Tinubu And Approaching Midnight Ruins

“Resorting to claims that some Northern forces are out to undo the Tinubu presidency should be dismissed as puerile and unacceptable. The Federal Government is a monopoly in the acquisition and demonstration of terror, and allowing some non-state actors to challenge its capacity to unleash and combat violence amounts to a dereliction of its core duties as enshrined in the Constitution”.

BY SIMON REEF MUSA

There has been no frightening moment than the present that is uptight with events of a depressing and ominous prediction that may result in the disintegration of the Nigerian State. This morning, I have just watched a heart-wrenching video clip of some of the recently abducted Kaduna female students, holding guns and pleading for intervention from government and wealthy Nigerians to end their predicament. These girls, no doubt, are the future mothers of our tomorrow who symbolise the pathetic state of a country enmeshed in its self-inflicted woes. No parent worth their name would remain less bothered by the mass abductions of over 556 persons in Borno, Kaduna, among others, that took place in the last one week.

The right to life and freedom to live anywhere in Nigeria is under attack by these men from the caves whose activities have falsified our status as a Sovereign State. With security forces unable to rein in their horrifyingly criminal activities, the need to either rejig the security apparatus or declare an all-out onslaught against those who have continuously defied and challenge the government in the protection of lives and property has become imperative.

I believe that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu holds the aces in exterminating insecurity that have gained tremendous foothold through acquisition of weapons of destruction in the last one decade. As a champion of democracy, the president is acutely aware that no country grows under an atmosphere of anarchy. Having agonised under the worst security adversities under the watch of former President Muhammadu Buhari, especially in the North, many looked forward to the destruction of terror forces that have transmuted and still operating as Boko Haram, ISWAP, herdsmen attacks, popularly known as farmers-herders’ clashes and kidnappings, among others.

The first three months of the Tinubu presidency carried a glow of hope, as the then newly security chiefs roared into action, with promises of better days ahead in tackling perpetrators of insecurity after the completion of legal fireworks over the validity of the 2023 presidential poll. Sadly, after the validation of the presidential election by the Supreme Court, the foot soldiers of terror attacks returned to the trenches. The Christmas killing of over 200 people on the Plateau last year proved a hair-rising point in the resurgence of mass murders and premeditated destruction. Nigerians and the world stood in incomprehensibility as security troops proved incapable of stopping the human carnage that raged for over three days. Since then, Benue State has led others in daily and weekly census of citizens murdered in gruesome killing splurges, revealing the gross failure of security agencies in battling these terror groups.

Without any form of disputation, the President Tinubu-led Federal Government must be held responsible for the rising spike of insecurity shredding our country. Enough of this recycled excuse that insecurity is a global phenomenon that can’t be tackled within so short a time. Over nine months after the inauguration of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government, the insecurity situation is almost overwhelming, with the security forces incapable of rising above the tide. The rejigging of the security architecture and the promises by the then new security chiefs to make Nigeria safe has become a forlorn vow that is daily being dismissed as unrealistic.

There has been no remarkable departure from the previous administration’s security strategies in battling terror groups that over the decades have acquired sophisticated weapons against defenseless communities and peace-loving people. In the face of daily attacks unleashed on communities and citizens, the Federal Government has refused to form and arm vigilante groups in the most attacked communities in order to hold down the capacity of these terrorists to maim and kill citizens. There may be a shortage of boots on the ground, but should the Federal Government continue to stand unconcerned and render citizens in besieged communities as soft targets for easy killings and decimation by these cold-blooded murderers?

Going by the resurgence in the activities of these terror gangs, Nigeria is set to experience a frightening spectre of attacks by these enemies of the state who are aware that the country does not have the required boots on the ground. The only option now left for President Tinubu is to engage terror-plagued communities in the defence of their right to life. With the country at the crossroads, Tinubu should see the protection of life and property as his most important duty. Under no circumstance should Tinubu allow any group to kill any citizen. If what we have seen in 2024 is anything to go by, then, the journey to the annihilation of the Nigerian State may commence soon, if drastic measures are not embarked upon to salvage what is left in the country.

It may be politically expedient to deny the sword of Damocles hovering over our country. To stave off further drift into the abyss, President Tinubu should ensure synergy between attacked communities and security forces in dealing with these terror cells spread all over the country. With insecurity and rumbling stomachs, caused by crippling hunger and high prices of foodstuff, citizens’ present conditions are “all cheerless, dark and deadly”. If the blood of Abel cried to God for vengeance and justice, then the blood of tens of thousands of the innocent shall attract divine retribution. The tragedy of our present condition is not the demonstrated commitment by criminals to destroy our county; it is the troubling absence of devotion by government and security forces to stop these brigands in achieving their goals.

The security of any political entity remains the basis upon which growth and unity can be attained. Resorting to claims that some Northern forces are out to undo the Tinubu government should be dismissed as puerile and unacceptable.

Resorting to claims that some Northern forces are out to undo the Tinubu presidency should be dismissed as puerile and unacceptable. The Federal Government is a monopoly in the acquisition and demonstration of terror, and allowing some non-state actors to challenge its capacity to unleash and combat violence amounts to a dereliction of its core duties as enshrined in the Constitution. The insincerity of political leadership and the quest for endless materialism caused by corruption must end, as the bell is about to toll for a nation that holds greater potentials, but now an embarrassing shame in the comity of nations.

For now, the tunnel for the light of hope that was initially dug in the first three months of the Tinubu government has been covered up by blood and destruction. May Nigeria survive its present fiery trial, but may it disappear into an oblivion if humanity won’t thrive within its borders.