Blame game not a security strategy

BY MUHAMMAD HASSAN-TOM

“Today we know that ‘security’ means much more than the absence of conflicts and threats. We know that lasting peace requires a broader vision encompassing areas such as education, health, democracy and human rights, protection against environmental degradation and proliferation of deadly weapons. We know that we cannot be secured against starvation; that we cannot build peace without alleviating poverty and we cannot build freedom on the foundation of injustice. These pillars are what we now understand as the people-centred concept of human security and are inter-related and mutually reinforcing.” Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General

Governor Umar Dikko Radda of Katsina State recently stirred controversy when he accused high-ranking government officials and military personnel of actively supporting and profiting from the brutal banditry ravaging the state. According to the Governor, rogue elements within government provide covert support to the bandits and terrorists, enabling them to operate with impunity. Radda, who spoke on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” programme on April 5th, 2024 said, “It is a business venture for the criminals and for some people who are in government, some people who are in the security outfits, and some people who are responsible for the day-to-day activities of their people.”

Ruling out political undertones, Radda insisted that poverty and injustice are the major reasons insecurity has not ended, adding that as little as N500 could lure youths into the gory industry. “These are some of the reasons why we are unable to bring an end to the issue of banditry,” he said.

Even as the Governor was making these alarming allegations, a brutal raid by terrorists on Unguwar Sarkin Noma, Gangara, and Tafi communities in Sabuwa LGA of Katsina State claimed the lives of 24 individuals, with several others injured. This was reportedly despite prior warnings and efforts to alert security agencies, according to the Chairman of the LGA, Faruq Dalhatu. Sadly, this was not the first time the military personnel are been fingered for aiding and profiting from banditry by giving the criminals cover.                    

When you include the cacophony of other conspiracy theories proffered to explain what is happening, confusion seems to characterise our understanding of the chaos that is gradually consuming the country. This is why muddled up strategies and ineffective solutions are what both the leaders and the led continue to come up with. For instance, as part of moves to tackle the region’s insecurity, some 10 northern governors led by none other than Radda himself embarked on a trip to the United States of America to participate in a peace conference convoked by the US Institute of Peace.

According to him, “The meeting was not at the instance of the selected governors of northern states but it was at the instance of the United States Institute of Peace. They were the people who invited us; they hosted us for the meeting. We were invited to sit with them so that we could bring about lasting solutions to the problems that are affecting our people,” he said.For effect, he added, “They carefully chose the governors of the places affected by banditry and kidnapping and all of us sat for three days and we were able to cross-fertilise ideas and interact with all stakeholders that are involved in bringing about lasting peace and security globally.”

As some pundits should put it, this is like attending a conference put together by mosquitoes to tackle a malaria pandemic! Is it not the same US whose military-industrial complex is widely believed to be behind most violent conflicts ravaging countries around the world? Or as a Hausa proverb puts it: when someone offers you clothing, look at what he is wearing. Haven’t we seen enough of what American interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and lately Ukraine and Palestine did for ending bloody conflicts?

When that wasteful and dangerous engagement was commonly condemned by Nigerians, all that Governor Radda could come up with was the most desperate and pathetic rationale that any powerful political office holder may have ever offered. He said, “We have been on this insecurity for the last 10 years, and we have been doing the same thing and there was no sign of the end of this problem. So, we need to hear from anybody willing to offer any assistance that may help us to look into the issues and bring about a lasting solution to this problem of insecurity.”

Meanwhile, bandits continue to be in almost total control of Zamfara and large swathes of Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Niger and Kaduna States. Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists are still wreaking havoc in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States. Assorted militias are ceaselessly snuffing out lives and sacking countless communities, villages and towns in Benue, Plateau, Kogi and Taraba States. Across Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States, murderous secessionists run an alternate government complete with armed forces, flags and laws.

Life in these 18 States continues to be a virtual hell for citizens and security personnel alike, with both categories losing count of the death and destruction caused. Naturally, the remaining 18 States and the Federal Capital Territory are not spared ferocious forays from this array of violent criminals. Anarchy in the form of armed robbery, arson, communal clashes, kidnapping, rape and vandalism loom so large that they have annulled whatever gains Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999 may have produced.

Even more disturbing is the fact that the country’s celebrated defence, intelligence and security forces continue to be overwhelmed if not out-rightly overcome. Once famed for swiftly restoring democracy, law, peace and order in troubled countries across the continent, the Nigerian Armed Forces including the Nigeria Police can now barely protect their barracks, bases, equipment, personnel and other facilities. As recently as 12th May 2024, the military high command confirmed the death of four soldiers and 11 wounded in an ambush on Operation Hadarin Daji in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State. It now seems that the anarchists need to just ramp up their onslaughts for the demoralised, undermanned and ill-equipped forces to capitulate.

The most recent indication of this was the desperate plea by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) seeking the assistance of the Republic of Niger to apprehend Halilu Buzu, a notorious bandit from that country said to be based in the Sububu Forest straddling Zamfara and Katsina States. Buzu reportedly not only runs a large kidnapping and cattle-rustling gang but actually owns a gigantic goldmine in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State. On 16th May 2024, bandits allegedly loyal to Buzu killed three and kidnapped 120 villagers from Bilbis in Tsafe LGA.

A resident of Anka town, who did not give his name for fear of being a target, told reporters the bandits had been attacking communities in the area since the beginning of the previous week. “Banditry has become a daily affair in this part of Zamfara State. The bandits are operating as if we do not have a government in this country. These people are almost everything in our communities; they are the police, the traditional rulers and the community leaders,” he lamented. He also added that the bandits could attack any settlement at will, “place levy on any community they so wish and abduct anybody in any community and nobody has the right to say no whatever directives they give.”According to him, farmers in Katsina and Zamfara states pay taxes to bandits before planting and while harvesting their produce to avoid having their labour going go up in flames.

These relentless attacks on farmers and farming communities are already impacting national food security. Shortage of food production has since driveninflation to an unbearable 40 per cent and rising. There is already enough anger and hunger in the land to spark wild riots. Nigeria cannot afford to add these to the plethora of on-going conflicts on its plate.

All said, what is important is for the Federal Government to track and tackle the root causes of the violence in the states. It has to identify the socioeconomic and political foundations of the conflicts and develop the blueprint to confront them. Shifting blames cannot cut off the supplies and the movement of these bandits and criminals. Reacting or going in when they kidnap people cannot end their lucrative enterprise and neither will ad-hoc battles.

President Bola Tinubu needs to declare a state of emergency in all affected areas to enable a relentless pursuit against these bandits; stop their movements andcut off the supply of weapons and hard drugs. Triggers including corruption, illegal mining and all forms of criminality must also be confronted with the full force.

Nigeria and especially the North cannot continue to endure the current level of insecurity. Enough lives, limbs, properties, whole villages and towns have beenlost to rabid banditry, senseless insurgency and separatist militancy while the security agencies appear overwhelmed. The alternative of the people rising up for themselves could cost the country its very existence.

Hassan-Tom writes from Abuja