Every reasonable and responsible citizen or organisation in Nigeria should be concerned about the goings-on in the country these days. We are.
It would seem to us that the country is on a self-consuming mission. The raging fire of insecurity and hate is sweeping across the country, and no nation survives this way.
In the last few years, Nigeria has moved from bad to worse in terms of insecurity. It appears the government itself is overwhelmed. But that cannot be the solution, which is urgently needed to halt the drift to precipice.
Why do we raise the alarm? The happenings in the South-East must be stopped. Security agencies, saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives and property, must be seen to be doing that job without pandering to ethnic or religious sentiments.
President Muhammadu Buhari cannot sit on the fence while the country burns. As the Commander-in-Chief, he must take a holistic decision that would restore confidence in his administration. So far, the president has shown sufficient disdain to loss of lives and has proven to be impervious to criticism.
In the last few days, various groups have alleged that there seems to be orchestrated disturbances in the South East to create a state of anarchy in order to achieve a predetermined goal. This exists in the realms of conjecture but events of the moment tend to lend credence to the allegation.
Nigeria has become a lawless place, and there is no meaningful governance going on. Criminals are running the show, killing and maiming at will, in the name of banditry.
Government and governance on holiday
A civil society organisation, Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria, indicated that “at least 1,603 citizens were violently killed and over 1,774 abductions in Q1 2021. These numbers are too startling in a country that is not at war.”
We are concerned about the disruptions in the normal lives and livelihoods of citizens. The South East noted for trade and commerce has become a dead zone that people are now afraid to visit. Residents are afraid to step out of their houses as death lurks around every corner.
Our concern is that the North East experience may replicate in the South East. The Boko Haram insurgency has reduced the North East to nothing, business-wise. The North West today has fallen under the unceasing attacks of bandits; the North Central is being terrorised by killer herdsmen.
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The Niger Delta (South-South) has since been destroyed by the activities of militants who scared away international oil companies that had their headquarters in Rivers State and Warri (Delta State).
The oil companies that were driven away from Port Harcourt and Warri have refused to go back, leaving the economy of the zone dangerously affected. The direct implication is that there are no jobs for the youth, and quality of life has since dropped.
No one should feel insulated from the escalating security challenge across the country. There are production centres and consumption centres. Even if there is production in some centres because they enjoy relative peace, such produced goods and services cannot get to crisis-ridden areas of consumption where they are needed.
It is also our concern that a nation that is struggling, economy-wise, is embroiled in large-scale insecurity.
We watch helplessly as the few infrastructures available are being destroyed at a time an ultra-developed economy like the United States of America is shopping for billions of dollars to shore up her infrastructure.
It is also nonsensical when you hear some argument that Nigeria’s population is too big to manage, all the reason the government allegedly pays a blind-eye when people engage in all manner of destructive activities that take the lives of citizens.
This is sheer bunkum! Nigeria’s population ought to be a blessing because that translates to a large market which is always a destination for foreign investors. Many nations of the world would give anything to have a large and productive population, the size of Nigeria’s.
At a time when China is planning to get its population growing as a result of its rapidly ageing workforce, Nigeria is toying with her population that has given her leverage when issues of investment destinations are discussed. And curiously, those being wasted now make up the country’s young population.
Nigeria’s problem is not with population but wrong policies that frustrate investment and businesses.
We are not sure that the Federal Government has done all there needs to be done in addressing the root cause of the insecurity in the country.
What, for instance, has Abuja done to tackle the problem of the herders-farmers conflict? The belief by a large number of citizens that the government has taken sides on the matter has exacerbated it, apparently emboldening the herders to continue in their attack across the country.
This appears to be the crux of the matter in the North Central and in other parts of the country where herdsmen have become a nightmare to people.
The crisis in the South East, it would seem, has to do with the perception that they had been excluded from the scheme of things. In fact, it is said that that is the reason for the secession agitation in the first place.
Does the government of the day have an answer to the raging insecurity in the land, we say YES.
If today, for instance, had the president announced someone from the South East as Chief of army staff, he would have achieved what 100 armoured tanks will not achieve. If he decides today to recommend to the National Assembly to revisit the 1963 Constitution with the aim of adapting it to suit the present need of the country, which would calm frayed nerves.
The solution to the raging insecurity that is threatening to consume the country, we strongly believe, lies with President Muhammadu Buhari. We believe that he, through gestures that cost nothing, given the power (and responsibility) he is entrusted with, can quell the raging inferno. And the time to do so is NOW!
