Insecurity: As Nigerians seek solace in self-protection

FUNMILAYO AREMU examines Nigeria’s worsening case of insecurity, as well as the causes and solutions to the problem.

Over the last decade, going by the report of Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), at least, 60,000 people have died as a result of insecurity in Northern Nigeria alone. Not only this, millions of people (about 3.3 million), according to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), have been internally displaced in the country.

The perpetrators of pervading insecurity include insurgent groups such as Boko Haram, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and, curiously too, others tagged as unknown gunmen, bandits, herdsmen and militant groups.

The country’s security situation has degenerated so much and become more frightening. Religious centres, such as mosques and churches, have also become targets. Only recently, precisely June 5, in Owo, Ondo State, a worship centre – Saint Francis Catholic Church – was attacked  by gunmen (claimed by the federal government to be members of ISWAP) who stormed the church auditorium, killing some of the  worshipers and injuring 87 others.

The Owo attack was such a surprise because the magnitude of such attack had hitherto experienced only in the North-West and North-East parts of the country as many had died during attacks on communities, schools, farms and government establishments.

Though the federal government had claimed victory for having “technically” defeated Boko Haram and similar insurgent groups, including the acquisition of attack aircraft to aid its complete annihilation of those behind the attacks, there seems to be no respite in security breaches and the ability of insurgent groups to carry out terror attacks without being arrested or detected.

The result, eventually, is that more Nigerians no longer feel safe to travel without fear of being kidnapped as more reports of kidnappings continue to surface on a daily basis.

 

What went wrong?

Sunday Tribune spoke with a cross section of Nigerians and some security experts to investigate the root causes of the country’s insecurity problems. Professor Isaac Albert, a professor of African History, Peace and Conflict Studies, and the pioneer Director of the Institute for Peace and Strategic Studies (IPSS), University of Ibadan, believes that the Nigerian government wasted an opportunity to address the issue of insecurity at the beginning of Boko Haram insurgency.

“I think we missed it from the inception of Boko Haram,” he claimed, adding:  “I advised the Federal Government in 2011 to negotiate with Boko Haram at the start of the problem because I knew Nigeria lacked the capacity to deal with value-based terrorism. Value-based terrorism has to do with the belief system.

“We began by saying we would finish them, but we scholars in this field knew how difficult it would be to finish them as they proposed. Religion and ethnicity were introduced later on. In 2015, we had a new regime that clearly lacked sufficient political will to address the issues.

“We have good soldiers, but they are not given the freedom to do their jobs professionally. This is because Nigerian leaders’ body language does not demonstrate a genuine desire to solve the problem. You now have several instances of denial. Today, the federal government declares that we have technically defeated them; tomorrow, they declare that they have captured the flag of Shekau; and the next day, our leaders declare that it will be over in three months. As a result, they have been deceiving themselves.

“However, we have recently seen an increase in official recognition of the problem. For example, former Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, stated that we may not be able to win this war in the next 20 years, but he recently stated that Nigerians should negotiate with terrorists in the country. Now, the federal government has compounded the problem by explaining the Owo attack, claiming that they suspect ISWAP, implying that the Boko Haram crisis has spread from the North-East to the North-West, North-Central, and now the South-West. If the federal government (was saying) that it suspected the presence of ISWAP in Owo, it means we have a lot of problems,” Professor Albert said.

Mr Adebayo Akinade, Director, Institute of Security, Nigeria, also spoke with Sunday Tribune, enumerating the several factors responsible for the current state of insecurity.

“There are many factors,” he said, noting that “security infrastructure, the people in charge of our security law enforcement agencies, ethnic agitation, bandits’ invasion into our land, all of these contribute to the problem. The conflict between farmers and herders is actually intensifying insecurity.”

Efe Chesterfield, a writer, in an interview with told Sunday Tribune, added that incompetent governance, poor judicial system, unemployment and religious intolerance are also some of the causes of insecurity in the country.

“A nation plagued by insecurity in various forms is clear evidence of a weak, compromised government. Poor judicial systems are also an extension of bad governance, as those in charge are revenant bad eggs from the main government. Bribery and corruption are the norm in these courts, which are tasked with bringing perpetrators of insecurity to justice.

“With no means of survival and an uncontrollable rise in unemployment, the youth resort to kidnapping to make quick money, despite the risks involved.

“We’ve also seen jungle justice and heinous atrocities committed against people who don’t follow a particular religion or who are accused of blasphemy. Once again, poor law enforcement, poor policing, and slow response to chaos are a bane of our existence in this country,” he said.

Chesterfield also confirmed Sunday Tribune findings from interview with cross section of Nigerians that most of the criminals terrorizing the nation are foreigners who came in through the North.

“The porosity of the borders in the North has greatly increased insecurity in Nigeria. Many of them disguised themselves as bikers to carry out their heinous crimes. I could argue that trained security personnel should be sent to the Northern areas, but the government already knows that. So, why is there such an influx of foreigners across the borders? If there are insiders in the security system, no matter what the government does, there will be problems,” he said.

Albert puts the entire blame of this problem on the Immigration and Customs services, saying they have not been carrying out their duties effectively. He also stated that Nigeria appears to be the only African country experiencing such problems as a result of an influx of foreigners.

“I think one should start looking in the direction of conspiracy theory to say that, probably it pays some people for these criminals to be given easy access into the country. I’m not sure why they’re doing it, but they’re in Nigeria because we want them to be. The issue is that once these people enter your country, it is difficult to get them out. They don’t care if the country sinks because they are not citizens,” he said.

Chesterfield suggested that security screening exercises be carried out by well-trained foreign operatives with no bias toward recommending only those who are qualified for the job.

 

Possible resolution

In 2020, Nigerians demanded that the then service chiefs be fired because they were unable to combat insecurity; the president caved, fired the service chiefs and appointed new ones. Despite this action, it appears that the problem of insecurity is worsening rather than improving.

Speaking further on possible resolution or breakthrough in tackling the problem, Professor Albert compared the country’s security situation to a tree, noting that for the federal government to successfully eradicate insecurity, the roots must be attacked.

“The conflict in Nigeria is like a tree. The federal government is unwilling to touch the tree’s roots, and when you want to kill a tree, you kill the roots, but what the military has been doing, and is trained to do, is cut the tree’s stem and branches. The military is not equipped or trained to remove the tree’s roots.

“Policymakers know where the problems are; they are the ones who are mismanaging the economy and causing tension; not building roads. The military cannot replace political leaders. So, the military is doing their professional work, chasing the enemies of this country all over the place, and I believe we should applaud them for doing so, but their efforts will not yield the desired results because the causes of insurgency and terrorism in Nigeria are not addressed by politicians.

“Imagine how much money people steal, how many resources that should be helping people and making their lives easier are stolen by politicians.  Ethnic and religious groups are incited against one another by those leading us. As a result, no military man can deal with that. To me, the military appears to be doing its job. What they are doing will not be enough to solve the problems we face in the country. We need altruistic political leaders, politicians who are genuinely concerned about Nigerians’ survival, and patriotic politicians, all of whom are currently in short supply in the country,” he stated.

In Mr Akinade’s opinion, though the government has stated that it is doing its best, it is not good enough.

“The government claims that it is doing its best to equip and empower the security architecture. I don’t believe there has been any impact on the lives of Nigerians. Nigerians are still agitated and feeling insecure throughout the country, in the South, West, North and East,” he said.

Chesterfield, in his response, unequivocally told Sunday Tribune that: “It would not only be fatally wrong to say that the Federal government has no solution to the country’s insecurity problems, but admitting it would portray failure on their part. A government that is unable to secure its citizens is a failed government.

“Despite their commendable accomplishments, which resulted in the military chiefs’ appointment to combat terrorism, we have yet to see any real change on that front. Our once lofty expectations have been dashed. Things are deteriorating. So, it is either the chiefs are not up to the task, or the federal government has willingly decided not to put an end to the country’s security challenges.”

 

Any Solution in Sight?

Following the tragic incident in Owo town, Nigerians reacted in typical fashion, posting pictures of people worshipping in religious centres armed with guns and other forms of self-defence. They predicted that Nigerians would have to resort to self-defence because the government had failed to address the threat of insecurity.

In fact, Sunday Tribune investigation has shown that many churches are currently upgrading their security apparatus in order to defend themselves against external aggression or at least forestall any attack during their usual worship gatherings.

When asked if self-defence in the form of every Nigerian having access to ammunition could be a solution, both Professor Albert and Mr Akinade believe that, while the constitution allows for self-defence, for every Nigerian to own arms would amount to bringing the country to the brink of anarchy.

State and community policing is another solution that has been proposed and widely recommended by Nigerians to combat insecurity; however, it does not seem to be in the radar of the federal government for implementation. However, for Professor Albert, state policing should be explored due to its potentiality to help to reduce insecurity.

“We should go in the direction of state and community policing because that is what is done all over the world. Someone sits in Abuja, attempting to exert control over what is happening in Elenusonso village.

“Our leaders are deceiving us, and no one knows how long they will continue to deceive us, because we know very well that the policing strategy we have in Nigeria will never work. We should move in the direction of state/community policing. The federal police budget should be reduced, and a portion of it should be given to states to protect themselves,” he posited.

He also believes that stated that bad governance must be eliminated, if insecurity must come to an end.

“When you say you want to eradicate insecurity in Nigeria, you mean you want to get rid of bad governance in Nigeria.  So, how do we promote and achieve good governance? It is up to those who want to lead Nigeria, to be honest, altruistic, and God-fearing. We have that opportunity now in 2023 when we elect new leaders, so I believe what we should do is obtain our PVCs, vote out bad leaders, and bring in good leaders, but it is becoming difficult to identify the good leaders because if everyone aspiring to lead this country are being invited to bring N100 million to buy a form, you begin to wonder where these people are getting the money.

“Can we trust those who were successful in obtaining funds to purchase the form to provide good governance?  How many good Nigerians can then raise that amount of money? I teach at a university. I doubt if I will earn 100 million in my lifetime; so there is no professor today who is qualified to lead Nigeria. Who is fit to lead Nigeria if not a professor? We have a bleak future in the sense that those who will win elections in the future will have accumulated so much debt that they will spend more time in office trying to recoup their losses, and they may not have time for ordinary citizens, that is how bad things are,” he added.

The solution, according to Mr Akinade, is that the Federal Government should convene a conference in which all security chiefs and agencies would brainstorm to fashion out a roadmap that would serve as solution to the problem.

Chesterfield, in his own view, recommended that the judicial system be transparent and accountable and that job opportunities be created, while security personnel must be adequately trained with resources such as technology and equipment adequately made available to them.

With the security situation becoming insurmountable by the day, the question on the lips of most Nigerians is when and for how long will Nigerians continue to die at the hands of criminal elements who are threatening to hold the nation by the jugular?