SIR: It happened 19 years ago, but I still remember vividly the question posed by Kayode Komolafe in the title of his ThisDay column on November 1, 2006. Komolafe asked: “Nigeria: A Nation of Mourners?” That article was prompted by the spate of plane crashes that occurred in the country under the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency (May 29, 1999-May 28, 2007) when the aviation industry in Nigeria faced its worst turbulence.

The crashes started with the EAS airlines Flight 4226 from Kano to Lagos on May 4, 2002, which killed 66 passengers and seven crew members, and other 30 persons on ground at the scene of the crash at Gwammaja Quarters, a Kano suburb. In total 103 fatalities were recorded in the crash.

Then came the Sosoliso McDonnel Douglas DC-9-32 aircraft flight from Abuja, which crash landed at the Port Harcourt International Airport on December 10, 2005, with 110 people on board. Only two people survived the crash. A year after the Port Harcourt crash, a Boeing 737-2B7 aircraft belonging to ADC airlines crashed at Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport Abuja on October 29, 2006, killing 96 out of the 105 people on board.

It was after the Abuja crash that Komolafe wrote his article. I crave the indulgence of my readers to quote a portion of the incisive article: “Is it the case that Nigeria is so helpless in the face of the problems bedeviling the aviation industry that it has resigned itself to be a nation of mourners?

“The ritual of national mourning follows each air crash. Tears and sorrows define national mood. Then we wait for another round of mourning. Is this an acceptable way to respond to the problem of a crucial sector of the economy? No, this cannot be a national wish. The nation does not need a chief mourner. Instead it needs a policy executor who understands the problem of the aviation sector and can break the jinx there….”

The controversy trailing the crash cost Professor Babalola Borishade his job as the Aviation Minister. Immediately after the three-day national mourning, on the fourth day, Obasanjo swapped the late Borishade with Culture Minister, Femi Fani Kayode. The rest is history.

Regrettably, 19 years after, Komolafe’s question is still begging for an answer. Nigeria is still mourning. Insecurity has claimed much more number of lives in Nigeria than plane crashes.

If I may ask, is it that Nigeria appears so helpless in the face of insecurity that it has resigned itself to be a nation of mourners?

Today, the nation is mourning the Arise TV journalist, Somtochukwu Maduagwu who reportedly made a fatal jump from a three-storey building while attempting to flee from armed robbers that attacked her residence in Katampe Abuja. The President is mourning. The Minister of Federal Capital Territory under whose territory the incident happened is mourning. Governors are mourning. Colleagues and friends of Somotochukwu are mourning. This is not an acceptable way to respond to the most crucial sector of our national life.

Nobody knows the next victim. It could be anybody. Granted that insecurity in Nigeria predated the current government, Amnesty International reported in May this year that 10, 217 people were killed in two years since the government took over. The insecurity in Nigeria has also created massive humanitarian crisis, especially in the Northern part of the country where villages have been sacked by bandits.

A few days ago, bandits killed four people including an Imam, at a mosque in Zamfara State. A similar incident occurred in a mosque in Kaduna State last year, claiming seven lives. Once any deadly incident occurs, we mourn. Quoting Kolawole: “Tears and sorrow define national mood. Then we wait for another round of mourning.” Nobody is held accountable.  Kidnapping of Nigerians for ransom has become a regular occurrence across the country on a daily basis. Somebody should be held accountable.

The Constitution in Chapter 2, Section 14 (b) under the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy makes security and welfare of the citizens the primary duty of government. The Constitution did not say that it is the primary duty of government to mourn the people who die because of insecurity. Every Nigerian is constitutionally entitled to right to life. Right to life is in Section 33 (1) under Chapter IV of the Constitution, titled, “Fundamental Rights.”   Just like citizens have obligations to government, it is the obligation of the government to protect rights of citizens, including right to life.

I have said before and will reaffirm my position here again that the security architecture of the country, if enabled to perform optimally, is capable of securing lives and property in the country. The problem is that those holding command positions are not held accountable. The President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He appoints the National Security Adviser (NSA), Defence Chiefs, Inspector General of Police and Heads of the Department of State Services and other security agencies. These people appoint their subordinates. It cascades down to the lowest level.

Unfortunately, security in Nigeria is highly politicised. Nobody is held accountable for what happens under his command. We have seen the National Assembly passing several resolutions, asking the President to act, but they end up on the pages of the newspapers. 

Somebody is responsible for security in the FCT. Somebody is responsible for securing the Abuja municipality. It is somebody’s job to safeguard the street in Katampe where Maduagwu died. Has the person been called to account for what happened that night?

For me, funding is also not the bane of security in Nigeria. The money appropriated for Defence and Security in the country in the past 15 years can complete 10 steel companies the size of the gigantic Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State. Yet, we are still grappling with insecurity on such a massive scale. Some of the funds ended up being used to fund elections. 

Today, Nigeria is ranked among the top 20 countries with the highest rates of violent crime, alongside Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Haiti, South Africa, Venezuela, Brazil, El Savador, among others. This should not be. Nigeria has the potential to be among the countries with the lowest crime rate in the world. All the country needs is the political will to tackle this malady.

The carnage going on in this country must end.  I agree with Komolafe that it cannot be a national wish. The consequences are becoming unbearable for the nation. Insecurity in Nigeria is scaring away both foreign and domestic investors.

Consequently, proactive measures, both kinetic and non-kinetic, should be taken by government at different levels as quickly as possible to tame insecurity in the country. The people entrusted with our security must be held accountable for what happens under their command. The government must ensure that funds appropriated for defence and security are adequately and judiciously utilised. 

Finally, the government should stop playing the ostrich over the causes of insecurity in the country. Efforts should be made to create a future for the young people through proper education, job creation and reflation of the economy to encourage entrepreneurship.

Dr. Chekwube Nzomiwu, director of Media and Publicity, Development Communication Research Association of Nigeria (DECRAN), wrote via [email protected]