National insecurity: The iniquity of inequity - The Nation Nigeria

Abiodun Komolafe

NIGERIAS Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammeds recent admission that Boko Haram is attacking Christians to trigger a religious war refers.

To start with, it is fallacious and an insult to Nigerians collective intelligence for Minister Mohammed to come out on behalf of the Federal Government and admit that Boko Haram is still a threat; and that, in the particular, it is attacking Christians to whip up sentiments, or throw the nation into chaos. The argument is lame-footed and, at the selfsame breath, appalling! This is the truth of the matter: that Boko Harams senseless strategy cannot be curtailed or contained should be the issue, not that religion is being exploited by unscrupulous persons to foment trouble. No! That shouldnt be the issue! By his confession, Mohammed was indirectly revealing to Nigerians governments abysmal lack of capacity to actually protect the life and property of every citizen. In saner climes, even convicts have right to life, until the law says otherwise. The truth is: whatever Boko Haram is doing, or represents, should be correctly diagnosed, condemned and destroyed. Religion cannot form the basis, or, excusable justification for the wanton killing of innocent Nigerians in Nigeria.

If we could recollect, Muhammadu Buharis presidential campaign stood on a tripod: fight against insecurity, war against corruption and improvement in national economy! Nigerians had expected that, as a time- and war-tested General, it would not be too long before Buhari and his troops would truly degrade Boko Haram and allied madness that have now consumed over-30,000 souls and displaced more than 2 million Nigerians. As an anticorruption czar, we were also optimistic that he would by now have decapacitated corruption to prevent its killing Nigeria dead. On the economic plane, though Nigerians expectation was rated low, more so as the then All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate has never been known to be an economist, that he would parade an array of Nigerias best brains to chart her economic pathway was never in doubt. These were our thoughts, our hopes; and the reasons behind Nigerians support. Surprisingly, the situation on ground, especially, as it relates to national insecurity, seems to have shamed our expectations and put the dream of the nation on hold.

Archbishop Augustine Akabueze fittingly captured Nigerians predicament when he said: the killing of Gods children is evil; the failure to protect innocent people from the relentless attacks is evil; the lack of prosecution of terrorists is evil, our governments response to terrorist attacks is, for the lack of better words, far below average. In fairness to good governance, one of the central responsibilities of the state is to provide security for lives and property so that everybody will surrender his or her personal powers to the state. In other words, the state is the only body that has the monopoly of the administration of power and the use of force. Put differently, if the citizens dont have the feeling that there is justice and fairness in the land; if they dont have the feeling that they are worthy in a society, then, brigandage and kidnapping become a fair game, a free-for-all situation. Essentially, the legitimacy of the state is based upon the authority and the fact that it renders certain services. Once those services are no longer being rendered, then, the state is useless. That is to say, if the power of the state is challenged successfully, then, such a state ceases to exist. At that stage, everybody now resorts to self-help. It is as simple that! Sad, therefore, that the authority profile of the Federal Government is already ambushed and ebbing away! For Gods sake, what happens to the monopoly uses of force attribute of the Nigerian state?

Basically, policy is supposed to be speaking the mind of the government and projecting its plans to the citizenry. The beauty of it is that, if the contents of a policy are based on truth and fair assessment of the issues involved, it will not be difficult to moderate, or apply palliative measures. But, once a policy is defective, it will bring along with it consequences; some unintended, which, most often, are as a result of the errors of the policymakers in government. The aftermath is that government loses credibility and its integrity is called to question. The implication of some of these deficiencies, however, is that the authority of the state is diminished, and the society is worse for it.

Well, the issue on ground is about righteousness and evil. While insecurity has the potentials to damage an economy, especially, one that is still ailing from its inability to fully recover from recession and a critically ill political gap, wisdom as the principal thing is a very scarce commodity in this country. National security is collapsing at jet speed even as the presidents men continue to clutch at straw in futile defence of the failing security architecture. On the average, no fewer than 10 Nigerians are either killed or kidnapped by terrorists and bandits daily. The more reason Buhari needs to do more in keeping Nigeria safe because, as things stand, it is as if he has been so fenced out of reality that one continues to wonder who is really in charge of his government.

From the look of things, its like Buhari just won the elections for Mamman Daura, his nephew; and Abba Kyari, his Chief of Staff. Not unsurprisingly, Aisha, the presidents wife, who has been crying from the rooftop, now seems fed-up and has since stopped talking.

Beyond any doubt, the iniquity of inequity leads to chaos even as an unsecured space is a fertile ground for corruption. When what looks like mere cut-and-paste platitudes imprecisely take the place of consequences in an atmosphere of national mourning, then, it becomes an indictment.

Amidst these, there is a laughable malady in the offing: just become a repented, returnee Boko Haram sect member; instantly, you are on your way to the best of schools abroad! After all the atrocities committed by these felons?! Have we learnt any lesson at all from Russias Vladimir Putin or Niger Republics Mahamadou Issoufou? Isnt Nigeria a wonderful country?

May the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, grant us peace in Nigeria!