President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
By Femi Kusa
PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu is saying Nigeria’s insecurity problem are causing him sleepless nights, depriving him of sound sleep, causing him to lose weight and age faster than he probably would have, and that all these personal problems are hidden underneath his heavy native robes. I believe the President. Only a leader who is not a human being would relish bleeding of his land. Unlike many of his critics who wish to hold him responsible for the flourish of terrorism in Nigeria, I sympathise with the President. For many of us, through our small and gigantic ways and means, principally Major-General J.T.U Aguiyi -Ironsi, caused and are fuelling this problem, happy to play the blame game and find a leader on whose head to place the crown of thorns.
Problems are not solved thereby, but by dispassionately studying our roles in them, removing ourselves from the equations and watching the geometry collapse. We are meant to be human beings, and recognise that we are mere creatures who created nothing, not even one strand of hair on our scalps. Something gave rise to everything with templates for everything replicable from everything created.
The security architecture of human society should adopt the template of the human body security architecture which we humans did not create and is serving is well. It is a multi-layered system which doctors, physiologists, biologists, and medical sciences know much about.
When President Tinubu beared his thoughts to us, my memory sprang to my high school HEALTH SCIENCE class in high school with born teacher MR. S.O. Kolade who was too glad always to hurl us beyond “O” Level syllabus. It was through him, while we studied the body’s responses to diseases, that we learned that the body defends itself against disease germs at about SIX basic LEVELS…the organels, the cells, the tissue, the organ, the individual system and the systemic (entire body) system.
The human body has many lessons in its security architure to teach Nigerians and their policing and military security systems. Germs, free radical molecules, toxins, heavy metals and parasites are “TERRORISTS” and “BANDITS” in the human body. In one level teaspoon of feces or poop in the intestine, there are between 50 million and 500 million germs, all “terrorists” and “bandits” which can maim or damage or even kill the human body. They account for about 23- 35 per weight of the entire poop, out number the 100 trillion or so human cell population on a ten to one ratio and require about 70 percent of the entire immune capacity to contain them. I am describing only one level of teaspoon of poop. I do not know how many levels of teaspoon would be in one single evacuation and in the quantum of poop still hanging in the intestine which, in a living adult, may be between 7.6 meter or 25 feet or after death, when the muscles relax, about 10.7 meters or 35 feet. Defence of the intestine, like those of other tissues, is a multi layered network.
This should suggest to us that only one police organisation cannot successfully, effectively and efficiently police the whole of Nigeria as Gen. J.T.U Aguiyi -Ironsi imposed on the country since 1966 till today. That was when, in his UNIFICATION DECREE, he banished local government policing by regional government and made NIGERIA POLICE FORCE (NPF) the only policing authority in Nigeria. In other words, he inferred that only him and his successors would police the whole of Nigeria, from town to town and from village to village!
How foolish or stupid or unnatural this is may be seen in the multi layered defence of the intestine against its assailants. There are no fewer than four layers of local defence in the intestine. We may say this is local defence because it is outside systemic defence or defence by the entire body. In the intestine, these layers of defence include, but are not limited to (a) the mucus layer, (b) friendly bacteria layer, (c)antibodies layer, (d) lymph nodes and mobile immune cells layer. In other words, if a “terrorist” or “bandit” germ, toxin or free radical specie escapes from one layer of defence, it is unlikely to easily overcome the others. No naturalist would not make Gen. Aguiyi -Ironsi’s blunder which, today, encourages terrorism, banditry and kidnapping in Nigeria.
From the germ population of one level teaspoon of poop, we can imagine how many “terrorists” and “bandits” they are in only the intestinal tract. We can also imagine the population of dangerous elements which may be hiding and active in organels, the cells, tissues, organs and other systems which may number 12, including the endocannabinoids system (ECS), the control center on master system discovered in the 19990s. How does the body deal with all of these that we are able to live up to 70 years and beyond? Are there more terrorists and bandits in Nigeria that the nation’s security architecture cannot easily handle like the body?
In this column, I argue that terrorism is growing in Nigeria because the country security architecture does not fellow this natural template. Nigeria’s founding fathers gave Nigeria only three of these six layers. In his UNIFICATION DECREE of 1966, Major Gen.Aguiyi-Ironsi reduced them to two…Armed Forces and Nigeria Police. The three regional Local Government police forces were eliminated to give him absolute control over the country. All other Nigerian leaders kept the system. Today, President Tinubu would have to reverse Gen. Aguiyi-Ironsi’s blunder to conquer terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.
SUPPER HUMAN SECURITY SYSYEM
The heart of this column is the MASTERPIECE OF DEFENCE SYSTEMS possessed by the human body. Without this amazing defence systems, the human body would die almost as soon as it is born or, as we say ” dead on arrival”. So, I found myself wondering as I set to write this column, what lessons this beautiful natural arrangements has for humanity and especially our country, Nigeria. About four decades ago, I asked a similar question during a public lecture I gave at the request of G.S.BARMA in Lagos which I titled ..GO TO THE ANTS, O MAN, AND BE WISE.
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t was all about the natural lawfulness in Creation which all animals, including the lowly ants, observe for their flourish but which mankind ignores to their peril. Any wonder that The Wise One said about 100 years ago that humanity on earth has fallen below the level of the ants!
There is WARFARE IN NATURE.Predators and parasites exist everywhere. Even the human body is not safe from them and has been armed with a wonderful defence system mankind can learn many lessons from. What are some of these lessons?
(1) A sperm cell from a man fertilises an egg in a woman to form a new cell which differentiates into about one TRILLION cells in the average adult human body.
(2) The human population on earth is about eight (8) billion. At about 100 trillion cells, each average adult human body is more populated with cells than the earth is with humans.
(3) Like humans in their societies, these 100 trillion human cells face insecurity challenges within their encasement,and intelligently and dutifully overcome them every minutes without our knowing a war is going on within our bodies.
(4) These 100 trillion or so cells are well organised according to type and function geared towards individual and holistic existence, not selfish ends.
The specialised cells form tissues, tissues organs and organs system. Thus, there exist about 12 systems… (1) integumentary (skin, hair, nails and sweat gland), (2) skeletal system (bone, cartilage, joints and ligaments, (3) muscular..(skeletal muscles, smooth muscle, cardiac muscle), (4) Nervous system… (brain, spinal cord, and nerves, (5) endocrin..(thyroid, pancreas, adrenals and pituitary gland), (6)cardiovascular…(heart, blood, arteries and veins), (7) lymphatic/Immune…(lymph nodes, spleen, thymus, white blood cells e.t.c), (9) respiratory system..(lungs, trachea, bronchi, nose), (10) Digestive…(mouth, stomach, small/large intestine and liver) (11) Urinary…(kidneys, bladder, ureters and urethra), (12) reproductive…(Ovaries/testes, uterus, penis and vagina).
(13) the organs and the endocannabinoid system, the master system controls other systems, ensuring harmonious co-existence in which no one is over-active and another under-active or sub-normal.
(5) These arrangements are like a federated system in which the body is the sovereign State and the systems are the federating units. In texture or nature and function, each system is independent of the others, generating its resources for self and the whole, defending itself against attacks by germs, parasites, metabolic and environmental toxins, heavy metals poisoning e.t.c and supported in this other endeavour by the might of the whole.
6). There are about 28 trillion to 36 trillion immobile cells in the average adult human body depending on gender, and development. This population is four thousand and five times bigger than the human population on earth. Red blood cells account for about 80-90 percent. However, theirs is only a fraction of the total body mass.
(7) In the same human body, there are about 38 trillion biotic bacterial microbes. These non-human cells thereby out number our human cells!
(8) The HUMAN and MICROBIAL cells (78 trillion) are defended by about 1.8 trillion immune cells or about five percent of the total cells count. Immune cells, that is the soldiers of the body, are defined by their LOCATION and MOBILITY. Locationally, about 40 percent are in the bone marrow. About 39 percent are in the LYMPHATIC SYSTEM, spleen, thymus gland and lymph nodes. They are the body’s organs of statutory defence systems. The lymph nodes, which filter about three liters of lymph every day,and number between 500- 700 and are present in about 25 regions of the body, including …neck, armpit, chest, abdomen, groin, pelvis, behind the knee and elbows. They account for about 39 percent of immune cells.
WONDERFUL CELLULAR LIFE
Small as the cell membrane may be that it may not be seen by the unaided eye, it is filled with its own defences. Thus, it does not have to wait for SYSTEMIC IMMUNE DEFENCE before it sorts out its problem. It selects what enters and leaves the cell. It is like village policing in human societies. Many Nigerian villages, including mine, have no police stations, whereas the tiny cell has an abundance of them. As all cells came from the union of one sperm cell with an egg in the woman’s body before they all differentiated into specialised cells such as those of the eye, intestine, kidney and the brain , they speak a common language known as… SIGNALLING. Cells are made of proteins. If a foreign substance penetrates the cells membrane fortress, the cell membrane would know immediately through its discordant or “foreign language”. It would then shut down protein process to destroy the invader. In some cases, it may even commit suicide (apoptosis) to prevent the foreign agent, such as a virus, from endangering its neighbours. In other situations, it may coat-its surface with a marker so that mobile immune cells from SYSTEM IMMUNE DEFENCE may eat up the foreigner or consume it as well. It is like sacrificing itself to protect its community!
CELLULAR defence is interesting and has many lessons for Nigeria’s defence architecture which, now, is essentially a ONE- LEVEL SYSTEM. Inside the CELL are many living forms which undertake for the cell several specialised activities. They are called ORGANELS. Some of them are MITOCHONDRIA, LYSOSOMES, NUCLEUS and GOLGY. The mitochondrium is the cells’s energy factory. The more the mitochondria the cell has, the more the energy it can produce. The mitochondrium has its own anti-oxidant system for self-defence. If it is damaged, it can commit suicide (apoptosis) rather than encumbering the cell with useless baggage. About 1.5 million years ago, the mitochondrium was a free living bacterium. That is why, today, as an organelle in the human cell , it has a double membrane and its own DNA and is capable of self defence. The lysosome, membrane bound, is a waste recycling and disposal center. It digests bacteria and damaged organelles. Ribosomes make proteins. They cannot fight back like immune cells, but certain mechanisms prevent them, when damaged, from making junk proteins.
TISSUES, ORGANS, SYSTEMS
Cells form tissues. Organs come from tissues and form systems. Everywhere along the line, there is one form of self defence or another.
HUMAN BODY SECURITY SYSTEM
A human body security systems authority informs us:
“Think of your body’s immune system like a country’s security system. It has layers, and each layer gets bigger and more specialised as a threat moves from a single spot to the whole country.
Here’s how it works, from the smallest level to the whole body:
1. Organelle defence… Is the security inside a single building. Inside every cell, you have tiny “rooms” called organelles. These have their own alarms and cleanup crew.
” If a virus or bacteria breaks into a cell, the cell’s internal sensors notice that something is wrong. It can shut itself down, destroy the invader, or send out a ‘help’ signal.
“The country analogy is that…, like the security system inside a bank, if someone breaks into the vault, the vault itself has locks, alarms, and it can lock down that one room so the rest of the bank is safe.
“Cellular defence is a building’s security guards. If the threat gets past the first line, the cell itself fights back. The cell can eat the invader, release chemicals to kill it, or signal to other cells saying..’We’re under attack!’
“Your white blood cells patrol, recognise trouble, and take it out fast.
“The country analogy is that… the security guards and police stationed at the building respond immediately when the alarm goes off, without need for the army.
“Tissue defence means neighbourhood watch and local police. Cells don’t work alone. Cells of the same type form tissues… like skin, muscle, or the lining of your gut. When one cell sends a distress signal, the whole tissue goes on alert. The tissue swells, gets hot, and sends out chemical signals. That attracts more defender cells to the area and makes it harder for invaders to spread.
“The country analogy is that …when a neighbourhood notices crime, the neighbourhood watch and local police increase patrols, put up roadblocks, and warn neighbouring areas. The area is locked down.
” In organ defence, the city-level responds. If the threat keeps growing, the whole organ gets involved. Organs like your lungs, liver, or spleen have their own immune structures and act as command centers. The spleen and lymph nodes act like intelligence hubs. They collect samples of the invader, figure out what it is, and train specialised defender cells to fight it. These trained cells then go out to hunt the specific threat.
” At the country level, the city activates its emergency response. Police headquarters analyse the threat, coordinate districts, deploy specialised units, hunting specific criminals.
” When its comes to SYSTEMIC DEFENCE, we are at the national level response. If the invader breaks out into the bloodstream, the whole body goes on alert. This is where fever, fatigue, and body-wide symptoms come in.
” Your immune system releases signals into the blood that raise body temperature, mobilise reserves of defender cells, and put the whole body in ‘wartime mode.’ Antibodies are made to recognise the invader everywhere, and memory cells are created so the body remembers it for next time.
“At the country level, when a threat becomes national, the government activates the military, sets national emergency protocols, and shares intelligence across all states.
POLICING MODEL
For resilient and efficient policing, the foregoing offers many ideas. One is LAYERED DEFENCE. The human body does not depend on one level of defence. If the vault fails, the building guards catch it. If they fail, the neighbourhood responds. Each layer buys time for the next.
Another idea is LOCAL DEFENCE RESPONSE. Small problems are handled locally and fast, so you do not need to mobilise the whole country every time. Couldn’t the Governor of Oyo State have handled the adoption of school children in his state?
Yet another idea is communication and signals. Each level sends signals to the next using chemicals messages.. In a country, it is intelligence sharing and alarm systems.
A fourth idea is memory and learning. After an attack, the body remembers the invader and responds faster next time. A country can do this through intelligence databases and training.
A last fall out for now is CONTAINMENT BEFORE ALL-OUT WAR. The body tries to contain a threat at the tissue level first. That prevents a full-body crisis. A country can use the same idea…contain unrest or crime regionally before it becomes national.
THE CROWN OF THORNS
From the foregoing, who takes the blame for Nigeria’s insecurity under terrorists, bandits and kidnappers? We should not forget Gen. Aguiyi -Ironsi who demolished an evolving FEDERALIST SECURITY ARCHITECTURE of Nigeria’s founding fathers and plunged the nation into a unitary pseudo- federal system with subverted policing architecture. President Shehu Shagari kept the bastardised structure because it gave him unlimited control over the country, even if policing was inefficient and ineffective. Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Goodluck Ebele Azikewe Johnathan and Muhammadu Bahari fellowed the tracks..
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took the bull by the horns, opposed initially by vested interests, including the Nigeria Police Force, as this matter involves Constitutional Amendment. Doggedly, he has moved on towards a new and better and more secure policing architecture, which the National Assembly finally agreed last week to “fast-track”. So, in my view, President Tinubu deserves praise from all of us. The crown of thorns belongs to some other heads
