STATE OF INSECURITY IN NIGERIA

A Nation Under Seige From Terrorists, Militants, 

Treasury Looters & Armed Robbers 

[By Barrister Ope Banwo, The Nigerian Ombudsman]

The current State of Insecurity in Nigeria crept on us like a thief in the night, while our leaders and watchers of our collective security, were asleep or too blind to see what was going on. In less than 10 years, Nigeria has moved from a country where issues of suicide bombing was totally inconceivable, by the even the most imaginative minds, to where suicide bombing is now a daily occurrence. We have moved from a nation where church buildings and mosques used to held sacred by everyone, including unbelievers, to a tragic situation where churches are now being bombed with regularity.

Our nation has transformed from a country where our National Independence day celebrations was always a time of unbridled public expression of pride and joy, to a situation where our President was not even embarrassed to deliver Independence day speeches from his bedroom, simply because terrorists dared him to come to the stadium. From the days where our Presidents were celebrated on the streets with flags as they visit their home towns, we have reached an inexplicable low point where our President could not visit his own home state, because terrorists warned him not to come or die.

Nigeria is now surrounded, and hemmed in on all sides, in a deadly siege by the Militant Terrorists in the South-South; escalating menace of armed robbery in the west; economic terrorism in the Midwest by the likes of Ibori; kidnapping for ransom and political assassination in the east and suicide bombers of Boko haram in the North. That NIGERIA IS UNDER SIEGE ON ALL SIDES, not by a foreign power but by our own home grown terrorists is no longer a matter for debate, but a deadly and sober reality, that even the most ardent patriots have come to acknowledge

The descent to a state of complete state of insecurity all started out with intra-party skirmishes and use of thugs by some of our politicians. While Nigerians were still occupied with the mundane affairs, the political thugs turned to vicious assassins. Before we could wrap our collective minds around what was happening, the political assassins have taken down some of the most influential people in Nigeria including Kudirat Abiola and our attorney General, Bola Ige.

In the South-South, restive militants in the Niger Delta turned up the heat to alarming levels after their political and social leader; Ken Saro Wiwa, was brutally killed by the fearsome dictator, Mohammed Abacha. The militants declared open war on the government, and the oil companies in the area, by bombing oil pipelines and making the area a deadly zone for oil operators who did not settle them in secret.

Just when Nigerians we breathing a sigh of relief from the respite provided by the Niger Delta militants after the controversial amnesty program, the Boko Haram insurgency erupted in the North. In a rapidly escalating fashion reminiscent of Beirut, bombings became a daily occurrence. People and places were bombed indiscriminately. They started with churches and specific target of Christians and rapidly escalated to bombing anything in sight. All buildings became fair game. The United Nations was not speared. Police stations and police officers were killed with regularity and even the newspapers stations were drawn into this boiling pot of terrorism when the offices of ThisDay and Sun newspapers were bombed.

In the Western states, the armed robbers seemed determined not to be outdone. They have taken their game to another level with daylight robberies followed by midnight visits. Cars are being hijacked with regularity and the police appeared to be at a loss on what to do about it.

While the State of Insecurity in Nigeria continued to worsen on an hourly basis, our government appeared paralyzed and incapable of dealing with the level of savagery and arrogance of the terrorists from everywhere. Our own president first hinted us that he was clueless in dealing with this problem when he solemnly told us that terrorism is a worldwide phenomenon and that maybe it is Nigeria’s turn. That singular pronouncement from our President should have told us very clearly that our President is clueless on how to deal with the rapidly escalating problem. Elsewhere in the world where terrorists have struck, we have seen their presidents coming out with venom in their mouths promising their citizens that all terrorists will be hunted down without mercy, followed by swift reassurances for their citizens’ safety. In Nigeria, our own president told us to get used to it since terrorism is now the hip thing all over the world!

The State of Insecurity in the nation has reached such an alarming level that even some of the most ardent patriotic, well meaning, and optimistic Nigerians are beginning to accept the obvious fact that Nigeria is tottering towards becoming a failed state. One writer actually called it the Somalization of Nigeria. To some, this may be an exaggeration of the reality on ground, but I personally will not disagree with those sentiments. When a Nation can no longer guarantee a basic necessity for survival in the country, then it is tending towards failure though it may not have totally failed. I am sure those who have been living with the Boko Haram nightmare on a daily basis in Jos, Kano, Abuja and other cities will definitely agree that Nigeria has failed them in the area of security.

While our President continues to travel the world in his very comfortable jet, and his wife continues to paralyze economic activities all over relatively safe areas on a belated THANK YOU tour of her husband’s supporters, Nigeria continues to be under siege.

The effect of this problem is so farfetched that I am still surprised that our National Assembly and the Executive have not even appreciated the economic, social and political impact of what we are dealing with here. 80% of our capital market activities involved inflow from overseas. Obviously no reasonable investor will put his money in a failing state. Also, over 70% of food supplies in the country come from food supplies from the north and the state of insecurity in the country has led to drastic cuts in supplies of essentials such as Tomatoes, Pepper and Yam. As it is, many Nigerians have not even connected the rising cost of these staple foods to the terrorism in the North. People just knew prices are rising without even understanding why. As this condition continues to worsen, Nigerians are going to be in for a season of famine and hunger. It may well get to the point where the poor have nothing else to eat but the rich people around them. Then, we will really see anarchy.

As we continue to cower in our bedrooms praying for the scourge of Boko Haram, militants and armed robbery to be taken away by God, many have tried to find the cause of this modern day siege of the most populous black nation. Some have traced the root causes to poverty; some have fingered corruption of our leaders while others have tried to pin it on foreign influence. Lately, the National Security Adviser pointed at his own party, PDP, for causing the escalation in bombings through their internal policies and politics.

Just as the President joined issues with his NSA publicly on his thought provoking utterances, the ultimate bombshell came all the way from South Africa. Now, Okar, a factional MEND LEADER currently on trial for several bombings in Nigeria opened the Pandora box and pointed very direct fingers at our President as one of the faceless terrorists we have been looking for. With time, facts and figures in an affidavit sworn to at a South African Court, Mr. Okar claimed that he knew for a fact that our president master minded at least 2 bombings in the period leading to his election, particularly the bombing of October 1^st, 2010, as a diversionary tactics to turn the hearts of Nigerians against their brothers in the north and enhance his political aspirations of winning the Presidential election.

Of course, Ruben Abati and other officials of the President have come out on behalf of the President to do what they get paid for. They have denied the allegations in their entirety and promised to have representations made at the Court during Okar’s trial. Of course, these incedentiary accusations of the accused terrorist in South Africa has the potential to tear Nigeria apart, if any part of his story is found to be true. I, for one refuse to believe that our president could be involved in something so dastardly. I am not a big fan of President Jonathan, and I think he has not handled our security problems properly but I simply cannot accept that we have a terrorist occupying the highest position in Nigeria. I sincerely pray and hope that Okar was just bluffing to put pressure on our President, as his advisers have assured us.

Meanwhile as allegations and counter allegations continue to assault our already frayed mental condition, we are yet to hear any practical solutions to this scourge on our country. All the government can tell is that Boko Haram will soon be a thing of the past. How this will happen in view of the daily bombings, nobody has told us. Nigeria continues to burn at a rate where even some of the most patriotic and courageous Nigerians alive are now wringing their hands in despair, with a scary acceptance of the fact that Nigeria could be tending towards anarchy and failure as an entity. The last interview of General Danjuma sacred me more than anything I have read on this issue. When a courageous and knowledgeable warrior of his caliber starts raising the alarm of ‘fire on the mountain’, then it may be time to start panicking.

Our Government is obviously confused and powerless to stem the tide of this siege and state of insecurity. Our President AGAIN appears to be way out of his depth in dealing with this disaster. Rather than finding solutions to these issues, he is allowing himself to be drawn into the nonsensical argument about whether he will run in 2015 or not, as if any Nigerian (other than his friends in the Cabal) will even vote for him if elections were held today. He appears totally disassociated from the climate in the country. He has moved from one of the most popular presidents to be voted for, just a year ago, to a President that everyone now looks at with anger and scorn.  The government appears to be way out of its depth and this situation is made even worse because of its ignorance about that fact.

From a University lecturer who lucked his way through a bizarre happenstance of fate, to move with dizzying speed to Deputy Governor, to governor, to vice president and then President in a space of 4 years, the President is obviously realizing that luck can get you to the position but luck cannot run the government. It is a clear case of ‘what got him here cannot take you there’. We need our president to assemble the best rains he can find in the country regardless of party affiliation and lock them up in a room until they give him solutions.

Maybe it is also time for the President to consider some previously inconceivable options in confronting the siege on his country. Maybe it is time to engage the Boko Haram people the way he engaged the militants in Niger delta. Perhaps it is time to call on Jack Bauer from the Counter Terrorism center in the 24 thriller; or maybe it is time we set up our own Counter Terrorism Center and bring out our own vicious killers too to fight fire with fire. Perhaps it is simply time for the president to own up to what we all can observe: he and his people are simply not trained, or equipped, to deal with the level of sophistication from people who are presumably illiterates, and call in the terrorism experts from USA, U.K AND ISREAL. Or perhaps it time to set up a Northern development commission like the Niger Delta commission and offer amnesty. Maybe it is time for the President to simply hold up his hands and tell Nigerians that he is way out of his depth and resign from the position honorably along with his Vice President. I really don’t know

I know I do not have the answers either, and maybe the issues are not as clear as I am thinking but  then, as Jack Bauer told the President of the United States  who had to make a terrible choice when terrorists attacked U.S. in that thriller called ‘24’,  I am not the President of this Country. I did not run to be president and I did not get lucky to be President. Dr. Ebele Jonathan is the man and the buck stops on his desk. It is time to pick up the buck and do something to alleviate the state of insecurity in this country and show us that he has a lot more than luck going on for him.

That is my memo for the Week

Barrister Ope Banwo is an Attorney, Public Commentator, Business Consultant, Author, and Motivational Speaker. He is the initiator of the Market Ombudsman and the Founder of the syndicated Ombudsman Show on television networks. He writes from Lagos, Nigeria. Email: opebanwo@aol.com Tel: 07066482753