It is usual with foreign countries, especially the United States of America and Canada, to keep issuing security advisories specifically for their citizens but with the effect of ruffling the citizens of the resident country. Each time such security advisory is issued, apart from the citizens of the issuing country, both the government and the people are jittery because the security advisory is simply to inform the citizens of the receiving country that both their government and their intelligence agencies are not on top of the security situation in the country.
The security advisory is inadvertently drawing the attention of the citizens to conclude that the government they voted into office has failed in the constitutional mandate to protect citizens.
When the US disseminated its security advisory last week, claiming it was directed at its citizens resident in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, many security observers believe that there was more to it than met the eye, as pertaining to the security alert statement. The truth is that not minding the fact that the US has the upper hand in gathering intelligence across the world, sequel to their network of intelligence-gathering systems, nonetheless, it is a norm for those in the intelligence community to share such information, especially when the issuing country has good diplomatic relations with the concerned country. Most often, it is the nonchalant posture of the affected country that warrants the issuing country to bypass the security agencies of the affected country and concentrate more on their citizens abroad. The recent security advisory from US, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, Ireland, Bulgaria and Denmark, all pointed at an increased terrorist attack brewing in Abuja. These countries have diplomatic relationships with Nigeria. So, the question that arises is, why would these countries be shouting “Imminent attack! Imminent attack!”
They issued a deluge of warnings urging their citizens at to leave Nigeria and sternly warned them against travelling to certain states, unless on essential travel, including Bauchi, Kano, Jigawa, Niger, Sokoto, Kogi, Abia, Plateau, Taraba, within 20km of the border with Niger in Kebbi State and non-riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers states, and places like schools, government buildings, hotels, markets, shopping malls, bars, athletic gatherings, transport terminals, law enforcement facilities, restaurants, places of worship and international organisations. Yet the diplomatic bond was not considered before going public, instead of sharing such with the concerned country.
Despite the gravity of these advisories, the minister for information, Alhaji Lai Mohamed, and his principal, President Muhammmadu Buhari, pushed the issues aside with a wave of the hand. In fact, the minister described them as a ploy to sow seeds of panic among the people. While this buck-passing was going on, most of the foreign embassies’ staff were trooping out of the country and closing down, and asking their local staff to work from their houses. The truth is that, if there is no fire on the mountain, would they be running? When the Nigerian government was carelessly granting freedom to thousands of Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists without any prosecution for criminal offenses, only to release them into the same society. This action speaks volumes. As I write this column today, Saturday, October 26, 2022: schools are shut down while a major shopping mall in Jabi has closed down and traffic is thinning down each passing day.
More disturbing is the intermittent shutdown of electricity supply to most parts of the Federal Capital Territory at night. In all of these, there is no need for grandstanding but for government to diplomatically reach out to these countries so that they can let them into the “secret” intelligence they have gathered over the years, in the overall interest of Nigeria, bearing in mind that campaigns have begun and elections are a few months away.
Behold the sweetness of award and promotion (4)
Unlike in the past when such mass promotions were bedeviled with allegations of corruption, nepotistic tendencies and other unhealthy attributes, with the paradigm shift, in thorough evaluation of officers’ capabilities, it becomes imperative for all hands to be on deck in ensuring that Nigeria is presented with the right caliber of police officers they can have implicit confidence in.
Impressively, many of these officers are linked with either the crackdown on activities of notorious criminals, refusing to collect bribe, diligently carrying out police duties without any compromise and holding their head high in the face of difficult situations around the country while on official assignments. Officers like the DCP Operations, FCT Command, Abuja, Benneth Igwe, now a full Commissioner of Police, and ACP Rasaq Osensi, officer in charge of the homicide section at State CID Panti, Yaba Lagos, CP Fayoade Adegoke, DC, SCID, Panti Yaba, Lagos, as well as Margret Agebe Ochalla, the team leader of the IGP Monitoring Unit and gender coordinator of the Nigeria Police Force. The joy that pervaded the security community in Nigeria sequel to the release of the promotion list resonated across the country, for being recipients of the merit award, rewarded for their meritorious service to their country. This writer worked with a few of them. They are selfless, full of the milk of human kindness, even though their uniforms tend to portray them as very hard officers. They served Nigeria as if they were working for their personal industry. They were dedicated to duty, patriotic to the call and contributed inmensly in curbing the menace of criminals in and around the country. Indeed, they sacrificed their sleep and leisure for the citizens to sleep with both eyes closed, while they shouldered the rduous burden to secure the country as security leaders.
(Concluded)
SECURITY FILE AWARD:
My name is Ogbanago Muhammed Ibrahim, a native of Kogi State. Married, with a bouncing baby boy.
As a security guard with the United Bank for Africa (UBA), Oba Akran branch, lkeja, Lagos, while at my duty post, I found a missing envelope containing 10,000 dollar notes that fell from somebody I suspect should be a customer, and returned it to my bank manager. I returned the money because the money did not belong to me. And I was brought up not to take what did not belong to me because it is a curse to eat someone else’s mobey. It has been with me from my childhood and God has been helping me to pass so many temptations that are coming my way. For now, although the Federal Government recently included me among those that received a national merit award of Federal Republic Medal, I am presently jobless (08069596447).