It is difficult to say that Nigeria is winning the war against terror. Every other day, disturbing news breaks of security breaches by terrorists in one remote part of the country or the other.
A war that has raged for more than a decade is showing no signs of abating as the sides standing across the battle lines are determined to see the end of each other.
While the shared experience of many rural communities in Nigeria has been one marked by relentless and ruthless attacks, those who live in the so-called cities have long feared the day when the devastation that terrorism can wrought will knock on their doorsteps.
Gradually, for many of those cities, that day has continued to draw ever closer with Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, recently being in the news for imminent terrorist attacks. Some countries, notably the US, UK and Canada recently warned of imminent terror attacks in Abuja. While the federal government has since moved to rebuff the alarms, describing them as unverified and misleading, the countries in question have maintained their cautionary stance. Some of them have even gone to the extent of asking their citizens to leave the city and the country.
Yet, many Nigerians within the federal capital territory move about as if nothing is happening. The uncertainty about the security situation within the Federal Capital Territory recalls the devastating events of June 5, 2022 when terrorists stormed the Medium Security Correctional Facility in the Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory and let loose hundreds of inmates including some notorious terrorists.
The attack of June 5 confirmed the suspicion of many people that terrorists have long had the Federal Capital Territory in their sights.
As a country, Nigeria`s paucity of adequate and verifiable data is well-documented. However, even the most skeptical of Nigerians would agree that since terrorism started to take a very heavy toll on the country, incalculable costs and losses have been tallied.
Indeed, the losses are unquantifiable. Many people who have survived massacres at the hands of terrorists have survived only to start their lives from the scratch because their livelihoods were completely destroyed. Yet, it is a country where people have continued to move on, to trudge on from every manner of setback. Many Nigerians have survived unspeakable horrors, managing each time to pick up what is left of their lives and continue their journey.
It is very much a country where the residents of its capital city walk on eggshells, and it has a lot to with the activities of ragtag criminals who have sworn that every part of the country, especially its capital city, must continue to feel the heat until their unspecified demands are met.
It says a lot about Nigeria`s decline as a country that those who have continued to enjoy field days sowing terror all over the country have only continued to grow in strength and stature while the intensity of Nigeria`s response has continued to shrink.
Unless something is done quickly and drastically to check their daring activities, they will continue to grow in size and ambition.
Kene Obiezu, @kenobiezu
