Writing on issue of insecurity is a difficult and heart breaking thing because it entails talking about human beings killed under the watch of our so-called leaders. Anytime I place I sit before my laptop to write my opinion about insecurity, I am overwhelmed and frustrated. The country is in serious danger and our leaders seem to be ruling the country from another planet. But we will not keep quiet watching things continue to go wrong without drawing the attention of the leadership.
Various people, including the National Assembly, have called on the President to sack the security chiefs over the persistent increase of insecurity in the country. But the president has adamantly refused to heed the calls.
The citizenry is disturbed by the deep deterioration in the security situation of the country. Most observers believe that the military generals are gaining financial benefits from the insurgency. Despite massive expenditure by the Nigerian government over the last one decade, the military has recorded limited success in the fight against terrorism and other security challenges such as armed banditry, cattle rustling and kidnapping.
This kind of negligence and widespread corruption in the security sector are the reasons Boko Haram, ISWAP, Ansaru and other bandits are operating in Nigeria. When the insurgency first emerged, Nigeria treated it with kid gloves and refused to investigate the conflict thoroughly before it launched its first attack in 2009. Similarly, President Muhammmadu did not properly assess the situation, and that is why the counter terrorism effort is failing despite the huge resources invested. The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Pretoria, South Africa, reported that from 2010 to 2017, Nigeria spent over N6.7 trillion on the security sector in the name of counter-terrorism operations and other security challenges. This amount doesn’t include the extra-budgetary allocations such as the US$1 billion the government borrowed in 2013 to fund counter-terrorism operations and the US$21 million approved for the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in June 2015. The report also doesn’t capture the security votes distributed across the country. Despite all these, the country is failing woefully.
Apart from corruption, the country`s security agencies are not cordial in discharging their duties. There is unnecessary rivalry and conflict among the security agencies involved in counterterrorism operations especially between the military and police. They do have poor relationship which most often affects the process of gathering intelligence gathering, strategy and tactics of operation. What caused this problem is the corruption that affected the sector.
It’s not surprising that terror groups and other criminals have found the country very conducive to perpetuate their deadly acts; they have large operational base in different parts of the country especially in the remote areas of northern region. Though, recently, the Nigerian police claimed it killed over 250 members of Ansaru terrorist group in Kaduna State but the report from the said communities was contrary to the claim.
It’s in this context of increasing insecurity in the country that terrorists attacked Auno community, a town which is just 24 kilometers away from the capital city of Maiduguri, and burnt the community down. The report said not one single security agent was in the area at that time because they ran away after they closed the entrance to Maiduguri capital city and left the people at the mercy of the terrorist group. Another terrifying story is that the Boko Haram has good collaboration with some of the people from Auno who frequently provide them with information of motorists’ movements; nobody from Auno community was affected by the attack. There is need to have a good civil-military relationship framework to enable us bridge the gap between the local communities and the security agencies involved in counter-terrorism operation.
To win this war, the authorities must investigate the security agencies thoroughly, change the service chiefs and also bridge the gap that exists among the security agencies involved in the operation. Cooperating with border localities especially in the Lake Chad basin area will help in curbing the terror groups’ activities. Finally, the government should address the issue of explosive population growth, unemployment and climate change. These issues are exacerbating economic anxiety and fomenting lawlessness especially in communities in parts of northern Nigeria that share borders with Niger Republic, Cameroon, Chad and Togo.
There is also allegation against the perfection of operation safe corridor; it is an initiative for the deradicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration of all ex-Boko Haram combatants. Communities and some top military officials are not happy with the initiative. To them it is like government is taking care of the ex-combatant more than the real victims of the insurgency. This generates a lot of grievances and potentially encourages new sources of violence in the affected areas.
Nigeria can’t afford losing huge amount of money, resources, lives and property because of the attitude of some few unpatriotic security personnel. If not, Nigeria will remain in a state of surprise worse than the President’s surprise!
• Idris Mohammed, a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Usmanu Danfodio University Sokoto, wrote via email.