Sunset in Nigeria by Thomas  Peretu

Nigeria is at a crossroad. Yes, we are caught in a web of multiple crises. And overwhelmingly unprecedented too. Never have we been exposed to this orgy of monumental violence and national disgrace, occasioned by arms bearing non-state actors on the loose like wild animals. Except perhaps the urgly days preceding the Nigerian civil war of 1967. Here, hapless citizens are potched and killed with impunity without regard for the consequencies of the law.

No matter how hard our leaders, (escounced within the labyrinths of Aso rock) may pretend or down play the enormity of the security crisis; the reasonable man who lives off the streets whether in Zamfara or Port Harcourt or Abakaliki or Kaura Namoda or Onitsha feels the pangs of the crisis. The implication is that there is no safe haven anywhere, anymore in the country. Men of the underworld have “Somaliarized” our dear Nigeria. We live by the mercy not of government but of non-state actors. And by the grace of God.

There is tension everywhere, an indication that all is not well. The spasm of insurgency, kidnapping and brigandage spreading like tidal waves across the nation calls for concerted action. From the north east to the south east and south south the story is the same. It is obvious that the obsession for crime and criminality has reached an all time high.  We are, without doubt, sitting on a time bomb waiting to explode. And perhaps to further expose our vulnerability.

• Thomas  Peretu

As faith is lost in the mechanism of state security apparatus, since they have also become endangered species, we seem to be moving  inexorably towards atavistic days of “wetie” made popular in the old western region.

Meanwhile what passes for national discourse on the state of insecurity in the land, is ever stringent, it’s participants are often mirred in cliché, ignorance and banality as they skirt the rough edges of the subject matter without necessarily contextualising the gravity of situation or taking look at the root causes of the crisis.  While the debate is in session on television screens, beer parlours and on the airwaves, the non-state actors wielding an assortment of weapons  are getting more audacious by the day. This is not the time for sophistry which is what we are wont to do depending on our individual perspectives fueled by our various backgrounds.

Or how else do we explain the mayhem visited on the people of imo State in the wee hours of Easter Monday. The share bravura of the escapede leaves one wondering if there’s a serious minded government in place in Nigerian? It was a smooth operation  that took over three hours to execute. All through the night, there was no visible response from the different security agencies in the state capital, Owerri.

The faceless urchins numbering over 100 brandishing lethal weapons brazenly sacked the state police headquarters. Not only did they burn parts of the building, they also torched over 70 vehicles parked within the premises. The men effectively paralysed the operations of the state command. Not satisfied with their dastardly  acts, they crossed over to the state correctional centre, where inmates were set free. No less than 1850 inmates were let loose like cannons.  In my my view no decent government anywhere in the world would allow ragtag brigands to over run its established facilities. It’s not possible.

The wave of violence continued the next day. A group of criminals were again on rampage in the suburbs of Owerri as another police station was ransacked and arms carted away in broad daylight. Governor Hope Uzodinma who was visible shaken by the attack was however too hasty in assuming that the act was sponsored by the opposition. The former inspector general of Police, Mr. Adamu also toed the same line of thought by attributing the incident to the Ingenious People of Biafra (IPOB) and others. None of the dignitaried spoke about the failure to be proactive on the part of the security agencies even when they had a prior intelligence briefing. We need to exercise caution especially when the report of the investigative panel is yet to be made public. Why jump into unnecessary conclusions? Thereby heating up the political temperature of the state. The governor could have done better.

Indeed, it is now fashionable for criminals in the south east to visit their spleen on innocent police men. Uniformed officers are maimed and  killed at will while  police stations are razed and arms carted away. In the last one month, no less than six police officers were gruesomely murdered by unknown gunmen in Abia State. Correctional centres were also not spared by these unidentified gangsters. The attack and killings is still continuing on a daily basis. Only recently it was reported that unidentified assailants attacked the former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr. Soludo in Anambra State. In the process three police men were sent to their early graves.

Analysts are quick to point out that the events in the south east portend danger for the country. It is, if you wish the harbinger of a stream of violence and anarchy waiting to envelop the country.

It is not in doubt that the miscreants in the south east may have learnt some lessons from the portfolio of Boko Haram insurgents. Given the fact that members of the group started their bizarre campaigns in Bornu State by ransacking police station and military formations. The criminals in the south east may in earnest be involved in stock pilling arms and ammunition for a full scale war against the people. The next stage of the trajectory would be to make the south east ungovernable through coordinated security breaches. After that the warlords would take over territories by building enclaves for themselves. At that point, your guess is as good as mine.

It is still early in the day to concede defeat.  With the needed political will we can crush these misguided youth groups, otherwise they may metamophose into another version of Boko Haram, another bone in the throat of the nation. What that means is that commerce and industry would be brought to its knees. And the rate of poverty and hunger may climb to to the roof. Wither Nigeria.

The state of insecurity in the country is no more than a representation of the decay in our socio-political culture but much more, it is a key symbol of the level of misgovernce,  injustice, nepotism and corruption and crass ignorance fostered by the ruling elites. All these negative tendencies have taken a toll on our union.  Hence, the clamour for restructuring of the country. No thanks to a docile and insensitive ruling class who seem to be far removed from the anguish of the people. It is not unlikely that a privileged few in the corridors of power may have been benefiting from the  chaos we found ourselves. How else can one explain this inertial on the part of government.

But guess what? Very soon, it will be turn of the south south to bear the brunt of the bandits.  And that would be catastrophic and  deadly. Trust me. Life will be unbearable, given our dependence on outsiders for vasually every stuff we need. It is about time we all rise above ethnic chauvinism to confront our common enemy.  With one voice let us say – no to armed banditry everywhere in the country. Like John Major as prime minister of Britain in the peak of the IRA attacks  once cried out loud: “I feel strongly that society needs to condemn a little more and understand a little less.” Security is a collective responsibility. All hands must be on deck, if we are to make any head way in the fight against insecurity.

How did we get to this point? Where did we miss the mark? The answer is simple. Our leaders led us into this cul de sac by their actions, either deliberately or inadvertently through policy formulation in governance. These leaders have over the years, entrenched nepotism, corruption, inequality, injustice,  religious bigotry, tribal sentiments and many other social ills.  The effects of deprivation,  unemployment, lack of equity and fairness have opened the field to non-state actors to take up arms against the state under different guises.

To get out of this quagmire, the federal government must demonstrate sincerity of purpose in its avowed desire to fight corruption, insurgency and total overhaul of the governance process. It must put in place the mechanism for job creation. Encourage the rule of law and back down on its deliberate policy of nepotism. Nigerians must be given equal opportunity to the wealth of the nation. And above all, it is time we set in motion the process of restructuring the country.

Let me serve our leaders a caveat, unless and until these issues are addressed, we may not wake up to see 2023. If we engage in window dressing the real issues of insecurity, instead of confronting it with all determination,  20 23 may just be a mirage. The President must show leadership now or never. It’s either we scale the hurdles now or we sink with with the tides. The decision is ours to make now or never.

This is my stand

• Thomas  Peretu, A social commentator and political analyst is a Guest writer for  TNTNigeria.ng.