Atolaiye: How Buhari Can End Insecurity

International Coordinator of the Nigeria Diaspora Network, Mr. Samuel Atolaiye says Nigerians living abroad are afraid of coming home, because of kidnapping. He spoke with Tobi Soniyi. Excerpts:

Everyday, Nigerians in Diaspora are inundated with gruesome videos and pictures of innocent people being killed by Fulani Herdsmen. Yet, the security agencies appear helpless. How can the killings be stopped?
You are correct that Nigerians in Diaspora receive videos and news of people being killed by Fulani Herdsmen. This information is really disturbing. More disturbing is the fact that Nigerian security agents appear helpless and do not seem to have a realistic plan to mitigate the situation.

Though we received news of people killed but no news of people being prosecuted for those inhuman actions. It is time to bring these killers to book and teach others a lesson that Nigeria is a country of rule of law.
To resolve the issue, the root cause of the problem needs to be identified. In an effort to resolve the Fulani killings, some basic questions need to be answered, such as, what is the true identity of these killers? Are they truly Nigerians or are they foreigners? If they are foreigners, how did they find it easy to migrate to Nigeria and become ‘supposed’ landlords?

What action needs to be taken to ensure they return to their country so that Nigerians can peacefully coexist as we desire as a true nation?. Once we are able to have answers to these questions, we can then nail down the strategy to use to flush out these bandits and Nigerians can have peace.

The governors are called the chief security officers of their states but they don’t control any security apparatus. What should states do to protect their people?
The governors as the chief security officers of their states, is a glorified title. While it is the duty of the government through the police and other agencies to provide security and to protect the life and property of Nigerian citizens, we are all aware that the security agencies are controlled by the federal government and the states governments are at the liberty of the federal government on effective security in their states.

This is the reason we are advocating for state police. More than anytime, state police is a must have in Nigeria. I sincerely believe that state police is the solution to our security challenges. State police go hand-in-hand with community policing. Having people within the locality to be part of policing is a great advantage.
If you bring people from different areas that do not understand the culture and lifestyle of the people they are policing, they will not be able to understand how to handle suspects and efficiently conduct investigation without disturbing the system. Local people will trust local police more than the federal agencies. Once the community notices strange people within the community, they can easily notify state police to monitor, investigate, arrest, or do the needful to help in avoiding criminal activities.

All security apparatuses are under the control of the federal government. Yet, they are either incapable of addressing the security challenges or are unwilling to do so. What should the federal government do?
The security situation in the country is overwhelming and the federal government should restructure federal agencies to a more effective tool that will address the present situation and meet the needs of the citizenry. Things have changed to warrant a comprehensive reform of our security apparatus. The internet is here, so also is the social media. These are tools that could be utilised to tackle the modern day security challenges. The question is, do our security agencies have enough equipment to fight crime in this country?

Agencies should be truly professional and share intelligence with themselves for effective crime fighting in the country. There should be complete trust and effective communication among the security agencies to upscale the nation’s security architecture. The issue of ethnic favouritism should not be a parameter to determine actions/inactions within the agencies. This awareness among the agencies can only be achieved by adequate training. The federal government must be responsible for such training for the officers.

Another thing that the federal government can do is for the security officers to be well compensated (salary-wise) and other benefits especially, having life insurance, incase of death or any accidental situation while fighting criminals that may happen, their families can be well taken care of.
Other areas the federal government will have to explore to combat the security situation include gaining employment for its citizens. There is a high level of unemployment in Nigeria especially, amongst the youth. So many graduates are flooding the streets seeking employment within the country.

Also, Nigeria has very porous frontiers, where movements of individuals are largely untracked. The result of this is smuggling of weapons, drugs, and other equipment that all promote violence into the country.
Above all, the government should look at solving the issue of corruption within the society. Corruption has become a cancer that is eating deep into the very fabric of the society and it is destroying Nigeria cultural integrity that leads to criminality.

Is there any role for the international community in tackling the security challenges in Nigeria?
Security challenges have been a major problem confronting this great country and it is as a result of bad governance over the years. Yes, there is a role the international community can play in helping to resolve the security situation in Nigeria. The world is a global community. The UN Security Council has the primary responsibility for international peace and security. The General Assembly and the Secretary-General play major, important, and complementary roles, along with other UN offices and bodies.

Through regular meetings, the General Assembly provides a forum for member states to express their views to the entire membership and find consensus on difficult issues. Though this role is more into conflict resolution. However, the UN can have a serious discussion with Nigeria on the security issue in the global subject of peace. That is about the only thing I believe the international community can do.

Nigeria is a sovereign nation that must tackle its own problem. We as citizens should sincerely be our brother’s keeper. Our diversity should be used as an advantage and not a tool of oppression. We all should say no to bandits, Fulani Herdsmen illegally occupying people’s farmland, raping and kidnapping and killing people. This action should be called out for what they are – criminals – and must be stopped.

At the center of the kidnappings, banditry and killings is the demand for greener pastures by herdsmen. In the process, they clash with farmers resulting in deaths. How should the government resolve the farmers/herders clashes?
Realistically, grazing should not be an excuse to destroy farmlands. Proper understanding and respect for each other as human beings could avoid clashes. The government should stop these herders from moving from one state to another and set up ranches. By so doing, farmers will be protected.

Presently, the herders trample on farms. Sometimes, they uproot farmers’ cassava to feed their animals. This should be controlled-ranches with farmland, where food for the cattle is grown. The ranches should also include processing plants for milk and other necessary vitamins for feeding the cattle.

Growing up in the 70s, we had Fulani living with us in the community. The Fulani have settlements with their families and cattle. They mingle and integrate very well with the community. Farmers go about their normal business without having their cattle destroy farmlands. Life was good. However, what is happening today is a different scenario. The government appears not to be doing enough or I would rather say that government action to ensure security of life and farmland is not felt by the citizens and there is a large complaint.

These so-called bandits and herdsmen that are responsible for these horrendous acts must face the full wrath of the law. The government must demonstrate that Nigeria is not a country of lawlessness. Those that are not citizens must be deported immediately. This is the only way for the government to gain the confidence of the Nigerian people especially, those that are being affected on a daily basis.

What should the people do in the face of continued government’s negligence and abandonment?
This is a very daisy question but I will try to answer it as much as possible. I am of the opinion that people should not take law into their hands. People could organize themselves into vigilante groups, properly licensed by the government to protect their community. This should be done in conjunction with the security agents within the state.
The vigilante group should be properly equipped to carry out their activities. Their activities should be solely to protect and ensure peace and not to be used as a witch-hunt or as a political tool to settle scores with political opponents and the government should license firearms used by these groups.

What is the implication of the government’s failure to protect the people especially, for a government that is banking on agriculture to diversify the economy from crude oil?
The problem really is that with the persistence raping, kidnapping, and killing by the bandits without repercussion, Nigerians believe that the federal government is unwilling to stop these crimes. It appears that some of the herders also work with criminal elements that engage in kidnapping, while some combine animal rearing with kidnapping. People have suffered and are still suffering untold hardship by the loss of means of livelihood (farmland) and families.

Economy is suffering. Jobs cannot be created. Farmers are becoming poorer. No one wants to invest in farming. People are afraid to travel by roads. The problem is not going to disappear, unless the government takes decisive action. The states’ position is further weakened by the fact that they don’t have a police force of their own. No state police. The military and the police are not trusted by the people.

I believe that President Buhari is a good leader. He as a person is not corrupt but his government must do something immediately to address this issue so as to erase the people’s opinion that a corrupt system of leadership cannot guarantee the protection of human rights, because corruption itself is an abuse of the rights of the people.