First, let me make it clear that
more lives are lost in our country through terrorists attacks in one form and the
other, road crashes (call it transport insecurity, if you want); diseases which
could have been prevented if not for lack of commitment and care by our various
governments (I will call this healthcare insecurity); infant mortality;
ignorance, illiteracy and poverty. I will indict successive governments for
causing so many deaths of Nigerians, directly and indirectly, mostly as a
result of massive and unchecked corruption, greed, selfishness, lack of
political will and conscience and of course, lack of vision and purpose.
Second is that insecurity,
especially internal insecurity is not a problem that is unique to Nigeria. The
US, the UK and many other countries, face the challenges of insecurity within
their borders on a daily basis. The difference between them and our country,
Nigeria is how they manage the threats; how knowledgeable and prepared they
are; how they deploy resources against the threats; how effective they are; how
patriotic and united these people are against threats of insecurity.
Thirdly, and I will be particular
about Nigeria, is the fact that our Constitution, 1999 or whatever Constitution
we operate under, specifically states in Chapter 12, Section 14, (FUNDAMENTAL
OBJECTIVES AND DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY) that:
(13) It shall be the duty and
responsibility of all organs of government, and of all authorities and persons,
exercising legislative, executive or judicial powers, to conform to, observe
and apply the provisions of this Chapter of this Constitution.
(14) (1) The Federal Republic of
Nigeria shall be a State based on the principles of democracy and social
justice.
(2) It is hereby, accordingly,
declared that:
(a) Sovereignty belongs to the
people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all
its powers and authority;
(b) The security and welfare of
the people shall be the primary purpose of government: and
(c) The participation by the
people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions
of this Constitution.
From this, we see that it is
expressly stated in our Constitution that the Government(s) is ultimately
responsible for the security of lives, property, etc. of the people of Nigeria.
Internal security, or IS, is the
act of keeping peace within the borders of a sovereign state or other self-governing
territories. This is done generally by upholding the nation all wand defending
against internal security threats. Responsibility for internal security may
range from police to paramilitary forces, and in exceptional circumstances, the
military itself. (Wikipedia)
Threats to Internal security
(Wikipedia)
Threats to the general peace may
range from low-level civil disorder, large scale violence, or even an armed
insurgency. Threats to internal security may be directed at either the state's
citizens, or the organs and infrastructure of the state itself, and may range
from petty crime, serious organized crime, political or industrial unrest, or
even domestic terrorism. Foreign powers may also act as a threat to internal
security, by either committing or sponsoring terrorism or rebellion, without
actually declaring war.
Forces and Agencies (Wikipedia)
Governmental responsibility for
internal security will generally rest with an interior ministry, as opposed to
a defense ministry. Depending on the state, a state's internal security will be
maintained by either the ordinary police or law enforcement agencies or more militarized
police forces (known as Gendarmerie). Other specialized internal security
agencies may exist to augment these main forces, such as border guards, special
police units, or aspects of the state’s List of intelligence agencies. In some
states, internal security may be the primary responsibility of a secret police
force.
The level of authorized force
used by agencies and forces responsible for maintaining internal security might
range from unarmed police to fully armed paramilitary organizations, or employ
some level of less-lethal weaponry in between. For violent situations, internal
security forces may contain some element of military type equipment such as non-military
armored vehicles.
But enough of definitions and
insinuations. What we are talking about is not merely petty crimes, armed
robberies, etc., but terrorism and bombings, armed insurgency, e.g. the Niger
Delta problem, which seemed to have died down a bit of recent, after all the
hullabaloo of Amnesty, Jos ethnic/religious killings, Boko Haram massacres and
bombings in Abuja, Maiduguri and other northern cities, and the recent anambra
massacres etc.
What every Nigerian should be
doing is asking and demanding answers on what has been done so far since
October 1st, 2010 Independence Day Twin Bombing in Abuja FCT. Not to mention
numerous bombings in Maiduguri, Bauchi and Adamawa.
Mind you, these are not the first
instances of such insecurity. Insecurity has been with us probably since we
became a Republic, only we decided to turn blind eyes to it.
When the CIA report of 2005
predicted the collapse of Nigeria in about 15 years’ time, patriots and critics
alike reacted differently to the report. For me, as much as I wanted to dismiss
it, something kept niggling my mind that this might be a true prophetic
scrutiny of the state of Nigeria. Not because the CIA is dependable in its
security analysis, after all, they didn't get it right to prevent 9/11 2001
from happening, but events in Nigeria seemed to suggest that while other
countries in the sub-region were developing, Nigeria was retrogressing despite
its claim to democracy. People expected the then Government of Obasanjo to take
this warning as a chance for Nigeria to look inwards, engage with the report,
and work on those predictive indices that could lead to the predicted failure.
But, inopportunely, the Obasanjo government dismissed the report in its totality.
In a way, the dismissal is not entirely a surprise, since our leaders, over the
years, are prone to such habits of shielding the truth from their people, not
caring as long as it does not happen in their time; are actually very ignorant
of what is going on around them, and are obstinate and tyrannical in their
nature.
The current general state of
insecurity in Nigeria has now lent weight to the report. It must be recalled
that while the report was released at the advent of the so-called Niger Delta crisis,
since then several acts of bombings and killings by the extremist Islamic sect,
Boko Haram, the carnage between ethnic Birom and the Hausa/Fulani in Jos, and
the political violence that followed immediately after the 2011 Elections
results, mostly in the northern part of the country, have further cemented the
insecure state of the country.
Starting with the usual
religious/ethnic oriented conflicts, to the Jos ethnic/religious/political
conflict of 2008, regrettably, the northern states have shown that security of
persons and properties is still far from being realizable. However, the current
crisis which started in Bauchi and has engulfed other states in the north has
elements of theocratic opinionated ambitions in it. While the fundamentalist
group - Boko Haram's - demand for the jettisoning of a western behavioral
pattern and the imposition of strict Sharia law can be described as absurd to
say the least, we should equally view it with all the seriousness it deserves.
What the current trend of violence
is imprinting on the psyche of Nigerians is that the government security
apparatus is incapable of guaranteeing the safety and security of its people.
This would, therefore, impact on the general human security of the people as
the situation promotes fear, while at the same time limiting the peoples'
ability to develop economically. At the same time, the state's capacity to
attract investors becomes limited as a result of the insecurity. For instance,
states like Enugu and Bauchi that have huge tourism potential would be losing
out on this front
On different terrorist attacks,
listen to what leaders with political will had to say:
On 9/11: "This is an act of
war against the United States. We'll hunt down the terrorists. They can run but
they can't' hide..." - George BushLondon Bombing: "We'll track down
the terrorists and bring them to justice" - Tony BlairUN House Bombing:
"Terrorism is a global phenomenon. May be it is Nigeria's turn." -
Goodluck Jonathan
So what our supreme leader is
saying is that, "why not, it's our turn to start getting blown up".
How much more should we expect? That shows you the depth of intelligence and
care of our leaders.
Security was a driving issue in
the last Presidential campaign following bomb blast by Niger Delta militants
and attacks of police by members of the extremist Islamic group, Boko Haram in
the northern part of the country. President Jonathan campaigned very hard to
convince Nigerians that his government was meeting those security challenges.
But the rioting, mostly in the North, that followed immediately after his
election raised questions, which are still unanswered, about security
preparedness. At least 800 people were said to have been killed in these
Muslim-Christian electoral violence.
"As president, it is my
solemn duty to defend the constitution of this country. That includes the
obligation to protect the lives and properties of every Nigerian wherever they
choose to live," he said
Challenges & Proposed
Solutions:
Mr. President should acknowledge
the failure of the security agencies hence there should be a complete overhaul
of the Security Agencies in the county to pre-empt these security breaches. In
particular, the failure of the intelligence services to contain the recurring
security breaches. The spate of bombings has once more brought to limelight the
need for a Sovereign National Conference. Until these structural distortions
and anomalies are addressed, the monster of insecurity will loom large and
Nigeria will once more be listed as a terrorist nation. Mr. President has to
act decisively to execute his Office, and this can be achieved by implementing
the anti-terrorism law and punish culprits of such heinous crimes capable of
causing instability in the nation. This will vitiate the implementation of Mr.
President's transformational agenda. The long-term effect is that the on-going
terrorism will discourage potential investors in Nigeria.
At the speed Nigeria is
deteriorating, there is a strong desire for a SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE so
that all ethnic nationalities can make their stand known this amalgamated
country. The way forward is for us to keep laying emphasis on the need for the
evolution of six regions. The federation should stay but let every region grow
at its own pace. The Western region has clearly set the pace going by the
result of the last election. All the Western states voted massively for the
Action Congress party (ACN), a party that is not sufficiently different in
programmes from the Action Party of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Each region should
have their own police Force. MOPOL and Interpol could be transformed into the
only Federal Police crack elite team. The rest members of the police force
should be dismembered and directed to return to their regions. It is the duty
of the regions to now retrain, equip and pay them.
Second, the judiciary is not
helping matters at all. This institution is heavily compounding our problems.
It has got to really sit up. Cases of corruption are not meant to be
compromised at all, let alone adjourning them endlessly. The judiciary ought to
have, at this stage in our development, evolved time scales for cases. There
ought to have been a time to determine a case; time to close that case; and
time to deliver judgment and pass sentences. In Nigeria, cases that bother on
corruption and insecurity have most often been compromised thus the law is no
longer acting as a deterrent. What is happening in Jos is too gory to narrate.
The endless killing going on in that city has made the demand for regional govt
more pertinent. The country cannot just continue to toe the line of extinction.
Most Nigerians do not value human lives. They debase them. Most have become
conditioned to act of carnages, brigandage, looting, massacre, butchery and
bestiality. Thirdly, the Federal govt should always be decisive on issues that
bother on insecurity. We have never had strong leaders. From Shagari to Yar
'Adua and now to Jonathan, what we have heard were leaders handpicked and
imposed on the people. We have over the years been denied leaders that would
bring us out of the woods. First were Awo in 1979 and, controversially, Abiola
in 1993. We have never had it so bad. OBJ was an imposition by the Northern
oligarchy. Corruption was commonplace under OBJ. Now under Jonathan, what we
have is intertwined corruption and insecurity.
Ethnic and the foregoing problems
and criminal activities individually and collectively create insecurity and
breach of the peace that are likely to or indeed affect legitimate social and
economic activities in the country. These problems also have the very damaging
consequence of giving the signal to the rest of the international community
that Nigeria is not a safe and secure place and as such not suitable for
economic investment and activities. This is particularly important in view of
the efforts being made to create the desired atmosphere to attract foreign
investment.
Beyond the effects of security
concerns on the economic fortunes of the country, the nature of the security
challenges facing the country also have implications for the country's political
system. As mentioned earlier, social cohesion among various groups and
interests is important in the process of national political development.
Therefore, the constituent parts of the country must be and indeed feel that
they are being carried along in the process of national governance. Experience
has shown that widespread discontent and loss of confidence in the system have
ways of affecting national political stability. Invariably continuing
escalation of violence and crises across the country will impinge on the
survival of our democracy.
Accordingly, there is the
challenge to rethink and improve on policy and institutional means of dealing
with security concerns arising in the country. At the political level, the
federal, state and local governments should evolve programmes of cultural and
political education and orientation that seek to enthrone the fundamentals of
democracy so that the political contestants as well as the generality of the
citizens imbibe principles and practices essential for sustainable democracy.
Such programmes must also address specific tendencies that create security
breach and concerns in the country.
In addition, a process of
legislative and constitutional review should be initiated to assess the
country's constitution and amend or expunge as necessary areas that have been
found to give rise to conflicts and security problems. The process should also
introduce new provisions and legislations that will ensure better and more
effective interplay of interests among all groups and stakeholders in Nigeria.
Such exercise should also embrace ways of making the country's democratic space
more open, free, fair and tolerant as exists in other democracies around the
world. Among specific lingering political issues that should be addressed are:
the laws relating to political parties and their activities; the establishment,
funding and activities of the electoral body; local and state government
relationship; allocation of national resources and revenue; citizenship rights;
devolution of security powers to states and local governments. In addition, the
legislative and constitutional review should also embody security sector
reforms that will make the security agencies and institutions more effective in
combating crimes and other threats to national security and make them
accountable to the democratic political system and structures. These democratic
structures include the states and local governments. I believe that we need to
give a more concrete understanding to the definition of governors as the chief
security officers of the state.
Conclusions:
In all, what we need is a good
government, no more no less. And a good government is possible in as much as
people who are put in positions of authority are allowed and are committed to
discharge their duties without fear or favour; are determined to serve with
zeal and patriotism; are not ready to sell out to international capital and are
ready to stand by the truth and die for it. In all, there is no mono cultural
theory that is a cure-all to the diverse nature of insecurity in Nigeria but I
believed and stand by the theory that Nigeria should evolve into six regions,
each region having its Premier or Governor, each region has a right to retain
its states or to abolish- the choice is theirs in the region to make; each
region should be in charge of its Education, Security, Health, Agriculture,
Housing, Transport and Energy policies. The Central Government should be in
charge of the Army, Central Bank, Customs, Prisons and Immigration services,
MOPOL and Interpol, ALL WORKING at the same time IN THE INTEREST OF THE
COUNTRY. The objections to this Sovereign National Conference are coming
significantly from the core north unbeknownst to the people from that region
that the fallout from that conference would sufficiently be in their favour.
Pessimism is a social disease but in a society of rights, it is right!
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