recently assured Nigerians that the abduction of female students from Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangebe, Zamfara State, would be the last of such episode in his administration.
His assurances were conveyed by the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika who led a Federal Government delegation to sympathise with the people and government of Zamfara following the Jangebe episode.
The President said that new measures had been developed by the Federal Government to bring a complete end to all forms of criminality in the nation.
Sirika had announced in Zamfara that “The President is saddened by the abduction of the students from Jangebe and reassures you that the government has all the resources and wherewithal to contain these criminals.”
He also said that Buhari also commended Governor Bello Matawalle’s efforts against armed banditry and promised continued support to bring lasting peace.
But with the abduction of many students from the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Mando, Kaduna State, it appears the President’s pledge needs to be reviewed or may be coming too late to move a needle.
Recently, an exasperated President had also announced a shoot-on-sight order on anyone seen carrying AK-47 illegally in the country.
He had repeated this on Thursday, March 11, 2021, while meeting with members of the National Council of Traditional Rulers at the State House, Abuja.
In the last few days, the newly appointed service chiefs, have moved from one state to another, reassuring state governors and Nigerians that the military was on top of the game.
Read Also: Makinde urges deployment of more soldiers to combat insecurity in Oyo
Despite these consultations and assurances, the bandits have remained undaunted in their nefarious activities. Today, no day ever passes in Nigeria without the sad news of killings and abduction of travellers and students in their numbers.
Buhari talked tough during his meeting with the monarchs, reiterating his shoot-on-sight order.
He said: “What surprises is what is happening now in the North West where the same people, with the same culture, are killing each other taking their livestock and burning properties.
“As a result of that, we had a four-hour meeting of the National Security Council attended by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Service Chiefs, Chief of Defence Staff, the Inspector- General of Police and others, and we gave clear instructions.”
“One thing that got to the press, which I read myself was that anyone with an AK-47 will be shot. This is because AK-47 is supposed to be registered and it is only given to security officials,” he said.
The President also lamented that “we closed the borders for some years but the intelligence report I’m getting on a daily basis is that those who are conducting the abductions, the killings and so on are still not short of arms and ammunition.”
The same Thursday, at the third edition of the weekly Presidential Media Briefing, Babagana-Monguno, a major-general, and national security adviser (NSA), said the government would not negotiate or deploy mercenaries to prosecute the fight against insurgents, but would rather deploy all necessary force to eliminate them.
“While the government is not averse to talking with these entities, it also has to fully apply its weight. You can’t negotiate with people who are unreliable and who will continue to hurt society. We will apply the full weight of the government to deal with these criminals.
“These are not people looking for anything that is genuine or legitimate; they are just out to take calculated measures to inflict pain and violence on innocent people. We must deal with them the way they need to be dealt with. We will fully assert the government will,” Monguno said.
According to him, “Government will not allow itself to be blackmailed by any group or any individual who thinks he can hide under the surface and use proxies to deal a fatal blow on innocent people.”
But analysts are wondering how the Federal Government hopes to guarantee the safety of all citizens, granted that the bandits concentrate on soft targets, where the government’s security tentacles appear not reaching.
A retired civil servant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, blamed the Federal Government for the escalation in the killings and abductions across the country.
“I do not doubt the sincerity of the President in ending the insecurity situation we have at hand, but I blame him for allowing the problem to escalate to a level that it is now becoming almost impossible to manage. We all saw the responses of the Presidency each time herdsmen killed people in Benue and Plateau, for instance. There is nothing that has not been said about the government allowing herdsmen to carry AK-47 about. The question worth asking is, is it now that President Buhari realizes that it is dangerous to allow unauthorized and largely illiterates to carry sophisticated arms all over the place? What the President is saying now should have been said four years ago,” the retiree said.
Another analyst who spoke with BusinessDay also said that the government wasted time in halting the rhetoric that it was using mercenaries to dialogue with terrorists.
“It is either that people are not helping President Buhari or there are those pretending to work for and with him, who actually wants him to fail; otherwise, why would the Presidency lie low and behaved as if they were really negotiating with bandits and terrorists, or that they were behind those who claimed to be doing the negotiation on behalf of the government? Why coming out now threatening that you are going to deal with those that people have rightly or wrongly believed you have been pampering? There is a huge trust deficit, and this is where the major problem is,” the pundit said, preferring not to be named.
Seyi Adetayo, a former operative of the Department of State Security (DSS), said that as long as crime and criminality have political colouration, they become difficult to tackle.
He condemned the desperation of politicians in the country, which, he noted, was responsible for their penchant to recruit thugs to prosecute their political agenda.
Referring to the statement by one of the Kagara abductees that one of the kidnappers said they were in that business because the government reneged on their promises after using them to get political power, Adetayo said: “There is the need to draw a line between government and politicians. There are politicians who are desperate to win election and thereafter abandon the recruited thugs. So, when these politicians get into office, they become part of government that the bandit may be referring to as government.”
He also expressed the fears that “There are the possibility of more kidnappings in the north with the remnant of the military we have today. The landmass is so vast that the security agents that Nigeria has cannot man them. There is no way all the schools in Nigeria can be protected. Even if you fence a school, that does not guarantee absolute protection of that school or prevent it from the invasion of terrorists; even if you have five hundred armed soldiers in every school.”
It is hoped that in the days ahead, the Federal Government would be able to bite and not just bark as there are still many AK-47-bearing elements in the country, who believe they are above the law. What the government does in the next few days will either further erode the trust deficit against it or change people’s perception about the real government in Abuja.
