The change of administration from one that was obviously overwhelmed by the kidnapping and killings of Nigerians by terrorists, to another that hotly promises strategic and tactical attacks on the murderous bands, has, unfortunately not translated to a reduction in the spate of killers on the rampage. North and south, east and west, gunmen roam with intolerable ease, invade communities –rural and urban – and unleash terror and mayhem on innocent residents.
In the persistently besieged Mangu area of Plateau State, 213 people were reported to have been killed in the last two months. Joseph Gwankat, president of the Mwaghavul Development Association, reportedly accused Fulani tribesmen of the killing. Amnesty International stated in mid-June that ‘attacks by gunmen have claimed 123 lives just weeks after President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29.
If, as some hold, the country’s security forces are making an effort to confront the terrorists, it is not uncharitable to say their effort is not yet good enough. And this speaks directly to the new government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Nigeria is still unsafe.
At every instance of killings, kidnapping, arson, and other heinous acts, the narrative, to date, is that security forces rush to the scene of the crime after the deed is done and the terrorists have escaped. Local authorities impose curfews, issue empty assurance of safety, and elected public officials lament the carnage from the convenient safety of their well-appointed havens. On its part, the Federal Government that controls wholly, the instruments of law enforcement gives tired marching orders that produce little result. The official response to acts of terrorism in the eight years of the Buhari administration was so irritatingly predictable and ineffective. Tinubu must move out of and away from this ‘say much and do nothing’ approach.
In substantial contrast to the former government of Muhammadu Buhari, there is good reason to say that on one hand, Tinubu appears prepared for the job of Nigeria’s President, Chief Executive, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and on the other hand that his government fully appreciates and will uphold section 14 (2)(b) of the constitution. This provision says that ‘the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government…’ He indicated this in his statements and in campaign documents and Nigerians have every right to hold him to his words and to assess him continually on the strength of their being fulfilled.
First, in his inaugural speech, President Tinubu noted, correctly, that ‘neither prosperity nor justice can prevail amidst insecurity and violence’, and promised that ‘security shall be the top priority of our administration’. Furthermore, he committed his government to ‘defend the nation from terror and all forms of criminality that threaten the peace and stability of our country and our sub-region’.
Second, in the Action Plan for a Better Nigeria which may be rightly taken as the working document of Tinubu’s government, the first sentence was an acknowledgment of ‘the fundamental responsibility of government …to protect the lives and property of its citizens’. To this end, he committed his administration (if elected) to ‘mobilise the totality of our national security, military and law enforcement assets to protect all Nigeria…’ Indeed, the first national issue addressed in the Action Plan for a Better Nigeria is national security, which is described as ‘the bedrock of a prosperous and democratic society.’ This is not disputable.
A plan to implement the Tinubu strategy to ‘re-define military doctrine and practice’ includes, notably, the establishment of anti-terrorist battalions (ABATTS), ‘highly trained and disciplined …Special Forces units (with the objective) to seize the strategic and tactical initiative, giving terrorists, kidnappers, and bandits no respite’. Above all, the new government planned to ‘exploit aerial and technological superiority… to both deter as well as swiftly respond to attacks …’ These planned measures are especially commendable for their well-established effectiveness when and where appropriately applied.
It is disheartening that despite such thoroughness of plan by the new government, there is little to show yet against insecurity in the land. Of course, no one reasonably expects that, irrespective of its determination, these threats will magically disappear simply because there is a new government in place. The complexity of Nigeria’s situation (including suspected internal sabotage of government efforts) explains, understandably, that spectacular success will not come quickly.
Nonetheless, given the widespread impression of the preparedness of Tinubu to preside over the country according to the provisions of the Constitution, Nigerians have a reasonable expectation that the criminals should suffer a more determined and effective pressure deriving from a ‘re-defined military doctrine and practice’. This is yet to happen. Nigerians are anxiously waiting for a change for the better. If, as they say, morning shows the day, this new sheriff in town must do things in a different and result-oriented way. And do it now.
Even less impressive (some would describe it as worrying) is the platitudinous response from the Presidency to the killings in the Benue and Plateau states. A statement issued on behalf of the President lamented a ‘most unfortunate’ ‘orgy of violence’, it pontificates that ‘to build virile, peaceful and prosperous communities demand tolerance and forgiveness…’ directed security agencies to fish out the perpetrators to face the full wrath of the law, and assigned to the socio-cultural and religious groups the duty to stop the killings.
All these read like a script from a better-forgotten past. But this new government has said and written a different and more assuring strategy that Nigerians want to see put into practice. We should remember that, in this matter to keep the country safe, both the professional reputation of the security forces and the political fortune of the Tinubu administration are on the line.
Without any equivocation, the establishment and full empowerment of community police at state and local government levels is recommended. Tinubu’s Action Plan for a Better Nigeria envisions ‘the establishment of more formal, locally-based law enforcement institutions’. It cannot come too soon.
Having expressed, in speech and writing, the right things, it is now time to do the right and needful things. So, armed with, above all, the political will, Tinubu possesses the constitutional authority, the power, and, through the awesome machinery of government, other resources such as the instruments of coercion and suasion, to make this country safe. Let this be seen to be done so that prosperity and democracy can thrive; so that Nigeria can become the ‘more perfect nation’ that he seeks.
The Guardian
