‘Poverty, reintegration of ‘repentant’ terrorists worsening insecurity’

International security scholar and Professor of Political Science, Tunde Adeniran, in this interview with ROTIMI AGBOLUAJE, spoke on why the current system is more of an enabler of insecurity than its solution.


What do you make of the current spate of kidnappings that is almost assuming an epidemic proportion?
I believe that it has reached a stage where it has become rather frightening and worrisome. By now, we ought to have put in place a comprehensive plan to deal with the epidemic. We ought to have seen ahead that if certain steps were not taken, we could get to where we are now. It’s not funny at all. This is a very dangerous trend. At the present stage, it’s not just worrisome because of its impacts, the toll it is taking on the individual, their relations and closed ones, but also its implications on our stability and for the economic growth and development of investment possibilities. And above all, it’s worrisome because of the consequences it will have on the psyche of the average Nigerian and the nation itself.

When you have this type of situation, it makes people have doubts. We need to establish that confidence in the Nigerian people; that they can be protected and they will be protected not just by words of mouth alone but by actions. We must take that action. I believe we have enough human and material resources to be able to deal with such a pandemic.

What do you think is responsible for the high prevalence?
So many factors are responsible. Everybody has been stressing the fact that the economic situation and conditions in the country are so bad that many people are turning to criminality because of the need to survive. But it’s not an excuse for people to take to criminality. This is due to the orientation of inordinate acquisition, where people now see shortcuts to making money instead of working hard. For some, the environment is not conducive to exploring ways of earning a living, then they take to criminality.
What we need to do, regarding that, is to realistically tackle the sources of poverty. We keep talking about educating the children, taking them off the street and making sure they all go to school and get to a level whereby, despite whatever background they have, they will be able to stand on their own and acquire some skills and be useful to themselves and the society.
Apart from the issue of poverty, we also see the element of greed, which is so pervasive now. People take to kidnappings and related activities because the consequences are not there to deter them. For them, it is easier; it doesn’t cost them much compared to other means of acquiring criminal proceeds. So, it’s very important to draw attention to some of the reasons for this act. These include conspicuous consumption by the people, what people see on social media, how our Naira is being abused and how our values are eroded.
You see people taking bundles of Naira notes in different denominations, throwing them all over the place because they never worked for it and earned it through legitimate means. Nobody who works honestly in his or her profession will just be throwing money the way many people do at parties nowadays. These people, of course, see all these and they want to behave and show off that way. They are desperate to make money too, using all means.
So, the other area that we should also be mindful of is the fact that the goal of society has changed. People are no longer interested in building names and contributing to society the way people used to do in the past. People are now more concerned about how much material wealth they can acquire, and how much money they can grab by whatever means.
Again, the easy access to weapons has made it possible for them to acquire weapons, and other instruments of coercion they use to conquer their victims.

The other point, we have a situation in which we suffer double jeopardy in terms of our security outfits, and the security apparatus of the country. We have a shortage of staff. Apart from this shortage of staff, the recruitment process is faulty. There are reports all over the place that people are being recruited without sufficient background checks. In other words, we may inadvertently be recruiting criminals, who will come in, and we give them some training and they end up compromising the security networks of the state.
The report also has it that there are some people, the so-called repentant terrorists, former criminals that have been re-integrated. When you bring those people in without training and retraining, sufficient de-radicalisation from the negative lane, there would be problems at some points. These are part of the problems compounding the existing ones.
When all these come together, they represent a danger to the security of the state and a threat to the lives and property of Nigerians. More dangerous are the long-term consequences. This is because they also recruit and train others who will assist them in the criminal trade that is gradually turning Nigeria into a crime space under the control of different groups of criminal gangs who are ready to do anything.
One had thought that by now, there ought to have been sufficient disincentives. The effort being used at a time, which we thought would be improved upon, seems to have been abandoned. I’m talking about this idea of a cashless society. We ought to have tightened it and built upon it in such a way that anybody taking any money will go through certain procedures.  And when the kidnappers are aware of this, of course, they know that it’ll not be easy for me to get the raw cash they are looking for. There are so many other steps that ought to have been taken.
Finally, our justice system also inadvertently helps to let this ‘business’ thrive as a result of the slow pace of the justice system and the judiciary is also over-stressed. If we had a separate court treating such matters with a dispatch, the time of committing the crime and the time of them getting judgment would be a few days. Once they are aware of this, it would have sent some strong signals to them and we wouldn’t have had them replicating, multiplying and reproducing themselves the way we now have it in our hands. It’s frightening but it can be tackled with the political will and determination on the part of the authority.

Do you think the authorities possess the political will to tackle the problem?
There is no way any government that is faced with this serious challenge should not muster the will to tackle it. It is the appreciation of the enormity of its seriousness, the dimension and the extent to which it could damage the destiny and future of the country that are important. That appreciation will prompt the government to do something. I’m impressed that among the forces that are expected to play some roles now,  the media is doing a tremendous job in that regard, drawing attention, raising issues and pointing the way forward.
I believe it’s left to the government to listen and use some of those ideas, because they proffer solutions to address the issue. I’m expecting that various professionals will also draw attention and take some steps to mobilise and raise the alarm.
Insecurity is an emergency that must be tackled. Otherwise, it will consume the whole nation. People are no longer sure of their safety in their homes, on the road, at their workplaces, and on the farmland. We’re talking about food scarcity. Under this prevailing situation, the plan to have food security will be a mirage. We can’t put something on nothing. We have to deal with the fundamentals before we can get to where we need to go.
Of importance also is the role of civil society organisations.

They should go beyond just concentrating on political issues, elections, electoral process and political governance. The security of lives and properties of the citizens should also attract the attention of civil societies. They should know that part of the governance process and system is ensuring the security of individuals and Nigerians collectively. Nigerians, in whatever system we are operating, need to be protected. We also have such religious organisations that draw the attention of the government to what needs to be done in certain areas. They have been doing substantially well in terms of drawing attention to it. One dimension which
I’ll urge them to bring into their campaign the role of the citizens too;  the alertness that they must acquire so that while the government is trying to come up with some measures to do something, the citizens too should be mobilising themselves to ensure the protection of their lives and properties. There are different ways of doing this. Nigerians can be creative and we should tap into their creativity when it comes to this area as well.

The Supreme Court just gave judgment on some gubernatorial cases. Contrary to the expectations of some people, none of the governors was sacked. Is it to douse the tension in the country or merely a coincidence?
As a layman, I believe that some of the judgments given can be defended. As a layman too, there are two or three of the cases that one thought wouldn’t have gone the way they went. But, the justices knew the matter they had before them and why the judgment that they gave. What I believe is that, as a result of the judgment given, the judiciary has been applauded.  This is because there are some cases in which people thought that political intervention would, probably, have produced a different result. But which never did. People are applauding that the apex court dared to do what was considered the right thing.
At the same time, it is said that, maybe, on two or three occasions, it ought to have gone further to change what was on the ground. But as you hinted that, perhaps, it was to douse the tension, whichever I wouldn’t know.  Certainly, the apex court’s recent judgments have given the ordinary person the hope that, with determination, the Nigerian judiciary could rise over and above any pressure and be itself. That is, to dispense justice without fear or favour.
We must also be mindful of the fact that those who are on that exalted bench are human beings whose knowledge is not infinite.  In other words, none of them is God. They are expected to read things differently from the way some people read them. In other words, they shouldn’t be expected to interpret the laws to suit and satisfy virtually every Nigerian citizen. They’ll do their best within the limitations imposed by the circumstances and the environment, and of course, by their own being human beings to dispense judgment.
My prayer is that they will continue to grow in wisdom, courage, and the fear of God to raise the bar of justice and raise the level of appreciation and regard that Nigerians have for the judiciary now. I believe that what has happened recently has further lifted the judiciary higher than the previous pedestal where they stood. I do not doubt that. I also believe that the judiciary has the potential to continue to improve upon its public perception and capacity to do justice for Nigerians and the Nigerian State as such to re-establish itself firmly as a strong pillar for the sustenance of democracy, the nation, as well as the most respectable and respected arm of government and the hope of the common man.