Tom FredFish
One of Nigeria’s basic challenge which the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC led by Muhammadu Buhari spearheaded their campaign to power in 2015 was the security and welfare of all Nigerians.
In his inaugural speech on May 29th 2015, President Buhari noted the current security challenges when he said that “Boko Haram is not only the security issue bedeviling our country. The spate of kidnappings, armed robberies, herdsmen/farmers clashes, cattle rustlings all help to add to the general air of insecurity in our land. We are going to erect and maintain an efficient, disciplined people – friendly and well – compensated security forces within an over – all security architecture.”
“Talk is cheap”, they say.
Three years into office, President Buhari has not been unable to erect and maintain an efficient, disciplined people friendly and well compensated security forces within an over all security architecture as promised. There is no substantial improvement in the security architecture that he met on ground. Instead, insecurity has been on a high rise. Thousands of Nigerians have continued to loss their lives to those vices he listed above during his inauguration.
To be fair, there is no country in the world without a fair share of security challenges, but when the state of insecurity becomes uncontrollable, the need for urgent action to be taken is necessary. But the President seems to have no clue on how to tackle the security problems confronting the nation.
At the centre of all these are the Nigerian Security forces: the Police, Army, Air Force and Navy among others – constitutionally empower to tackle these challenges – have all become incapacitated to act.
The actions and activities of the Nigerian security agencies are falsely entrenched, and ridiculing in the eyes of the world. Nigerian Police (NP) which is the principal law enforcement agency with a staff strength of about 371,800 is a shadow of itself led by the IGP Abubakar Idris known to disobey constituted authorities especially that of Mr. President.
Thousand have lost their lives from the Fulani herdsmen and farmers clashes this year alone and the police has not arrested or prosecuted a single person. Policemen run for their lives when confronted by armed robbers. They are also being used to harass and intimidate political opponents and critiques of government. The welfare of policemen too are not being taken care of. Recently, a group of police officers staged a protest march in Maiduguri the capital of Bornu State for none payment of salaries and welfare packages. No public office has been relieved of their jobs or punished for these acts.
The army is not also helping matters. They have been accused by a decorated retired Army General and former Minister of Defense, Theophilus Danjuma, of conniving and colluding with the herdsmen to kill innocent and armless civilian.
These unprofessional conduct and security lapses, that were inherited from the military regime was first expressed by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999 in his inaugural address that “… Professionalism has been lost… my heart bleeds to see the degradation in the proficiency of the military.”
The Nigerian Air Force has not also faired better. Last year, it was reported that no fewer than 100 innocent civilians were killed in a mistaken air strike by men of the Nigerian Air Force of ‘Operation Lafiya Dole’ in the North-East, in a coordinated attack on a supposed group of terrorists gathering in Kala Balge Local Government Area of the state. No personnel lost his or her job for such grave error.
The Department of State Services, DSS, are also now being used to harass, arrest and intimidate political opponents of the president instead of working to ensure the internal security of the nation through intelligence gathering and sharing of information.
These are examples of a total collapse of the Nigerian Security architecture superintended by President Buhari in the last three years in office. With the crass incompetence of security Chiefs in handling security in the country, ‘President Buhari has not found it necessary to relief them of their duties and rejig the security apparatus of the country but has decided to run for second term on the bloods of innocent Nigerians’, says an observer.
As the 2019 general election draws closer, Nigerians live in fear. Some have given up hope and faith on the Nigerian state to protect them, while others are counting on self defense to stay alive in a country whose constitution in section 14, sub-sec 2(b) notes that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”.
As it stands, only the Nigerian Security False can best describe the Nigeria security agencies who has continuously live in self-denial responsibility-shifting, and are loyal to the president instead of Nigeria, that they pledged to be faithful and loyal to.
_Tom FredFish is a public affairs analyst._
