Whenever the word “change” is mentioned, this government gets extremely scared and agitated. One wonders aloud why it is so. They become uncomfortable. And you can see the discomfort all over them.
A government that rode into power flaunting its much-taunted change mantra, it is now being haunted and hunted by the same change. Stranger than fiction!
It kept on repeating the change slogan throughout its electioneering. It never got tired. And like magic, it was bought hook, line and sinker by easily gullible Nigerians.
They have since changed the change. It is a different view of change. Theirs is a strange change. It was the singsong in 2015. And they effortlessly made it to Aso Rock.
They were encouraged to up the game in 2019. They showcased their fragile four fingers to indicate another four years. They labelled it the “next level.” And that oiled them back into the rocky Villa, almost unopposed.
But the real tragedy of the change is here with us. It is a sad and eerie reality we can no longer ignore. They are blind to our own perspective of change. Theirs is next level, whatever that means.
We are no longer on the same page. We have since come back to our senses. We have seen the light and known the truth. It is a new dawn, a discovery. We prefer higher grounds to next level, and that is where we strive to be. It is a world of difference from next level. We are poles apart; in fact, parallel lines, they do not meet.
What do I mean? Simple! The next level of two, for instance, is three. But we are not cut for that. We are more ambitious. That is not what we want.
Ours is higher grounds. The higher grounds of two could be anything higher than three. There, we have enough room to flourish. With next level, you are boxed into a corner, to just one level above the present.
Higher grounds provide immense opportunities. Next level is strictly limited to one step. Higher grounds are limitless. You could only take a step with next level. Higher grounds allow you to explore and exploit. You are privileged to soar like an eagle and conquer new territories.
In short, next level is the exact opposite of higher grounds. With next level, you are retarded, restrained, constrained and curtailed. It is like one chance. With higher grounds, abundant chances are made available to latch onto and feast on.
For all intents and purposes, this government resists our genuine and desired changes. And that is why we remain where we are today. And there are many examples with case studies in support of this. They are legion.
That is why we find it very appalling that government refuses to yield to our sincere call for a genuine change in the nation’s security architecture. Obviously, its composition has become out of tune with the reality on ground. We cannot feign ignorance that all is well with our security constitution. There are loopholes all over the framework. It has outlived its usefulness.
It has abysmally declined over time, rapidly slipping into great decay. And the evidence of this is staring even the blind in government in the face. There is urgent need for an overhaul of the security structure.
We can see glaring tiredness in the service chiefs. They have overstayed. They have evidently put in their very best. Unfortunately, their best is no longer good enough for us. We do gladly appreciate their efforts.
The frightening level of insecurity in the country has surely overwhelmed them. It has worn them out, tearing them into tatters. They are badly exhausted in all departments. Then why is President Muhammadu Buhari still holding tenaciously to them? Is it a matter of life and death? Why are they untouchable? His body language is turning his cherished change mantra upside down. These are our honest worries.
Imagine the horrible picture painted as a result of the gross ineptness of our security network. The Nigeria Security Tracker (NST) alleged that a staggering 25,794 people were lost to terrorism and banditry. That was in the first four years that Buhari held sway. They were murdered in cold blood.
Tragically, Buhari himself confirmed this as much. The Punch editorial, February 4, 2020, testified: “I was taken aback by what is happening in the North-West and other parts of the country. During our campaigns, we knew about the Boko Haram. What is coming now is surprising. We have to be harder on them.”
Even before that, Brigadier-General Onyema Nwachukwu had confessed the precarious situation of the Nigerian Armed Forces: “The hands of the Armed Forces are full with several operations across the country.”
It was shocking and hopeless. Nwachukwu is the acting director of information, Defence Headquarters. He was honest and down to earth. The troops are really chewing more than they can swallow.
And the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, made matters worse. We are quite aware the police are worse off. The IGP agreed. He told us that the operational strength of the police is a mere 301,737 personnel for the huge population of 200 million.
Out of this, only 20 per cent is ridiculously engaged in core police duties. The large chunk of 80 per cent is attached to the rulers, the wealthy and influential among us.
This ugly security arrangement is the tonic needed by Boko Haram, killer Fulani herdsmen and kidnappers. The message was lost on them. They made the maximum use of the security laxity. They ferociously latched onto our parlous and awful predicament.
They went out full blast, kidnapping, raping, maiming, slaughtering and beheading, almost unchallenged. The hardest hit are Borno, Adamawa, Niger, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Benue, Plateau, Kaduna and Taraba states.
Our spent armed forces could only make sporadic resistance. And they are proud enough to call it “technical defeat.” The service chiefs who are supposed to arrest the situation have lost all the steam in them.
Times have proven that the “technical defeat” is a huge hoax. It is the wild and weird creation of government propagandists and the hailing hailers. The false claim has fallen flat on its hideous face. Boko Haram has rubbished that several times over.
Let us get more serious and responsible. This set of service chiefs cannot win this war for us. The earlier they are discarded, the better for our security system.
They cannot give what they do not have. They can only win the battle “technically.” They have done their bit. That is the farthest they can ever go; they have reached their dead end.
We need to move forward by being responsive. We deserve more than “technical.” It is total victory and enduring peace. That is our desire.
We strongly believe our leaders are not truthful with us. We are not being told a half of the truth. They are hiding a lot of bitter truths. They are daily churning out blatant lies. They do not even know how to lie intelligently.
Government is off-track. It has lost the will and courage to do the needful. Who is really afraid of change? The service chiefs? The people? Or is government scared of itself? Is its awful shadow haunting it?
We earnestly want to know. Everybody wants to know. We keep our fragile fingers anxiously crossed.