The current State of Insecurity in Nigeria crept on the country like a thief in the night, while the leaders and watchers of the country's collective security, were asleep or too blind to see what was going on. In less than 10 years, Nigeria has moved from a country where issues of suicide bombing was totally inconceivable, by the even the most imaginative minds, to where suicide bombing is now a daily occurrence. The country has moved from a nation where church buildings and mosques used to held sacred by everyone, including unbelievers, to a tragic situation where churches are now being bombed with regularity.
The nation has transformed from a country where our National Independence day celebrations was always a time of unbridled public expression of pride and joy, to a situation where the President was forced to deliver his last Independence day speech from his bedroom, simply because terrorists dared him to come to the stadium.
Nigeria is now surrounded, and hemmed in on all sides, in a deadly siege by the Militant Terrorists in the South-South; escalating menace of armed robbery in the west; economic terrorism in the Midwest; kidnapping for ransom and political assassination in the east and suicide bombers in the North. That Nigeria is under siege from all sides, not by a foreign power but by their own home grown terrorists is no longer a matter for debate, but a deadly and sober reality, that even the most ardent patriots have come to acknowledge
The descent to a state of complete state of insecurity all started out with intra-party skirmishes and use of thugs by some of our politicians. While Nigerians were still occupied with the mundane affairs, the political thugs turned to vicious assassins.
In the South-South, restive militants in the Niger Delta turned up the heat to alarming levels after their political and social leader was brutally killed. The government had to declare amnesty for the self-confessed anarchists before the country could have a semblance of peace.
Just when Nigerians we breathing a sigh of relief from the respite provided by the Niger Delta militants after the controversial amnesty program, the Boko Haram insurgency erupted in the North.Police stations and police officers were killed with regularity and even the newspapers stations were drawn into this boiling pot of terrorism when the offices of some newspapers such as Thisday and Sun were bombed by suicide bombers.
In the Western states, the armed robbers seemed determined not to be outdone. They have taken their game to another level with daylight robberies followed by midnight visits. Cars are being hijacked with regularity and the police appeared to be at a loss on what to do about it.
While the State of Insecurity in Nigeria continued to worsen on an hourly basis, the government appeared paralyzed and incapable of dealing with the level of savagery and arrogance of the terrorists from everywhere.
The State of Insecurity in the nation has reached such an alarming level that even some of the most ardently patriotic, well-meaning, and optimistic Nigerians are beginning to accept the obvious fact that Nigeria is tottering towards becoming a failed state. One writer actually called it the 'Somalization of Nigeria'. To some, this may be an exaggeration of the reality on ground, but I personally will not disagree with those sentiments. When a Nation can no longer guarantee a basic necessity for survival in the country, then it is tending towards failure though it may not have totally failed. I am sure those who have been living with the terrorist nightmare on a daily basis in Jos, Kano, Abuja and other cities will definitely agree that Nigeria has failed them in the area of security.
The effect of this problem is so far-reaching that I am still surprised that the National Assembly and the Executive arm of the nIgerian government have not even appreciated the economic, social and political ramifications of this security nightmare. More than 80% of activities on Nigeria's capital market occur from foreign investors. Obviously, no reasonable investor will put continue its money in a country with poor security. Also, over 70% of food supplies in the country come from food supplies from the north and the state of insecurity in the country has led to drastic cuts in supplies of essentials such as Tomatoes, Pepper and Yam. As it is, many Nigerians have not even connected the rising cost of these staple foods to the terrorism in the North. People just knew prices are rising without even understanding why.
As this condition continues to worsen, Nigerians are going to be in for a season of famine and hunger. As one commentator put it, 'It may well get to the point where the poor have nothing else to eat but the rich people around them'.
As Nigerians continue to cower in their bedrooms praying for the scourge of terrorism, militants and armed robbery to be taken away by God, many have tried to find the cause of this modern day siege of the most populous black nation. Some have traced the root causes to poverty; some have fingered corruption of our leaders while others have tried to pin it on foreign influence.
Meanwhile as allegations and counter allegations continue to assault the citizen's already frayed mental conditions, they are yet to be provided with any practical solutions to this scourge on theircountry. Government keeps assuring the people that terrorism will soon be a thing of the past. How this will happen, in view of the daily bombings, nobody has told the anxious citizens. Nigeria's security problems continues to worsen at a rate, where even some of the most patriotic and courageous Nigerians, are now wringing their hands in despair, with a scary acceptance of the fact that Nigeria could be tending towards anarchy and failure as an entity.
The Government appears confused and powerless to stem the tide of this siege and state of insecurity. The President appears totally disassociated from the climate in the country. He has moved from one of the most popular presidents to be voted for, just a year ago, to a President that everyone now looks at with anger and scorn.
In order to find lasting solutions to the security problem, some smart people all over the world have made some useful suggestions that should be considered in arresting this security problem. Maybe it is also time for the President to consider some of these previously inconceivable options in confronting the siege on his country. Some of the viable solutions to the problem in my view include:
1.Government should swallow its pride and recognize that it is time to engage the terrorists in a meaningful discussion in the same way the government engaged the militants in Niger delta area a few years ago. That engagement led to their laying down their arms and brought relative peace in the South. There is no reason to suggest that the same strategy would not work in the Northern states.
2.Another positive step may be for the president to admit that the country's law enforcement officers are simply not trained, or equipped, to deal with the level of sophistication from people who are presumably illiterates, and call in the terrorism experts from USA, U.K and Israel.. These foreign governments have decades of experience in dealing with the kind of insecurity presented by terrorists and they may be able to offer some very useful approaches towards containing this problem. This is not the first time for the government to hide behind ineffective patrotism. The country needs help and it should get it from wherever it can.
3.Another possible solution may be for the government to set up a Northern Development Commission for the Northern parts of the country to help with the alleviation of poverty, improvement in education and enhancement of local development, just like the Niger Delta Commission is doing for the Southern States.
This is a viable option because many people have suggested that lack of education in majority of the populace; poverty; and under-development of social amenities are some of the root causes of terrorism in the Northern parts. Afterall, hungry and poorly educated people are very susceptible to becoming suicide bombers. Providing a special development commission to deal with issues of development, education and poverty in the northern Nigeria will go a long way in reducing the level of their disenchantment with the whole country as appears to be the case now.
4. Of course if none of these options or others are acceptable to the government, another option may be for the President to simply hold up his hands in surrender and tell Nigerians that he is way out of his depth and resign from the position honorably along with his Vice President. I really don't know
While we all agree that the state of insecurity in the land is indeed a serious one. Everyone is also agreement that the President must take some very active measures to solve this problem before Nigeria becomes a complete pariah among the comity of nations. The country can simply can survive without the patronage of foreigners. Yet, no foreigner in his right senses will want to go invest in a country with serious security problems. So it is time every stakeholder in the country get together and solve this problem of insecurity in the country.
Nigeria has enormous potential to be the economic and political tiger in Africa and solving its security problems will be a good way to start living up to that potential.
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