FACED with heightening insecurity which has culminated in unabated destruction of lives and properties as well as disruption of farming activities in his domain, Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, has reportedly directed the state Commissioner of Police to issue gun licences to citizens of the state who are willing to bear arms for self-defence. This is not the first time a head of a subnational government has recommended such a seemingly precipitate action to citizens in order to rein in insecurity. Governors Samuel Ortom of Benue State and Bello Masari of Katsina State had earlier echoed similar sentiments. But Governor Matawalle’s seriousness about his recommendation is underscored by his attempt to approach the execution of his proposal by following what would appear to be due process through the involvement of the police force. As expected, the Federal Government, through the Chief of Defence Staff, Godwin Irabor, promptly countermanded Matawalle’s directive; he was pointedly told that he had no power to direct the citizens of the state to carry arms. Nonetheless, irrespective of how the matter is resolved ultimately, the important message has been passed regarding the unsatisfactory and lacklustre performance of the country’s security apparatus in addressing the grave security situation in the state.
It is imperative to state that Zamfara is merely an indication of what is going on across the country as terrorism has become dangerously pervasive while the criminals are ubiquitous. It would be pretentious for stakeholders to claim not to know what prompted the Zamfara State governor’s seemingly desperate recommendation. The state faces a major problem of illegal mining and the criminalities associated with ensuring the sustenance of such illegality while at the same time protecting and shielding the perpetrators from the law. The Federal Government has a security team in place which has done very little to rein in insecurity in the state. But for the first time, the state government has come out to admit that the state cannot rely on the federal security arrangement alone if it is to experience any respite from its current dire security situation. The Federal Government had previously enacted a number of security measures, including imposing no fly zones, placing a ban on the activities of commercial motorcyclists and on buying and selling fuel in jerry cans, but none of these has not worked.
The governor’s recent advisory to citizens to get armed and defend themselves against bandits was therefore born out of frustration that speaks to the corruption and lack of leadership that have caused the military to fail in dealing with bandits in the state. There are ominous indications that the underworld is threatening to overtake the Nigerian society because even though the motivations may be different, what is happening in terms of worsening insecurity is the same in the North-West, North-East, North Central and South-East. The common denominator is the palpable evidence that the state security is patently overwhelmed by the activities of criminals who are having a field day everywhere. Indeed, the Nigerian state has virtually yielded the monopoly of violence to violent non-state actors. This is a dangerous development that is increasingly pointing in the direction of a failed state.
While the Zamfara State governor’s advisory to citizens of the state to bear arms could be construed as a recipe for anarchy, the question is whether he really has other options or an alternative course of action in the face of the Federal Government’s abysmal failure to secure lives and properties. Many believe that the situation must have been quite grave for these governors to have passed a vote of no confidence, as it were, in the Federal Government’s security efforts, especially when two of them are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Yet, the extant structure of the Nigerian federation and implementation thereof would not allow subnational governments to take their destinies in their own hands without risking being on a collision course with the Federal Government. Even in situations where the reality on the ground recommends concerted efforts, the Federal Government prefers to go it alone, and oftentimes it does not deliver. It has always vehemently opposed the creation of state police, even at a time when the latter could have made a significant difference by collaborating with the federal police to combat crimes. Even now that criminals are well-equipped and really audacious, it is still opposed to the idea. Today, it is evident that except in one or two geopolitical zones where there is still a semblance of sanity, state police can hardly avail much in curtailing criminal activities because the perpetrators have become well entrenched. The reality is that as desirable as state police is, the problem has gone beyond it. If the military is failing, what can the police do? The system has broken down and needs diametrical overhauling. The problem is largely tied to corruption and how poorly the Nigerian state is organised.
It is a serious indictment on the Federal Government that some heads of subnational governments, out of frustration, are considering self-help as a viable option to secure lives and properties within their jurisdictions. This is a dangerous signal to the citizens and the international community. The Federal Government must up its ante. Without a doubt, the security situation in the country is grave, and it can only get worse unless appropriate actions, backed by requisite political will, are brought to bear on the menace to stem the rising tide.
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