Conscious Insincerity and Dirty Politics as Root Causes of Nigeria’s Deepening Insecurity: Quo Vadis?

Bola A. Akinterinwa 

Political governance in Nigeria is largely and shamefully predicated on chicanery and conscious insincerity of purpose. This not only makes the playing of politics in Nigeria very dirty, but also the deepening of the recidivist insecurity the conscious insincerity has created in the polity. In the same manner that terrorism began with the sending of letter and parcel bombs and developing to the level of kidnapping of diplomatic agents, hijacking and skyjacking of planes, as well as to guerrilla terrorism, insecurity in Nigeria also started on a lighter scale: from boko haramist complaints and agitation, through boko haramist insurrection, to herdsmen invasion, armed banditry, and most unfortunately today, to criminal bombing of private houses of law-abiding citizens, railways, trains in motion and airports. Nigeria, Quo Vadis? 

Insecurity can exist because of force majeure, especially in the economy following unintended policy miscalculations or due to environmental impact. Political insecurity can arise due to mismanagement of crises and conflicts. These situations can be pardonable to an extent, considering that man is not perfect, and mistakes are allowed in human governance. However, when insecurity is a resultant from conscious insincerity, and very transparent dirty politics, when it is a reflection of don’t care attitude, and the imposition of governance by manu militari, all Nigerians must rise up to the challenges by thinking deeply on how to contain the deepening of the problem, and ultimately nipping it in the bud.

Our remit is that, for as long as insincerity remains a pillar of political governance, for as long as the quadrilateral pillars of suspicions and allegations are not addressed promptly, Nigeria has the great potential to disintegrate very violently. The quadrilateral pillars are allegation of President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB)’s Fulanisation agenda; allegation of PMB’s Islamic agenda; allegation of PMB’s promotion of Fulani hegemony in Nigeria; and the taking with kid gloves of the postulation of the late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, that there will never be any enduring peace in Nigeria until Nigeria is partitioned into Muslim North and Christian South.

 Many questions are raised at the level of Gaddafi’s postulation: what informed the postulation? Is the objective of the Boko Haram not essentially Islamic? When the Boko Haram insurrection began and the insurrectionists were able to acquire some communities, why did they put their Islamic flags? Why did they proclaim them independent states? Is the purpose for introducing armed banditry in the Northwest different from seeking an Islamic North? Is it really the Northern Nigerians that are seeking the partitioning of Nigeria or there are unseen extra-Nigerian and extra-African hands? Are all Nigerians not also guilty of this debacle?

Manifestations of Insincerity

One proclamation made at the Stakeholders Conference on “Nigeria’s Foreign Policy and Strategy: Responses to the Dynamics on the Domestic and Global Environments in the 21st Century,” organized by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies and held from 29th November to 2nd December, 2016 at the Ladi Kwali Conference Hall of the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, is that ‘Nigeria should focus on building a solid and reliable national security base that guarantees the country’s significant roles and relevance in the West African sub-region and at the international levels’ (vide paragraph xxi of the Proclamation).

Two points are noteworthy in the proclamation: intrinsic recognition of lack of solid and reliable national security base, and non-sustainability of Nigeria’s roles and relevance in international relations, beginning from her immediate neighbourhood. It is in recognition of these lapses that the proclamation was made. More important, another proclamation is that ‘a Special Unit be created in the Ministry to further address the global but rapidly evolving menace of terrorism, cyber security and transnational organized crimes and keep abreast of the germane issues’ (vide paragraph ix).

The essence of the two proclamations is that Nigeria’s foreign policy elite did recognize the multidimensional aspects of national insecurity and therefore came up with suggestions on how to deal with the problems. Has the building of a solid and reliable national security base been addressed? Has a Special Unit been created in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to address the menace of terrorism and transnational organized crimes? 

On Sunday, January 8, 2012, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan noted during a church service at the National Ecumenical Centre, organized as part of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebrations that there were Boko Haram agents in his government, National Assembly and even in the security agencies. Premium Times has reported that, in Jonathan’s eyes, ‘Boko Haram threat was becoming worse that the Nigerian civil war in which over a million people were killed.’ Additionally, President Jonathan said ‘during the civil war, we knew, and we could even predict where the enemy was coming from… You can even know the route they are coming from; you can even know what calibre of weapon they will use and so on’ (vide Premium Times, ‘Boko Haram has Infiltrated My Government,’ January 8, 2012). Most unfortunately, however, the same cannot be said of the Boko Haramists.

The challenge is not the infiltration of boko haramists in government per se, but why it has been difficult to fish out the agents, or why they are condoned in government? PMB himself once told Nigerians before his election in 2015 that he would make Nigeria ungovernable if he was not elected. Now with his election, how do we explain the non-governability of Nigeria? Why is boko haramism insuppressible? Is government not protecting its enemies?

Another observation is that whenever PMB gives an order to the Service Chiefs to deal with Boko Haram criminals, the following day or thereafter, the criminals would respond with more critical attacks and killings. Why is every military strategic calculation or agenda always known to the Boko Haram? Why are Nigerian patriotic soldiers always ambushed and killed?

Ambassador Aminu Wali, former Foreign Minister under President Goodluck Jonathan, said in a press interview that the Boko Haram insurgency started getting worse after PMB took over power in May 2015. In his words, ‘as far as Boko Haram is concerned, I can boldly say, by the time we left government, we had brought down Boko haram to a standstill. if you recall, when the election was postponed for four weeks, it was because of insecurity. At that time, our operation in the Northeast was succeeding. We brought Boko Haram where we want them; that is why there was no single polling unit in the Northeast where elections did not take place.’ More important, Ambassador Wali further noted that ‘it was after we had left that a lot of things started to get bad again. Goodluck Jonathan’s government did a lot to stop Boko Haram’ (See Nasir Ayitogo’s report, Premium Times, September 23, 2020

How do we explain the issue of boko haramism getting bad again under PMB? If we admit of the explanation of Ambassador Wali that when the election was postponed, the Borno State government was also reported to have been sabotaging the efforts of the central government, why wouldn’t any logical reason not also assume that a lot of things that went bad under PMB are not because of conscious sabotage? Why will Boko Haram agents in the Public Service not seek to sabotage any effort at neutralizing the Boko Haram? Is there any evidence of declaration of total war on Boko Haram agents in the Public Service?

Apart from boko haramism, how do we explain the reported case of an aircraft frequently landing in Zamfara State to airlift gold in a forest where there is no official tarmac or access road? Illegal mining is reportedly taking place in the forest. Government knows the spokespersons of the Boko Haram and Boko Haram’s operational locations. Why are Nigerian leaders therefore preaching the sermon of security when they are actually aiding and abetting insecurity?

For instance, the Minister of Mines and Steel development, Alhaji Bawa Bwari once noted that ‘in three years 18 tonnes of gold worth $1.16 bn had been frittered from the country.’ Additionally, based on the official N305 to the dollar, the Minister said ‘N353 bn worth had been shared illegally without any impact on the country’s GDP by illegal miners and smugglers

Many questions come to mind in this case: if the right of mining exclusively belongs to the Federal Government, how do we explain the fact that it is not the Federal Government that is in control of mining in Zamfara State? Why is the PMB’s Federal Government actively interested in illegal oil activities in the Niger Delta but remains an observer or not in control of gold mining in Zamfara State?  Many people have asked why illegal miners of solid minerals are untouchable in the North and oil bunkers in the South are severely dealt with. 

‘The Advocate,’ a discussion programme by the RHOL (vide Showmax.com), not only noted in its discussion on ‘Zamfara and Illegal Mining of Gold’ the Federal Government’s ‘deliberate ignorance,’ but also described the Federal Government as ‘criminally irresponsible’ in the handling of the matter. Why a double standard approach? It is argued that a few privileged northerners benefit from the illegal mining and not the generality of the poor people. Why is the handling of the same situation of illegality different in the South? Is this not hypocrisy at the highest level? 

Perhaps more hypocritically, the Government of Zamfara State has said there is no airstrip in its state, or such forest alluded to, and that the topography of the region does not allow for such. However, many Nigerians have come into the open to criticize both the Federal Government and the Zamfara State government of illegal gold mining in the state. The Zamfara government has not denied the issue of illegal mining of gold but is only contesting the issue of an airstrip. Whatever is the case, the Federal Government is on record to have declared Zamfara a no-fly zone to stop the allegations of ‘gold for arms swap’ by armed bandits (vide Daily Trust of Wednesday, 3rd March, 2021). If there had not been illegal flights to Zamfara, there would not have been a basis for declaring a no fly-zone by the Federal Government.

General Theophilus Danjuma has accused the Nigerian military of aiding the herdsmen in killing innocent farmers. He even told his people to take up arms and prepare to defend themselves in the face of government’s complicity and remissness. Besides, PMB openly promotes nepotism despite the principle of Federal Character legally provided for. In Nigeria, politics is for money-making and not for service. People who have served or are retirees and pensioners, not only seek election for four years, but are also seeking another special pension. In fact, political appointees want to remain in office while seeking to be voted for while using public resources for their private agenda. The list of acts of hypocrisy is long and unacceptable.

Nigeria: Wither Goest Thou?

In articulating the way for a Nigeria that will be free from political chicanery and self-destruction, it must first be accepted that Nigeria is truly challenged by threats of disintegration. Secondly, even though PMB is not only the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria by virtue of his election as President, but he is also a General of the Nigerian Army. However, he does not appear to have the capacity to overrun the armed bandits and insurrectionists who also appear to be externally sponsored, bearing in mind the high level of sophistication of their weapons and funding.

Put differently, Nigeria may not simply be fighting the Boko Haram terror but is also fighting unseen external forces. Without whiff of doubt, PMB appears to have done his best, but his best has not been good enough to stabilize the country, especially considering the mounting agitation for self-determination and changing styles of terrorist attacks in the country. Terrorist attacks on a military barrack, at an international airport, on a moving train, etc., are occurrences that cannot be meaningfully contained if truly PMB has an Islamic and Fulanisation agenda, that he is pursuing pari passu with toga of irrationalities and nepotism. National insecurity should be specially considered, and the solutions cannot but be also drastic.

First is the mania of politics in Nigeria. The general belief is that politics is for money making and not for service to the people. This is why politics has been self-serving. In this regard, every effort must be made to make it unattractive to money seekers and launderers. Legislators do not need to work full time. Many legislators do not even meet the number of sittings required, and yet they collect their full entitlements. There should be transparency and accountability regarding security votes of all governors. The presidential system of government is operated to the detriment of the development of true federalism. It should be replaced with a more representative and accountable parliamentary system.

Secondly, the 1999 Constitution has been a major source of centripetal relationships in Nigeria for various reasons. Because the opening sentence in the Constitutions says, ‘We the People,’ when the people were not actually involved, the Constitution is seen to be fraudulent. All subsequent amendments to the Constitution are also believed to be fraudulent and incapable of giving the Constitution the people’s legitimacy. Therefore, rather than engaging in piecemeal amendment of provisions considered to be inadequate, a fresh Constitution has been called for.

Besides, it is not only argued that the Constitution is a military one, but also posited that it is written to project Islamic interests. Some observers have pointed to the more than 60 times references are made to either Sharia or Islam, but without mentioning Christ or Christianism. Apart from this, Muslims have always complained that Sundays are the first days of the week which Christians take as free-working days and go to worship. They say Fridays are like lesser festivals when compared to big festivals like the id el Kabir and therefore want Fridays as their possible rest days for their own worshiping of God. 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this reasoning. For the Muslims, Friday is their Holy Day. Saturday is the Holy Day for the Jews, while Sunday is the Holy Day for the Christians. Consequently, instead of having Friday and Saturday as weekend, a new Constitution can provide for Friday and Sunday as Holy Days and therefore as free days for all Nigerians to do whatever they want. The religious quarrel will be removed by so doing. This is why a new Constitution has become a desideratum.

Thirdly, the wrong belief that the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable, and that Nigeria is indissoluble as evangelized by PMB, is most unfortunate because international experiences have clearly shown that PMB’s logic is myopically untenable and the inadequacy of the 1999 Constitution. PMB’s rationale for the non-negotiability of Nigeria’s unity is largely based on the 1999 Constitution as amended. The first problem with the 1999 Constitution is that it is believed to be a military constitution and not the people’s constitution. Secondly, it is not because it is constitutionally provided for, that it can also be enforced when it is strongly believed that its application is apparently driven by injustice and unfairness. The mentality of national unity by manu militari must be jettisoned. Room for dialogue on how to build a new and greater Nigeria should be paved way for. In fact, the reports of the 2014 National Conference should be actualized as a starting point.

Fourthly, one underlying dynamic of most political disagreements in the country is the issue of census. Most southern political elite do not believe in the declared population figures of the North. The importation of foreigners during census and general elections is always alleged. Consequently, a credible census should be promptly organized as a foundation for political restructuring. It is a sine qua non. 

Fifthly, and if truth be told, Governments in Nigeria are worse than armed robbers and other criminals that the same governments claim to be fighting. For examples, how do we explain the fact that the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Minister of Works and Housing, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, advertised the building of low-income and medium houses in various parts of the country in 1994 and collected deposits from the people, but without building the houses publicly advertised. I am one of the applicants of a three-bedroom detached bungalow. The cost was to be N200,000 (two hundred thousand naira only). A deposit of N40,000 (forty thousand naira only) was required to qualify for allocation.

When Alhaji Jakande was replaced, his successor, said it was not possible to construct any building based on the prices given by Alhaji Jakande. The price of the 3-bedroom detached bungalow I applied for was therefore increased to N800,000 (eight hundred thousand naira only) while a deposit of N160,000 was newly required. Like most other applicants, I paid, and receipts were duly given. Up till today, no house was built, hence no allocation, and most unfortunately too, no refund. This is the Federal Government that has been fighting corruption since 1987. The origin of corruption and indiscipline was traced in 1987 by Professor J.S Cooker to 1967 in his Political Bureau Report. 

The housing project in Lagos is not different, except that a case of force majeure can be rightly advanced for the remissness of the Lagos State Government. Under the Brigadier General Buba Marwa administration of Lagos, the Isheri North building project was similarly presented to the public in 1996. I and many others in ThisDay Newspapers, paid N500,000 (five hundred thousand naira only) for a plot of land 800m2. When Asiwaju Bola Tinubu succeeded him as Governor, he reduced the size to 700 m2 without reducing the price, which was a breach of contract. But perhaps more disturbingly, again, up till this day, neither de facto nor de jure allocation of land has been done, based on alleged reasons of flooded area. Many are the examples of how governments behave in Nigeria.

In this regard, on what basis and justification should a dishonest Federal or state Government be pursuing dishonest criminals or accusing people of corruption? If an offence against the State is a crime, what do we call the crime committed by a State against its people if not to call it a crime against humanity par excellence? Without jot of doubt, Nigeria is truly fantastically corrupt because the Federal Government itself is an expert in official sharp practices. Criminals in Nigeria only copy from the Government. Consequently, the leeway should be the empaneling of a special body to investigate all Government’s outstanding obligations towards the people of Nigeria and make amend. It is by so doing that patriotism can be renewed.

Sixthly, there is the issue of Boko Haram insurgents who have reportedly repented and have been rehabilitated. The rationale for their rehabilitation is their voluntary surrender. In the eyes of the Federal Government, it is military success, which really is not. Government apparently, but wrongly, believes that the repentant boko haramists would be useful as intelligence gatherers for Nigeria. There is nothing to suggest that they have been useful for that purpose, because rather than have boko Haram attacks reduced, they have been on the increase. There was even the case of a repentant boko haramist who became a policeman but later engaged in armed robbery. The video went viral in the social media. 

In the eyes of the public, Government is simply trying to protect the criminals under the pretext of their repentance. Government’s policy should not be rehabilitation before end of the insurrection but after and within the holistic framework of amnesty, if need be, and general reconciliation, reconstruction, and rehabilitation, in that order à la Gowonian style.

Seventhly, there is the policy of plea bargaining meant to make established criminals who have embezzled public money to refund a percentage of their ill-gotten funds. Plea bargaining in Nigeria allows a suspect or defendant to plead guilty to lesser offences than the offences for which they are initially charged. The plea not only quickens the administration of justice, but also enables the setting aside the maximum punishment for offences committed. In this regard, why should the punishment for serious criminal offences be mitigated. Someone would empty public treasury, then military barracks will be named after him. PMB has spent public money to build bridges and there calls for the bridge to be named after him. Truly, many Nigerians must be very schizophrenic. This should not be a surprise to any one because of government’s behaviour and the acquiescence of most Nigerians. Imagine how the newly started railway business is already being run: A train from Lagos and en route Ibadan broke down midway for lack of fuel. Why? Imagine another story: one manifest of passengers of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, which is currently circulating in the social media, and in which reportedly there were 398 train tickets were bought, 362 passengers confirmed boarded, but 970 passengers were on board. Why is this so? Was this not how the Nigeria Airways was gradually killed permanently? Google News has asked: ‘how can we develop if we can’t raise sincere and honest civil and public officials?’

“Eighthly, and finally, Governments in Nigeria must stop preaching the gospel of Godliness, national unity, territorial integrity, and anti-corruption, on the one hand, when, on the other hand, they do not believe in the same gospel. Doing so is expression of conscious dishonesty, deliberate insincerity, and very dirty politics. It is very ridiculous to see Nigerians claiming to be people of God, praying for showers of divine blessings, while they also consciously condone injustice, unfairness, reckless ritual killings, and, in fact, are keeping quiet on genocidal crimes. And yet, with their attitude, they still expect God to perform wonders in Nigeria’s life. Most unfortunately, God is interested in sinners that not only repent but also refrain from further engagement in their initial iniquities. Consequently, it is not only politico-economic and institutional restructuring that is most urgently needed to save Nigeria from self-destruction, but greater emphasis must also be placed on me-tooism or the attitude of Nigerians. Even though Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has argued in her book that fighting corruption is dangerous, the truth remains that, without first removing the root causes of insecurity, Nigeria, either in terms of Muslim North or Christian South, cannot be in peace.”