Nigerians have not hidden their disgust at the way and manner the nation’s security forces tackle issues of crimes and criminality, particularly, terrorism, in this country. It appears the nation’s security forces are disenchanted, unperturbed, growing weaker by the day. They only chose to apply reactionary methods, rather than deploy what they gained during training, their intellect and the huge resources made available to them, to really prove to the ordinary Nigerians that they are curtailing, if not decimating those brigands.
Last Tuesday’s vicious attack on the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre, in Abuja, the nation’s capital, could be described as the worst blow that shattered completely, what is left of the integrity of our security forces. It is not a matter for arguments or propaganda or deployment of intimidation or sheer use of brutality to make everyone queue into line and accept their side of the story. Reality is factual and it is obvious that both the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the President of the country, President Muhammadu Buhari, his Service Chiefs and heads of all the security forces have scored zero percent. There is no level of explanation or counter statement or propaganda that can explain away what happened in Kuje.
For the President to have embarked on the routine, convening a meeting of the National Security Council, is not an answer to the questions, neither do Nigerians agree it is anything far distant from resolving the issues. It is at best, a regurgitation of same old procedures, which have failed again and again to resolve the problems.
The attack on the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre, same day the convoy of the advance Presidential Convoy was attacked in Katsina, Buhari’s home state, leaving two security operatives wounded, was beyond shame to the country. It exposed without any iota of doubt that we are not serious in this country. And by the President not sweeping away several people down the line of duty of the nation’s security, not just at the Nigerian Correctional Service, but in other arms of the nation’s security apparatuses, confirms we are still glued to “it doesn’t matter attitude” towards such a debilitating national problem.
Attacking and rescuing all their ilk detained at Kuje without our security firing a shot, except for the lone operative of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), who of course, not being initiated into the rot, paid the supreme price, proves that we are in a mess and that nobody is safe again.
In other climes, where a scintila on such occurs heads would have rolled immediately, if the officers concerned failed to immediately throw in the towel. But, it appears we have entrenched this negative sit-tight mantra. So, nobody resigns; we find justifications for our failures.
One can’t imagine that there are several chief executive officers of some ministries and parastatals, who, in a sane clime, should have since left office voluntarily on account of age or incompetence, but such people still glue themselves to their offices in our system. How can a nation move forward under such circumstances?
Nigerians have for long been inundated with accounts of how terrorists waylay our Armed Forces, either at their base or on transit, snuff life out of several of them and cart away their arms and ammunition. When such invidious acts occur, we hear of an emergency Security Council meeting and we go back to our normal life styles as if it is not unpardonable breach. And such occurs again and again, repeatedly for uncountable number of times, yet we remain unperturbed.
If public pressure mounts, we blame such security breaches on supply of insufficient or poorly rated accoutrements to our military and police. Sometimes, we equally claim our security are not properly funded. But the two alibi have proven not to be it. It is simply lack of will, compromise or ineptitude.
If, for instance, the military are poorly funded, why do we hear of humongous and perfidious scandals involving huge amounts of money being stolen in that circle? Was it not in the armed forces we hear that some soldiers ran away with over N500 million given to them in Kaduna for keeps in a private house somewhere else? Has there been comclusive investigation on that? Did Nigerians not hear recently of the recovery of over N1.86 billion from a building ascribed to a former Chief of Army Staff in Wuse 11, which we later heard belongs to a military contractor? Even if it is not the former COAS that owns the property, at least, the investigating anti-corruption agency, which turned to emergency attorney for the former Army chief, exonerated him even before investigation!
Yet, for nearly a month, that anti-graft agency has not considered it expedient to expose whoever it is that was the contractor, neither did they charge him to court? That crime, like others before, has disappeared into memory just as the discovery of millions of dollars in the home of a former Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), which has remained a secret till today.
The several attacks on the Armed Forces at their numerous bases in the North-East, North-West, North-Central and the poor handling of similar issues, as well as dispute over whether bandits, terrorists or unkmown elements use helicopter to drop off items for terrorists across the country are some of the issues begging for resolution.
According to available facts, the attack in Kuje was not unexpected, even for a pupil security operative, the intel had been available, but pressed in same lack lustre manner. The perpetrators of the attack had painstakingly, methodically and steadily berted in Niger state, inching closer and close to the FCT each passing day. The Niger State Governor had publicly said so, the natives have cried, yet no respite from anywhere, while our security pretended it was all a hoax. Farmers and analysts have complained and provided clues, yet all were ignored. And the terrorists have continued to gain ground, attacking both civilians and security forces, yet, we pretended it was not a reality. Who did this to us? What kind of people manned our security forces? Or are they proxies?
Nigerians have been discussing the menace of motorcycle riders and how it has been used to perpetrate crimes in various parts of the country, yet, we have not done anything about that. Around February this year, there were stories of how over 500 terrorists riding on motorcycles converged around Bwari in the FCT. There were photographs that those felons had converged at a particular filling stations on the border between Niger state and the FCT. The security dismissed them as bike riders, saying informationit was all a hoax and unfounded alarm by unpatriotic elements. Now, we know who were unpatriotic. Those stung by bees are always afraid of the housefly.
The series of terrorists attacks in Abaji, FCT, made no sense to the security leadership. The taking over of Shiroro axis and several swathe of land in Niger State, under the control of terrorists, getting closer to the FCT and reports of the publications by ISWAP and Boko Haram that they will soon overrun Abuja, remained unattended to. At least, the Kuje incident proved so.
When the ordinary people and the media report and harp on these, they are either threatened or labeled as unpatriotic elements who are only blackmailing the government and security forces, stoking fear in the public and disseminating inaccuracies.
Now, who disseminated falsehood? Has anyone of the security chiefs been punished yet? What then has poor or inadequate budget got to do with what happened so far? Who is deceiving who? Questions begging for answers.
In any country where accountability is known to take the back seat, even if one empties entire public treasury our leaders continue to live in denial. In a country, where kidnapping is assuming, unfortunately the most lucrative business, we make no attempt to stop the menace, but fabricate all manner of excuses and alibi around it. And common sense dictates that the taste of food is not on the amount but on the capacity of the cook in appreciating the culinary mix. Therefore, we state without any equivocation that our problems have nothing to do with the budget or releases to our security forces. It is more a problem of non-commitment, excessive greed and lack of accountability.
The shame of Kuje should serve as the final warning to us, if we have any modicum of shame. But, do we have such? The Kuje incident, even though it did not take lives like the attacks on the Mogadishu Barracks, the Force Headquarters bombing, the Nyanya bombing, the Christmas day, St. Theresa, Madalla bombing, the several attacks on Military and Police formations across the country, but since there were enough intelligence prior to the Kuje incident, and the global implications of the escape of such high profile and dangerous detainees it ought not to have been allowed to happen. Our business as usual attitude shouldn’t have got to this level. We were extremely too careless and dangerously approaching the nadir.
We must end this dangerous attitude of “it does not matter; let them complain; it is our turn; the disgruntled are just making noise”. What is at stake is far beyond the ordinary and very deep. We must once again to work with the fear of God, with patriotism. We must sift the chaff from the substance, re appraise our forces and retain only people with requisite knowledge and proven level of patriotism. The dregs and all brought in by primordial sentiments must be flushed out. If we fail to do these, Nigeria will one day witness Afghanistan on our soil. All the indices are there.
We cannot deny that some people, even highly placed individuals, have sympathy for the terrorists ruling that country. That should not be our fate. But where we fail to do what we ought to do, terrorists will certainly become more audacious and we know where it will lead us to. A failed state predicted by the West iver a decade ago. Are we there?
