TAMING THE MONSTER OF INSECURITY

 MAGNUS ONYIBE argues that the President is keen on stemming the menace of insecurity

As Bola Tinubu ups the ante in the management of the crisis of insecurity in our country, one cannot help but take note of the fact that taming the monster of insecurity has become the priority of the President.

Some commentators have attributed the president’s current prioritization of security as a response to the United States of America, president Donald Trump’s declaration of Nigeria as Country of Particular Concern, (CPC), on October 31, due to his suspicion that Christians are being persecuted by those he tagged Islamist fundamentalists, an allegation that the Nigerian government has denied. 

To put things in perspective and to get a better understanding of the case that l am about to make about Tinubu being a listening president with respect to his promise to tackle insecurity during his visit to Benue State on June 18 where and when he assured the good people of the beleaguered state (one of the ground zero for insecurity in Nigeria) that he will address the root causes of the crisis, including ethnic /religious tensions and climate change as well as land grabbing, it is pertinent that we delve a bit into the past to highlight the historical context. 

The president seems to be making good his promise of paradigm shift in the fight against insecurity by listening to the cries of victims nationwide and also acting on the advice of stakeholders offering probable solutions after obtaining opionions from some members of the public which are conveyed via the mass media.

While the designation of Nigeria as CPC might have hastened the promotion of the fight against insecurity to the top of Mr. Presidents to-do list, it should be recalled that the president and commander -in- chief of the armed forces of Nigeria had been making bold changes in the security architecture of Nigeria by removing and replacing the military service chiefs to give the fight against insecurity new vigor. He had also just returned from Rome , Europe where on October 12 he attended a regional security event, the Aqaba Process meeting where he discussed West Africa’s security crisis with other regional leaders. 

As security experts will agree, no one nation can successfully fight insecurity especially terrorism, without collaborating with other nations, particularly all those it shares boundaries with.

The Aqaba meeting was co-chaired by Jordan and ltaly bringing together heads of state and senior leaders of intelligence agencies. That in my view indicates that prior to October 31 action of President Trump of sanctioning Nigeria, President Tinubu, having made significant progress with fixing the economy through fundamental policy reforms – petrol subsidy removal and managed floating of the naira – had shifted his attention to the tackling of the alarming and intolerable menace of insecurity, particularly ravaging the hinterland and of the hue that the US deems as persecution of christians by lslamic fundamentalists.

Remarkably, on October 24, a week before Trump’s declaration of Nigeria as CPC , the announcement of a change of the entire service chiefs was made and by October 30, the replacement of the former service chiefs were sworn into office by President Tinubu.

But unfortunately owing to a lack of proactive actions in diplomacy that could have helped bridge the information gap between the US and Nigeria that could have prevented a misunderstanding that warranted the sanction, the CPC spectre fell on our country on 31st October as President Tinubu was about to activate his agenda on how to fundamentally address the somewhat perennial insecurity challenge that has constituted itself into a fatal jeopardy for the good people of Nigeria and government .

Prior to the Aqaba Process meeting on regional security, president Tinubu had charged the 36 state governors who were not in harmony as to whether or not to adopt the policy of state police to forge a common front and they had all subsequently agreed that local policing as opposed to central policing was the most efficacious panacea to the insecurity situation that was rapidly rising rather than abating in our beloved nation.

So, the reason for highlighting events in the security space prior to Trump designating Nigeria as CPC and subsequent actions is to demonstrate that in an uncanny way, it is coincidental that Nigeria got sanctioned by the US at the same time that the administration was putting finishing touches to how it intended to prosecute its fight against the scourge of insecurity. So, both the initiative of President Trump to go ‘guns blazing’ into Nigeria to wipe out those he referred to as Islamic fundamentalists and President Tinubu’s resolve to defeat the insecurity crisis, by plotting and implementing new reform policies in the security ecosystem having stabilized the economy after about two and half years of being at the helm of affairs in Aso Rock Villa, compliment each other.

The harmony of purpose is perhaps why it was not difficult for Nigeria’s president Tinubu to accept collaborating with the US President Trump to engage frontally in the onslaught against those that he had referred to as Islamic fundamentalists when he declared Nigeria a CPC.

Thus, on December 25, President Trump did not just go guns blazing as he had threatened. He went ‘Bombs blazing’ by blasting suspected terrorist cells in Sokoto state axis with Tomahawk missiles.

Expectedly, public opinion on that military action targeting terrorists in their cells in the Sokoto state axis has been mixed.

Nigerians are divided on President Bola Tinubu’s decision to allow the US airstrikes on Christmas Day, targeting Islamic State militants in Sokoto State. While some praise the move as a necessary step to combat terrorism, others criticise it as a violation of Nigeria’s sovereignty.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has expressed concerns, stating that the action should not substitute for Nigeria-led efforts to address domestic security challenges. Similarly, Adamu Garba, a former presidential aspirant, questions the timing and coordination of the airstrikes, suggesting they undermine Nigeria’s military capabilities. One of the most scathing criticism is by Dr.Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a northern elite who had asserted in his opinion widely published that President Bola Tinubu has “humiliated the Nigerian military” and “handed Nigeria’s sovereignty to the United States”.

Conversely, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) commends the US for cooperating with Nigeria to combat terrorism, urging Tinubu to sustain pressure on bandits and terrorists. Some Nigerians on social media welcome the airstrikes, with the hope they will bring an end to the menace if insecurity that has defined the north in the past nearly two decades.

The Nigerian government has stridently maintained that the airstrikes were a joint operation with the US, aimed at fighting terrorism without targeting any specific religion.

As a reflection of the burden that leaders carry, while some pundits that are against the Christmas day bombing of suspected terrorists in their cells have argued that it amounts to a violation of Nigeria’s sovereignty; others have made the case that it was a pragmatic move by President Tinubu who had been roundly critisized by his opponents for neglecting security and safety of lives and properties of Nigerians. As such, they allege that has been failing in the mandate given him by Nigerians to lead them since guaranteed security of lives and properties is the cardinal responsibility of a president. 

Given the narrative above, it is difficult to really determine what Nigerians want. That is because before he prioritized fixing the crisis of insecurity, Tinubu’s administration was accused of neglecting that aspect.

But now that he has ramped up activities to curb violent crimes and banditary, he is being accused of ceding sovereignty as it is being alleged that the missile attack on Sokoto state against terrorists was not with the involvement of Nigerian government. 

That is despite the fact that the Nigerian military had in partnership with the US military been engaging in the surveillance of terrorist locations weeks before the missile attack. Based on the above reality, the government may not struggle too much to debunk the allegation of non involvement in the Christmas Day missile strike as false. 

As the conventional wisdom goes: uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

This iconic quote is attributed to William Shakespeare from his play Henry IV, Part 2 (Act 3, Scene 1). The phrase highlights the weight of responsibility and anxiety that comes with leadership, suggesting that those in power often bear significant burdens, making it difficult to find peace. Since he seems to have decided that the critics is about the opposition playing politics, President Tinubu appears to be at peace with his decision to focus his gaze more on insecurity with a view to fixing it and he seems content that his effort is being complimented by the US military missle strike even as France has also pledged to help both, which are positive development for Nigeria.

The new concern now is that, having been hit in their cell in Sokoto state by American hellfire, the targeted outlaws may be intent on changing their base. With the Sahel nations of Niger Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, etc forming their own anti-terrorism security network to flush out the anti social elements, it may be difficult if not impossible, for the fleeing terrorists to migrate into that region. As such, the area of least resistance, such as the north east and north central Nigeria, and even the south west and south east via Kwara, Ekiti, and Benue states respectively may become their next abode if the outlaws are not already ring fenced by security agents or cordoned off as it were, before they are dispersed nationwide.

Apart from listening to the cry of Benue State leaders whom he made the promise to flush out the nefarious ambassadors from the forests in Nigeria by increasing the tempo in insecurity war, President Tinubu has also been listening to the opinions of those leading from the streets. As the latin phrase goes: Vox populi vox dei, meaning the voice of the people is the voice of God.

Below is one of my articles in which concrete suggestions for safeguarding the country were advanced. It was written in April-some eight months ago titled “Underscoring the Menace of Insecurity in Nigeria: The Imperative of CCTV.” In it, I set out strategic recommendations on addressing insecurity in Nigeria, relevant excerpts of which appear below.

“In the course of delivering a lecture at Al-Hakim University in Ilorin, Kwara state, on Thursday, April 17, the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, imployed Nigerians to acquire Closed-Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV) sets to be installed in their residences and places of work.

He argued that it is a part of the much vaunted, but yet to be implemented, community policing. My immediate reaction as soon as I read the news was: Good idea,but how feasible is it? Has the idea been put through the crucible of critical thinking?

In any case, at least the IGP’s proposition marks a shift in the position of the police force, which has been opposed to the concept of state police.That is based on the presentation made by the IGP at the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, (NIPSS), in Kuru, near Jos, Plateau State capital.

In his presentation, the IGP had taken a position against the birthing of state police for the following reasons:

 Although, in my view, the difference between the concept of state police and community police may be that the former will be controlled by the respective state governors while the latter will still be centrally controlled by the IGP in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja, at least there is a consensus that the current framework of policing in Nigeria is inadequate. As such, there is a need for a paradigm shift. I have, since the return of multi-party democracy in Nigeria in 1999, consistently advocated for a state policing system….

 Onyibe, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst, author, is a former commissioner in Delta State