THE CHALLENGE OF NATIONAL SECURITY

Government should take its responsibility of securing the nation seriously

The worsening security situation in the country is a throwback to what happened in May last year when the First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari called for action to “rescue” Nigerians from the criminal cartels that are holding the country hostage. At that time, she shared a short clip from an indigenous Hausa musician’s single, “Arewa na kuka,” meaning “the north weeps.” The video displays images of the Security Service Chiefs in a meeting with her husband at the Presidential Villa. “Please in the name of God, pay attention and intervene on our plight,” the musician pleads. “The North is crying! Our blood is being shed! Our people are being killed! Baba, please intervene; Baba please protect us!”

From abducted university students being killed in captivity in Kaduna State to the takeover of several communities in Niger State by Boko Haram insurgents who have resumed hoisting their flags, there are no illusions any more. From north to south, the country is collapsing under the weight of insecurity. As the reign of terror continues unabated in the North-east, bandits have also continued to unleash mayhem in the North-west where herdsmen are killing, raping and maiming innocent people. Perhaps to underscore the unbearable level of killings and destruction being meted to citizens in various parts of the country, Katsina, the home state of President Buhari, has become a theatre of violence.

Meanwhile, the country is spending hundreds of billions of naira yearly on defence and national security but with little returns. On Tuesday, both chambers of the National Assembly decried the killings, kidnapping and insurgency across the nation, asking President Muhammadu Buhari to “rise up to the occasion”, so as to save the country from implosion. In his passionate contribution, Senator Smart Adeyemi said: “I am an APC man and I’ve been supporting my party, but the President should get to know it has got to a point that we who are supporters and members of the APC can no longer keep quiet.”

At the end, the Senate resolved, among others, that the president should order massive recruitment into the police and armed forces to galvanise manpower to confront the terrorists. The House of Representatives also called on the president to declare a state of emergency in the security sector “to fast track all measures to ensure the restoration of peace in the country.” They also called on the judiciary to accelerate the prosecution of those awaiting trial due to banditry, terrorism and other criminal activities.

It is perhaps in response to the call by the National Assembly that the president is seeking foreign help and asking that the headquarters of the African Command (AFRICOM) of the United States Armed Forces be moved from Germany to the continent. Whatever may be the merit of that request, charity must begin at home. It ought to concern President Buhari that confidence in the security agencies is declining at a time public confidence is rapidly shifting to sectional and regional security arrangements. The urgent imperative therefore is for the president to realise that a government that cannot guarantee the security of life and property for citizens and residents in a country has failed.

There have been calls by the governors for state police while the federal government recently announced a N13 billion take-off grant for community policing in the country. But the whole idea remains vague since there are neither guidelines nor timelines for implementation. At a time like this when the nation is bleeding, it is such cynical approach to security matters that makes many Nigerians to conclude that the federal government is not taking its responsibility seriously.