Of insecurity and heartless killings

If reports in the media concerning the un-abating rise of insecurity in parts of the country are anything to go by, the situation obviously has gone out of government control. It is indeed worrisome going by the alarming number of people killed as a result of insecurity since 2015 under the Buhari administration. The increasingly messy and nasty way in which the bandits are making life unbearable for Nigerians is unthinkable. The boldness and audacity with which the bandits carry out their atrocities is worrisome. Despite the previous administration’s questionable claims of a technical defeat of the insurgents, the killings across the country persist and continue to put the country on a bad light in the comity of nations.

The other day, the beleaguered Nigeria Police in Sokoto State, through its Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO) Ahmed Ruffai in their usual policy statement, said the police was on top of the situation as he confirmed bandits’ attacks that killed scores of people in three communities over refusal to pay imposed levy. According to the report, the bandits sometimes impose levies on the communities to be paid within a stipulated time and also dictate to the residents on what to do. In a related report, two persons were killed and about 30 abducted in Birnin-Gwari Council in Kaduna State simply because deadline for levies imposed by the bandits has expired. Of course, it is certainly not the first time such stories of insecurity have been heard and government’s inability to defeat insecurity has emboldened the insurgents to continue perpetrating criminality in the country unchallenged. Specifically, having regard to these bandit activities, speculations are rife as to what exactly the government is doing or that it’s not doing enough to arrest the situation.

It is rather unfortunate that insecurity in Nigeria today has gone beyond crisis stage and now an epidemic considering its negative impact on the country and the untold hardship it has caused hapless Nigerians. It is a shame that the Federal Government’s ineffective handling of the insecurity challenge allows terrorists in whatever form to operate a parallel government in some parts of the country. It is worth restating for the umpteenth time that the fundamental responsibility of government is to protect the lives and property of its citizens. Therefore, the failure of government and the security agencies to arrest the insecurity situation cannot be excused.

Considering that insecurity has beset the country as a nation for over a decade, and it has unfortunately assumed the toga of an endless industry, government at all levels must necessarily address it frontally to give needed path and direction for economic recovery. A situation where bandits and terrorists hold community hostage or kill and kidnap them at will is unjustifiable for any government so called. A government that merits the appellation has no choice but to ensure the safety of the people as stated in the constitution. In as much as security of lives and property remains government’s pivotal goal, it is improper that government should merely pay lip service to curbing insecurity in the country.

As far as security of lives and property is concerned, this newspaper had on several occasions through its editorials called for adequate security architecture to handle the menace of bandits, kidnappers and insurgents among other criminal vices in the society. Notwithstanding what has happened in the past, there is need for the President Tinubu administration to take a fresh look at the security structure in the country, beside his recent call for cooperation and harmony among security agencies. To address the security challenges facing the country, it is important for Tinubu to come up with far reaching measures that would pursue and accomplish the government’s action plan that chose to adopt a proactive and intelligence driven security approach to sufficiently address the security threats. The recent pronouncement by Tinubu who rightly commanded all security networks to share and manage information intelligence on counter terrorism is commendable but should be pursued to its logical conclusion.

Clearly, it is not only logical but appropriate that a genuine and frontal approach to tackle insecurity be worked at knowing that the unity of the country is premised on the security of lives and property. Also, for a country to move forward, all sectors must be positively involved, but most importantly, there must be peace and security. This is because security of lives and property is aimed at giving the government and the citizens an opportunity to feel the pulse of each other. It also allows the people to move freely in transacting business across the country.

Tinubu needs to leverage on the momentum laid by his government as well as the goodwill this has subsequently generated. His predecessors, former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari had their tenure seriously blighted by insecurity, which made all their other achievements pale into insignificance. Tinubu has to choose whether he wants to make a difference or go the way of his predecessors.

Surely, government cannot be said to be successful if the people are insecure and are in perpetual fear of being kidnapped or killed by bandits. It is important for Tinubu administration to walk his talk as it concerns security by accelerating the reforms and building a robust and re-energised armed forces as indicated in the action plan. It is time for him to propose some action on establishing state police that will work in unison with the federal police. Nigerians are earnestly yearning for protection from heartless criminals with warped philosophy of conquering law enforcers and enthroning anarchy instead.