Year 2021 in review

THE year 2021 promised to be a year of hope.  Year 2020 had been gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic, with lockdowns which paralysed the economies of countries and threw Nigeria into its worst recession in two decades. The production and approval of vaccines late in the year held hope that the world would enjoy respite in 2021. But this was not to be, as the mutation of the virus and the emergence of the Omicron variant generated anxiety and caused some countries to tighten control over entry into their borders. Thus, despite the availability of a few vaccines, the world is yet to experience normalcy. Apart from the anxiety generated by the Omicron variant, the distribution of vaccines had reflected the inequalities of the world in terms of production and access.  These challenges were complicated by vaccine resistance across the world where people questioned the intentions of the science behind the vaccines. In Nigeria, despite the limited availability of the vaccines, controversy trailed the efforts by some governors to make vaccination compulsory and sanctionable. As the year 2021 comes to a close, COVID-19 cases increased beyond the wildest expectations.

At the beginning of the year, President Muhammadu Buhari told Nigerians that he had heard their voices and would continue to listen to them. He promised to work with stakeholders “to ensure that every region of this nation is safe for us all, while guaranteeing that the future is also secure for the coming generation.” He promised to re-energise and reorganise “the security apparatus and personnel of the armed forces and the police with a view to enhancing their capacity to engage, push back and dismantle the operations of both internal and external extremist and criminal groups waging war against our communities in some parts of the country.” But it has been a terrible year. Contrary to the president’s promise, during the year, insecurity spread to virtually all the nooks and crannies of the country, depicting a Hobbesian condition. Life was “solitary, nasty, brutish and short” for many. By the middle of the year, insecurity had become more embracing and brazen in nature. Apart from the protracted and persisting Boko Haram terrorism, banditry and kidnapping, including mass abductions of travellers and school children, became commonplace.

There was public expression of fear even by members of the National Peace Committee.  Their leader, former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd), raised the alarm about the over six million different calibres of weapons in circulation among non-state actors in the country. The former Head of State emphasised that these arms were not only circulating illegally, but also outnumbered those in the hands of the armed forces. “The number of small arms in circulation in Nigeria in the hands of civilian non-state actors is estimated at 6,145,000, while the armed forces and law enforcement collectively account for 586,600 firearms,” he said. Abubakar lamented that the security forces were overstretched, underfunded, and required more training and sophisticated weapons and equipment to perform effectively and efficiently.

On February 15, a 21-man committee to facilitate the reforms of the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of Nigeria was set up by the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (retd). The committee was to find ways and means to address the administrative and operational gaps in the military, and to reposition it to effectively defend the country’s territorial integrity against infractions by terrorists, bandits and kidnappers. In April, the committee chaired by Air Vice Marshall Mohammed Umaru (retd) submitted its report and called for “urgent action in respect of “audits of military personnel and equipment in all formation of the armed forces, application of technology in the conduct of war and the handling of cybersecurity issues as they affect national security.” On September 28, another committee, the Implementation and Advisory Committee, was set up with Major General Alwali Jauji Kazir (retd) as its chairman. The committee was given a 7-point mandate and was expected to conclude its assignment in six weeks. It submitted its report containing 72 recommendations this month. The bottom line is that the reform of the military and its repositioning to effectively work with the other security agencies to stem the tide of insecurity was not done with the required expediency dictated by the dangerous security situation.  Thus, 2021 has gone down as Nigeria’s worse experience regarding insecurity.

Notwithstanding the weaknesses of the security agencies in dealing with crime and criminals, they were active in harassing, intimidating and arresting critics of the government. The security agencies, especially officials of the Department of State Services, were very active in intimidating and harassing perceived opponents and critics of the government, including journalists, many of which were detained without justification.  Worse still, economic conditions did not improve for many during the year. Hyperinflation affecting food prices deepened hunger and threw many into starvation. Inequality in income and opportunities remained high as poverty deepened. The increasing immiseration of Nigerians fuelled unrest and calls for the balkanization of the country from different quarters as people lost confidence in the government’s ability to turn around the economy and improve the welfare of citizens. Worsening insecurity and suppression of critics by security agents aggravated the palpable sense of collective despair and despondency among the populace.

In the New Year, Nigerians must be ready to make their government more accountable and responsive.  The year 2022 promises to be filled with political activities in preparation for the general election in the first quarter of 2023.  Nigerians must seize the opportunity of the 2022 politicking and election season to impress their aspirations and preferences on the government, otherwise things will get worse.

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