On North-Central Governors’ approach to insecurity

The insecurity plaguing the North Central geo-political zone has continued to grow, with the elements migrating from one state to another unleaching coordinated attacks. This should be a thing of concern to governors of the North Central states. North Central Bureau Chief, ISAAC SHOBAYO, examines the phenomenon of violence in North Central with additional reports from Johnson Babajide and Yekini Jimoh.

For more than two decades, the North Central geopolitical zone of Nigeria has been a hotbed of attacks, resulting in killings and destruction of properties, occasioned by banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, and other forms of bestiality. Kidnapping has reached a crisis point, with some towns abruptly deserted as a result of unwholesome actions, which target schools, religious organizations, and travelers for ransom.

In addition to the incalculable number of people who have been killed and abducted, there are quite a number of villages that have been overrun and taken over by terrorists, and local communities’ economies have been completely destroyed, thereby subjecting innocent people to endure hardship.

Particularly in Plateau, Benue, Niger, and Kwara, quite a number of villages and communities have been sacked and taken over. The Berom Youth Moulder Association (BYMA), a socio-cultural group in Plateau State, recently claimed that terrorists had gained control of at least 98 villages in the state, while another group posited that over 200 in Benue State were allegedly sacked and burned. This threat also affects Kwara and Kogi states, respectively.

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The modes of attacks in these states are in semblance of cross-border types of attack. These elements frequently relocated from one state to another to carry out their evil acts, and in most cases in the guise of coordinated attacks.

The majority of the parks and forests in the North Central have become safe havens for terrorists to launch their attacks. The highways are no longer safe, and farming activities are at the ebb due to the rampant attacks on villages.

In the midst of this insecurity, it is generally assumed that the six governors that comprise the geopolitical zone must work together to effectively combat the threat. And also, there must be strong linkages in this area since they all face the same security issue.

However, this falls within the purview of the North Central Governors’ Forum, being chaired by the Governor of Nasarawa State, Engineer Abdullahi Sule. The perception is that the Forum has not given the insecurity in the zone the deserved attention, considering the devastating effect of the challenges on both the economy of the zone.

Part of the Forum’s objective is regional security, and the general belief is that the governors should develop a common plan and look inward to address the issue affecting the zone since almost all of the states are infested with insecurity from the same sources.

Dr. Pius Agams said the insecurity ravaging virtually every state in the North Central has reached a point that no state can single-handedly tackle the menace. He stated that the North Central Governors have not demonstrated enough will and determination to arrest the situation as envisaged by the people of the geopolitical zone.

“Their voices are not loud enough on these issues, though they have limited power to arrest the situation, but coming together to brainstorm will help in ameliorating the crisis at hand. When have they last met to discuss the issue? They have to come together; the chairman of the forum, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, has to galvanize his colleagues because synergy among the six governors is critical to defeating insecurity in the zone since criminals operate across the state borders,” he said.

According to him, this becomes imperative because bandits, kidnappers, and insurgents often flee from one state to another when military pressure is applied. Coordinated state responses and joint border patrols ensure that criminals have no safe zones to regroup.

However, none of the commissioners of information in these states is forthcoming with information on why the Forum is not forging a common front to arrest the pathetic situation.

The chairman of the three socio-cultural in Benue State, Mdzough U Give Worldwide, Ochitohak’ Idoma and Im’Ngede Chief Iorbe Ihagh attributed the inability of the governors in the zone to forge a common front to the complexity and fear not to offend the power at the federal level, and Furry noted that some of the governors in the North Central did not have the political will to come out with a unified stance.

“Possibly, due to their environment or fear of letting them belong to the center, those governors cannot come out with a unified stance on the security challenges confronting them, while they are the major victims. Also, fear of not being seen as enemies of other groups or national level; they are afraid to form a strong voice,” Ihagh said.

Using the Governor of Benue State as a reference point, Ihagh who doubles as the President General of Mdzough U Tiv Worldwide, noted that despite the incessant killings of innocent people in the state, Governor Allia had not for a single day condemned the activities of the Fulani.

However, interstate cooperation is undoubtedly critical in eradicating cross-border safe havens. A security expert and analyst, Friday Ameh averred that a regional intelligence-gathering network will allow governors to anticipate and track threats before they escalate across state lines, stressing that real-time intelligence sharing is very important of the governors are desirous in taming the monster threatening both human and economic survival of the geopolitical zone.

Dr. Bitrus Pogu, National President, Middle Belt Forum (MBF), stated that the people of the North Central are not feeling the effects of the Forum in all areas, particularly with regard to the security that is plaguing the geopolitical zone. He emphasized that if the governors were in agreement, the current state of insecurity could not have persisted.

He emphasized that governors must work together to address the crisis and that if a collective strategy is taken, it will be difficult for bandits or terrorists to migrate from one state to another.

“These governors are simply not working together; they are not on the same page. If they are, the movement of these elements can be tamed. As far as I am concerned, the governors are not doing very well; they have to wake up, not depend on the federal government for the provision of security.

“They are not doing enough, and we want them to do more. They cannot continue to complain that the military and other security agencies are under the control of the federal government; before the issue of the state police arises, they should wake up and do more to protect the people.

“They should also work together to share information and develop security plans for the zone. Although this may be tough, it is feasible. Why it is possible in the South-West is that the population is homogeneous; they are all Yoruba nationals, which is not the case in the Middle Belt. In just one state in the North Central, there may be up to 56 nationalities, but traditional rulers can be brought together to form something like Amotekun in the South-West, while we put pressure on the federal government to establish State Police so that the state government can have state machinery to protect the people as provided in the Constitution”

However, the Association of Middle Belt Ethnic Nationalities (ASOMBEN) ascribed the governor’s inability to pull a strong force in handling the insecurity to multiple factors, which include political.

Barrister Sule Kwasau, the National Chairman of ASOMBEN, stated that governance in the geo-political zone and throughout Nigeria is currently at a standstill, pointing out that a number of them are either interested in running for the Senate or retaining their positions, and this is more concerned with their ambitions than the collective welfare of the citizenry.

“Because of this, these offenders have unrestricted freedom of movement. I am dissatisfied with all of Nigeria’s governors, not just those in the North Central, because they have let the people down and abandoned them.

“That’s why these criminals are having freedom of action without any challenge. I am disappointed not only in the governors of the North Central but also in the entire governors in Nigeria because they have failed the people and left the masses to their fate.

“The governors’ ability to work together is crucial, but are they willing to do so and integrate their efforts to address the security issues? Definitely not. The governor must pull their resources because the criminals are operating in the state within the zone at the same time. However, I don’t see any synergy right now,” he remarked.

Aside from the individual governors’ efforts, many who have been tracking the trajectory of events in the zone, particularly the insecurity, believe that collaboration among the governors of the North Central is vital to overcoming instability. Also, that unified approach eliminates the safe havens of criminals.

The governors’ bond is expected to be stronger now that they are all on the same political platform, the All Progressive Congress, as opposed to when they were on various platforms. Friday Ameh stated that the current level of insecurity cannot be addressed in isolation.

Amen further suggested for security summit by the governor to critically examine the issues, with strong resolution to address the insecurity pending when arrangement on State security will be finalised. This collaborative effort among governors could lead to more effective policies and resource allocation, ultimately enhancing the safety and well-being of citizens. By fostering open dialogue and shared strategies, they can create a unified front against the threats that have long plagued the region.