Who Can Halt Nigeria’s Journey To Kigali ?

BY SIMON REEF MUSA

Events of past weeks have seen insecurity spiraling to frightening levels, with the fate of citizens and Nigeria thrown on the edge. Not many are hopeful that the country can survive these horrifying ordeals without some drastic government’s measures. The complexity of our security challenges and the myriad of forces working against us has been admitted by even the United Kingdom.

Last Monday’s wailing of Governor Abubakar Aliyu over seizure of some ungoverned spaces in Niger state by Boko Haram elements has sent shivers down the spines of many. The hoisting of the sect’s flag in the state, Governor Aliyu added, reveals the existential threat faced by Abuja, the nation’s capital. The instalmental killings of undergraduates of the Greenfield University in Kaduna and the release of a new video clip by bandits who abducted 39 students in Afaka, Kaduna, on March 11, 2021 are worrying signs that our country is effectively under the guardroom of terrorists.

For the first time since the inauguration of the 9^th National Assembly, both chambers joined the public on the need to stave off further cascade into the valley of disintegration. Senator Smart Adeyemi wept as he recalled what life has become for the ordinary citizen. The present times are, no doubt, distressing for many citizens and vulnerable groups. Terror gangs have not only seized ungoverned spaces and turned them into safe havens for their ceaseless criminal activities, security personnel have been overawed by these blood-splashing terror groups.

While the Senate has called on the executive arm to seek for foreign assistance to combat the rising occurrences of terrorism against Nigerians, the lower chamber has called for a declaration of a state of emergency on security matters. Perhaps, in a swift response to appeals by the federal lawmakers, President Muhammadu Buhari called for the relocation of the US African Command (AFRICOM) from Germany to Africa in a bid to bring military assistance nearer to the conflict zone for expediency.

From the president’s call for foreign assistance, the call for a state of emergency in some states seems abandoned. The alleged accidental killings of Nigerian soldiers in the North-east and indecipherable display of their corpses on social media by citizens have ignited passion, not only against the government but the military authorities. The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had explained earlier that it received a report of an accidental killing of ground troops. However, it noted that it was investigating the incident and would revert back as soon as investigations on the matter were concluded.

After a few hours and no confirmation was received, the social media was flooded with gory pictures of slain soldiers killed in action. The military has warned that it would not hesitate to prosecute anyone found sharing such pictures on social media.  In a virtual world unrestricted by location and identity, the military has failed to realise that the social media platform now attracts public confidence and trust.

During the week, Imo state came under focus as troops ‘neutralised’ the fearsome ‘Ikonson’ who is the deputy commander of Eastern Security Network (ESN). The slain deputy commander was killed with other six members of Biafran diehards. Not a few Nigerians are wondering at the quick response to quell Biafran secessionist movement, while the government ignores the mindless and unprovoked killings of vulnerable groups and helpless persons in the North by armed outlaws. The fact that the United Kingdom had subtly indicated its willingness to grant visas to people running away from persecution for being IPOB agitators holds more fear than hope for a nation battling separatist forces.

Certainly, we are not living under normal times. Apart from outcries from hapless and helpless Nigerians, citizens have been turned into preys of unrepentant terror gangs, it is clear that our country suffers from lack of enough boots on the ground. Funding has also become a big challenge in equipping troops involved in fighting insurgencies and other crimes. More than once or twice, Nigerians have been told of travails in the deployment of less superior arms to confront a highly equipped Boko Haram group. The recent downing of a NAF jet by the sect in the North-east has caused consternation among Nigerians. Despite numerous reports by NAF on the technical decimation of the group, Boko Haram remains a nightmare to our nation’s security.

It is now clear that there are more reports released by NAF on aerial bombardments of Sambisa and other targeted areas aimed at dislodging these militants. The mystery surrounding the survival of Boko Haram amidst the fighting force of the Nigerian military exposes the dexterity of the militant group and other forces fighting to disintegrate the country. More than any other time, Nigeria faces a grim future. Amid economic turbulence and unprecedented security challenges facing citizens, there is no better time than now to ask: who can save Nigeria?  Having spent nearly six years in power, the APC-led central government is still groping in the dark over how to stop the many tragedies plaguing our country. Nigeria is about to commence a walk down to Kigali. We can’t afford to play the lackadaisical lady, while our country plunges into combustions.

It is not true that Nigerians do not want to live in a united nation. What Nigerians are opposed to is the assumption and the preposition by a ruling cabal that it possesses the incontestable right to rule over others. In a democracy, the equality of all citizens remains sacrosanct and must never be trampled upon. The problem of our nation is hinged on the erroneous assumption by some members of the nation’s ruling cabal that they are born to rule, while others remain fetchers of water and hewers of wood. It is sad that after over three decades of independence, we are still witnessing upsetting times and separatist leanings. Our present situation calls for re-evaluation by the national leadership to probe into issues that ail our nationhood.

The request for the relocation of AFRICOM by President Buhari to assist in clipping the wings of rising insecurity in not only Nigeria but also Africa is an appeal in the right direction. The new waves of insecurity reducing us into fearful citizens drum up the imperatives that we must never politicise insecurity. When this country goes into flames and blood starts flowing from North to South, including all the nooks and crannies of our embattled nation, membership of our political parties won’t matter.

Arising from the growing suspicions overwhelming Nigerians, we must stand tall in supporting the equality of our citizenship across religious and ethnic divides. We must be willing to synergise with other patriotic forces to save a legacy of supreme sacrifices paid by millions in defence of our collective unity. Now is the time to throw away political partisanship and halt our nation’s journey to Kigali.