Afenifere: Nigerians Living in Fear, Uncertainty

Segun James

A pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has described the handling of the security situation in Nigeria by the federal government as akin to ceding the country to terrorists.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, Afenifere described the confession by President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, that terrorists ‘deceived’ the government into releasing his wife and children without releasing victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train as “very unfortunate and an admission of failure” as a government.

“In view of the fact that government is expected to possess superior power in virtually everything than any others in a country, because the primary responsibilities of the government are the provision of security and welfare for the people and because the present administration has failed to provide either security or welfare for the people of Nigeria in recent times, one may not be wrong to state that President Buhari’s government greatly lost the confidence, trust and hope that were invested in it at inception. It is a pity”

According to Afenifere, what came out of Shehu’s disclosures confirmed suspicion and allegation that have been in the public domain for a long time, to wit: That government not only knows the terrorists, it is aware of where they are! Why the government refuses to confront them and put an end to the needless loses and agonies of Nigerians is a riddle that one finds difficult to unravel.”

Afenifere said, “the action of the government in this respect could be likened to that of a father, who does not frown at, perhaps allows, or encourages, bandits not only to come into his household to rape his daughters but also to haul his sons into bondage. Sometimes, the invading bandits even allow his wife to be abused. Such is confounding and can hardly be explained or rationalised through any theory.”

The group went further to say the manner insecurity issue was being handled was, unfortunately, lending credence to the views of those who are alleging that there could be a hidden agenda to this issue of banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism, “otherwise, the government would have been more decisive in the way it tackles the monster that is fast eroding the very essence of our being.”