The state of insecurity in the country is so high that it is difficult for Nigerians not to think of jumping ship and going somewhere else safer. Nigeria’s governing class, the source of all our problems, has made its arrangements, its members have bought houses abroad, transferred money out of the country, and are ready to leave the country within minutes. That is why we have a large fleet of private jets in our airports, ready to take those who have ruled and ruined Nigeria out of the country at short notice. For the poor and even the middle class, the only possibility of exit is to neighbouring countries and on that score, our backs are against the wall; there is nowhere to run. Cameroon is facing the Boko Haram insurgency in the north and the Ambazonian civil war in the south. Niger and Chad are both suffering from insurgency by jihadist movements and warlordism, while Benin Republic has just become a target of jihadist attacks; so for us, we just have to sing with Wole Soyinka:
“I love my country I no go lie/na inside am I go live and die/when e turn me so I twist am so/e push me I push am I no go go.”
We are just in mid-April and already, over three thousand Nigerians have been killed by bandits and terrorists this year. Thousands have been kidnapped for ransom, and tens of thousands have had to flee their homes and livelihoods just this year. The macabre daily count is sickening. A couple of days ago, 92 persons were killed by terrorists in Kanam Local Government of Plateau State, and the assailants were said to have come from Taraba State and were killing indiscriminately. The lawmaker representing Pankshin/Kanam/Kanke federal constituency of Plateau State in the House of Representatives, Yusuf Gagdi reported that 3,413 persons were displaced following the attack. At the same time, Benue State has a similar story to tell.
In the South-East, the most dangerous profession is to serve the nation as police personnel. Every week, there are reports of attacks on police stations, arson and the killing of officers. This past week, already five have been killed. The Nteje Divisional Police Headquarters in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State was attacked on Thursday and one officer was killed. This attack occurred barely 24 hours after four police officers were killed by gunmen at another police facility in the State – the Atani Divisional Police Divisional Headquarters. These are simply illustrations of the daily macabre count of deaths and destruction that we are all making.
In the North-East, the Islamist group, Boko Haram, has waged a bloody insurgency against the country for the past 13 years and an estimated 35,000 people have been killed, with over three million people displaced by the conflict. In the South-East, the key actors are said to be “unknown gunmen” carrying out orders of the separatist organisation, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militia wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN).
According to data released by the Nigeria Security Tracker (NST) this week, at least 2,968 people were killed, while 1,484 were abducted in the country from January to March. The data shows that more people were killed in the North-West region, than in other regions in the country. At least 1,103 people were killed within the period in the region. The North-Central region recorded the second highest number of murders, with 984 killed during the identified period, while in the North-East, 488 were killed. In the South-East, 181 people were killed during the period under review, while in the South-West and South-South regions, 127 and 85 people were killed respectively, according to a report on the story by Premium Times.
Bandits and terrorists have been attacking and killing thousands of people in the country’s North-West over the past seven years. They are now the new Sheriffs in Zamfara, Katsina, Niger and Kaduna States where they make and apply the law, while moving about freely in raids composed of hundreds of gunmen on motorcycles, who attack, kill, pillage, rob, rape, burn down houses and abduct citizens for ransom at will. Although it started as a rural phenomenon, they are now attacking the symbols of ruling class freedom of movement by taking over the Abuja-Kaduna highway, amongst several others, and they have recently attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train and the Kaduna airport. Now, they are closing on in the cities, where they are killing and abducting people from their homes.
In the North-East, the Islamist group, Boko Haram, has waged a bloody insurgency against the country for the past 13 years and an estimated 35,000 people have been killed, with over three million people displaced by the conflict. In the South-East, the key actors are said to be “unknown gunmen” carrying out orders of the separatist organisation, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militia wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN). They have targeted government buildings and security personnel. The have also imposed a stay-at-home order that has been crippling the economy of the zone, while those who break the order are regularly attacked and killed.
The current reality is that no one is safe in Nigeria and our 200 million compatriots have nowhere to run to. The irony is that the armed forces have been deployed to almost all the states in the country, but with each passing day, the security situation in Nigeria is deteriorating further. The first lesson we have to understand, therefore, is that they have no will or intention of saving us. The explanation is straightforward.
The current reality is that no one is safe in Nigeria and our 200 million compatriots have nowhere to run to. The irony is that the armed forces have been deployed to almost all the states in the country, but with each passing day, the security situation in Nigeria is deteriorating further. The first lesson we have to understand, therefore, is that they have no will or intention of saving us. The explanation is straightforward. With rising insecurity, security budgets have expanded considerably and many officers and commanders have become rich. Fighting armed combatants always carries the risk of death to both the combatants and the armed forces. The combatants are mostly young kids who are on drugs and have no fear of death. The rich commanders of our armed forces appear to have taken the decision to avoid direct combat as much as possible, so that they can live to enjoy their wealth. It is in this context that these drug-crazed boys have made new laws based on the power of the Kalashnikov and become the new Sheriffs in our towns and villages, and they are today imposing taxes on citizens, the payment of which determines whether you live or die.
The approach of the military is to rely on bombing the armed combatants from the air, without sufficient troops to mop them up as they run. As the combatants are widely spread, bombs can only get a tiny fraction of them, so there is no real strategy to finish them off. In any case, the armed forces have not expanded considerably and those on active duty are exhausted and frustrated due to the lack of rotation. Careful trend analysis shows that insecurity has been increasing and will continue to increase in the country.
Our backs as compatriots are against the wall, we have nowhere to run to and there is no one to defend us, so we need to open a conversation on how we can defend ourselves and save our families and indeed the nation. Any ideas?
A professor of Political Science and development consultant/expert, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES.