Insecurity: Mercenaries as solution?

If there is any issue in Nigeria today which has rendered the current government helpless, it is the unflattering state of insecurity. Insecurity has no doubt proved intractable. The situation is so bad that news of multiple killings, especially in the northern part of the country, has lost its steam as people are no longer struck by the sheer savagery and quantum. Attempts were made in the past to stem the tide, with all manners of options tried. At the initial stage, top appointees of the government gave a remedy, which was that Nigerians must be ever ready to protect themselves. That came to be known as the self-defence advocacy. But a barrage of ripostes from the people and even security experts showed that the option was impracticable. Nigerians simply asked those who proposed the option, chief among whom was the National Security Adviser, Mr. Babagana Monguno, to specify the weapons they were expected to defend themselves with in the face of onslaughts by dare-devil terrorists and bandits who paraded sophisticated armaments.

The insecurity pestilence did not subside. Then some governors and security experts suggested another solution, namely that bandits and terrorists should be engaged in a negotiation. This led to some governors negotiating with and even openly taking photographs with known bandits. The Federal Government was even alleged to have, at one point or the other, gone into negotiation with kidnappers to effect the release of abducted Nigerians. Yet, the upsurge in banditry and terrorism did not abate. At a point, the governor of Borno State, Professor Babagana Zulum, canvassed the hiring of mercenaries for the extirpation of terrorism in Nigeria. He even hinted of his plan to consult the presidency for the consummation of the idea. Before him, there were reports that the Goodluck Jonathan presidency had hired some foreign mercenaries to clear the terrorists in the North-East and pave the way for the 2015 general election. The agreement, which was said to have been implemented before the elections, was said to have been stopped at the outset of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

In the last few weeks, the northern part of the country has witnessed increased terror attacks which have resulted in the killing and abduction of many Nigerians. The bombing of the Abuja-Kaduna rail track in the Kateri-Rijana area and the invasion of the Kaduna airport by terrorists, the latter of which resulted in the death of a security guard and the cancellation of flights into the city, shook the country to its foundations. The Kaduna State government stated that 362 passengers were on board the ill-fated train, that 26 passengers were injured during the attack and that eight bodies were recovered, while several others remained yet unaccounted for. In the thick of this, the governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, gave a solution to the terrorists’ onslaughts. According to him, the governors of the north-western part of Nigeria were poised to hire mercenaries to protect their citizens as it was becoming obvious that the military was incapable of wiping them out.

El-Rufai, who spoke during an interview at the Presidential Villa, said he had informed President Buhari of the plan, maintaining that the spate of insecurity in Kaduna State signified a gang-up to cripple the Kaduna economy and that of the North in general. He said: “It has become a must for us as governors to take measures to protect our citizens, even if it means we will import mercenaries from outside the country to do it if our soldiers fail. I swear to God, we will do that. This issue has got to an alarming state. Mr President assured me that he will take action and that this thing will be brought to an end within months.” However, ex-military top brass opposed this proposition. They were joined by the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, which also described it as an ominous sign for the country.

Many of those against the hiring of mercenaries see it as ceding security responsibilities to foreigners and an indirect acknowledgment of the government’s inability to secure the populace. It is indeed sad that Kaduna, Nigeria’s military headquarters, is under siege. We recall that the United States once offered assistance in the fight against terrorism but pulled back because of alleged complicity by insiders in the system. Virtually all the options brought forward have their pros and cons, and the government must decide which way to travel: allow the current frightening situation to continue, with multiple deaths almost on a daily basis, call for foreign assistance by hiring mercenaries, or review the security architecture so that sustainable home-grown solutions could be applied to it. It must act fast and stop the orgy of bloodshed.