Since the birth of the nation called Nigeria and from the time of her independence in 1960, there has never been a time in the history of the country when terrorism was a business, a lucrative one indeed as we have it today. Even about ten years ago, to be precise in 2014, no one would have ever imagined that the security situation of Nigeria would have fallen or have been weakened to this level. The only problem that the country has at this point is not about the insecurity as it presents itself in different forms and shapes but the mystery behind its becoming an existential threat to the citizenry.
The question that agitates the mind of true Nigerians, who also are living and perceptive, is about why the present government of President Muhammadu Buhari is dragging in pushing forward for the prosecution of the names of the sponsors of terrorism in Nigeria, numbering more than 1000. Which one is easier to do, to go after the terrorists that are within, who are the sponsors of the terrorists that are without, or leaving the terrorists that are within and going after those that are without? The logical thing to do, I believe is, first and foremost, prosecuting the sponsors and by so doing, the channel of supply of funding to the terrorists without would be blocked.
This is like the incident recorded in the Bible where Jesus was asking the Pharisees if asking the sick to carry his bed and go is easier than saying to the sick, your sins are forgiven. Jesus was of the opinion that if commanding the sick to be healed is cheaper than first of all forgiving the sick of his sins before healing him then why not just choose the former instead of the latter? The insecurity situation that presents itself before the Nigerian government demands the question, why the delay in going ahead to prosecute suspected sponsors of banditry and insurgency whose names the government has confirmed as being in their custody? Something is fishy, and it is unfair to Nigerians, both those at home and abroad.
We cannot be enemies to ourselves and still have the audacity to see others from outside the country as enemies. Nigeria is in dire need of intervention right now. Efforts in the direction of providing security or monetary gadgets to our rail lines is just a minute part of all the relevant interventions that are required. Why should a former military head of state and the president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Nigeria wait to be told by terrorists how to secure the nation?
If you Nigerians that are there on ground are not ashamed of yourselves with what the nation through both the state and the non-state actors are pushing forward into the public space, we are ashamed, and to this end, we are calling for appropriate actions against behaviors or actions that are making the country to become a laughing stock among the committee of nations.
These terrorists who operate with impunity in Nigeria are well known by the government of the day. They are treated with respect because they are likely to be the same instruments of destabilization for use after President Buhari might have left office. These bandits as well as the Boko Haram insurgents had been before President Buhari won the elections in 2015. They were used then as pressure groups, and that is why when Buhari came to office, they
replicated themselves in order to make what we have in the Northeast as Boko Haram to operate within the country as bandits. These are the same people; hence, their bravery and good organizational skills.
Did anybody even remember to find out the whereabouts of those security personnel who are said to have been manning the ill-fated train that was attacked by the bandits? The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation indicated to Channels TV in an interview that there were eighteen armed mobile policemen on the train that was attacked by the terrorists. He also added that each compartment of the train had CCTV camera. Under normal circumstances, relevant information should have been drawn from the CCTV camera and questions should have been asked about the said armed mobile security policemen on the train. Were these armed policemen also whisked away by the bandits?
Nigerians don’t’ ask questions when necessary. They seem to have been too relaxed and complacent while suffering. Is this era still that of the suffering and smiling?
One other thing that needs to be given urgent attention is the idea that some of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirants, especially those from the North, are pushing forward, which is consensus. Pushing forward the idea of winning an election at all costs, even if it involves infringing on the rights of other aspirants in matters of zoning, is to say the least selfish and inconsiderate. As a matter of fact, their actions and thinking are nothing other than a testimony to the fact that the Nigerian politicians are not ready to take the country anywhere. Where they should be taking the country, as a matter of fact, is not in sight, not known, to them who are supposedly the drivers or pilots in the making.
The country must die to survive. Until the 1999 Constitution is jettisoned, there is no way by which the country can forge ahead as one indivisible entity.
This again is a situation where the parable of the Bible about the new wineskin and the old wineskin finds a practical application. The 1999 Constitution and the actors, and the politicians, who are being recycled from 1999, are the old wine in the old wineskin. To this end, both the old wineskin and the old wine are obsolete and not good for the moment. The creation of the new wineskin, which can be likened to the National Constitutional Conference, will give birth to the new wine, for the grapes will have to be crushed to be turned into wine, for no one drinks grapes.
The nation Nigeria is a problem to solve, and the solution is dissolution.
God bless us all!
Samuel “Tunji Adeyanju
Leave a Reply