The murder of scores of farmers in Zabarmari, Jere Local Government Area of Borno State by the Boko Haram insurgents on Saturday has further underlined the threatening insecurity not only in the North East region, but also across the country. The initial report was that 43 farmers were beheaded by the terrorists in a rice farm in Borno State. However, as at the time of writing this article, the death toll has reportedly risen to 67. There are fears that the death toll may be higher than reported.

The general insecurity in the country can be said to be on a steady rise despite the official claim that the insurgents have been technically decimated. And this is quite unfortunate. Contrary to official claims of degrading the insurgents and being on top of the situation by government officials, things are gradually falling apart and the signs are ominous. It is not only that north is not safe; some other parts of the country are equally not safe because if a part is sick, it is safe to assume that the whole is sick.

Kidnapping and banditry are rife in the North East, some parts of the North Central as well. Armed robbery is high in almost all parts of the country. The Federal Government must rise to the threatening security challenges and secure the country from terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements. The military must be well prepared in terms of equipment and psychology to really wage a ruthless campaign against the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents. Government should gather high intelligence on the sponsors of the terrorists and deal with them.

Gathering of intelligence must be prioritized if we are indeed ready to win the war against terrorism. This is the right time to change the service chiefs and infuse the security architecture with new hands and fresh ideas. The call for mercenaries to assist us to fight the war is not the best. What the war requires is putting more men to the job and putting the right men. It also requires gathering more intelligence on the sect and the best approaches to tackle the insurgency.

The mounting insecurity can no longer be treated with kid gloves. It is no longer a war that can be won with slogans alone. It needs more commitment in terms of human and material resources to make Nigeria secure. The Zabarmari massacre, which is not an isolated case, indicates that there is danger ahead. We are really in bad times and things are getting worse and worse every day. The nation’s security situation is scary and should give much cause to worry.

That is why the politicians, religious leaders and community leaders should think of how to save Nigeria from imminent security threats. The politicians should for now forget about politics and their ambitions and think of how to make this country peaceful and secure. They must think of restructuring the country as the best way forward to secure the country and save it from mounting terrorism and other criminalities.

While we are still lamenting the sorry state of the nation, it is not a surprise that the Global Terrorism Index 2020 has again rated Nigeria as the third most terrorized country in the world for the sixth consecutive year. The report released by the Sydney-Based Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) claimed that the number of deaths attributed to the Boko Haram sect increased by 25 percent from 2018 to 2019.

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Nigeria came behind Afghanistan and Iraq in the terrorism index. The report noted that Taliban, Boko Haram, Islamic State and Al-Shabaab were four terrorist groups responsible for most deaths in 2019. The most fatal attacks in Nigeria, according to the report, were the attack at a funeral in Badu, Nganzai, on July 27, 2019 and the attack on Rann on January 28, 2019 which claimed 70 and 60 lives respectively.

The Borno attack has again shown that the war on terror is not as serious as we were made to understand. The recent plan to reintegrate the so-called repentant terrorists shows that the prosecution of the war against terrorism has some lapses that must be urgently addressed. However, the bigger picture is that Nigeria has been overwhelmed by so many problems at virtually all fronts that something drastic must be done now to save the tottering edifice. 

Our politicians should seriously think about the future of this country and not exactly what they stand to gain now. They must think about the future of their children and the unborn generation and come up with a Nigeria they want to bequeath them. They should think of handing over to them a good Nigeria or a Nigeria that has failed or about to fail. This is the issue that must be of utmost concern to them.

Although the country returned to democratic rule in 1999 following the disengagement of the military dictators from power, events since that time have proved that our democracy is not working to produce the best results. Since 1999, Nigeria has had so many constitutional conferences to address the nation’s many foundational problems.

While all of these conferences have made far-reaching recommendations on how to move the country forward and make it develop like other nations we started this journey to nationhood, some people have sworn that these recommendations no matter how altruistic will not be implemented. It is sad that many Nigerians including those in power now know that there is no way this country can make progress without the tinkering with its present unworkable structure. They also know that the current malaise facing the country, whether insurgency or bad government, actually stems from our nebulous structure and inability to operate a truly-run federal government where more powers are devolved to the federating units as opposed to the present unitary system. However, it is not yet late to redeem the country and save it from imminent danger and looming anarchy.

This is the right time the lovers of this country from the six geo-political zones should sit together and fashion a new future for the country. It is worth reminding the Federal Government that Section 14 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) states clearly that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”

The government should not fail in this regard. It should listen to the patriotic calls to restructure the country and make it work. Dithering on this will only worsen the Nigerian situation and make us unserious among other nations.