Notably, misrepresentation of reality in government is a routine, as spin doctors are employed to craft and turn them into political capital. But lies and false claims, once made, translate into nothing and rob the president of the legitimacy required to steer the ship of state. It is against this backdrop that Nigerians should appreciate President Muhammadu Buhari’s latest assurance that Nigeria will be well secured before he leaves office in May, 2023. For the umpteenth time, Buhari promised to do all within his power to end insecurity, while expressing his readiness to change the nation’s security architecture if necessary. The President gave the assurance Thursday, while presiding over the National Security Council meeting at State House, Abuja. He however did not say how he intends to achieve in two years; what he has been unable to do since taking office six years ago in 2015. This was another missed opportunity not only for self-evaluation by Mr. President, but to present a new roadmap to tackle insecurity, against which he can be judged. It was high time Buhari stop taking Nigerians for granted. The current security situation does not call for empty promises and misguided optimism. This is about the future of Nigeria. Buhari needs to get his act together and seriously address the nagging security problems facing the country, not run away from them; or put a gloss over an appalling situation that has passed already crisis point. 2023 is not far away and the clock is ticking. For Buhari, history now beckons.
After six burdensome years of democratic backslide marked largely by policy somersaults, high unemployment, inflation, rising debt profile, mass poverty, unabated insecurity and general political toxicity, Buhari’s hollow promises on ending insecurity will neither inspire hope, nor turn things around for the better. It was obvious the President wanted to paint a bright picture over an otherwise gloomy state of affairs, but promising to end insecurity without any seeming resolve to genuinely address the life and death challenges facing the country; including the nefarious activities of killer Fulani herdsmen is an insult to the Nigerian people and a sacrilege on the memories of those whose lives have been cut short by terrorists, armed robbers, herdsmen and kidnappers who have transformed Nigeria into hell. The spirit of the age, it is said, is what a great man changes. Buhari has had the chance to change Nigeria for the better, since 2015. Now, he has recalibrated the clock and given himself two years at self-redemption to fulfill his promises and make Nigeria great again. History will hold him accountable.
Of course, any right-thinking Nigerian would want an end to the present insecurity madness that has seen thousands of innocent Nigerians slaughtered by Islamist terrorists and criminal gangs. Nothing Buhari has done suggests that the situation will change by 2023. The groundswell of euphoria that accompanied Buhari’s swearing-in on May 29, 2015 quickly turned into despair as the insecurity that had largely been curtailed under President Goodluck Jonathan escalated. Boko Haram that had been pushed to the fringes of Lake Chad by the Jonathan administration suddenly came back stronger under Buhari. Yes, Boko Haram had been substantially degraded when Jonathan left office. This is the truth that must be told. They came back strongly because they were emboldened by the lackluster military tactics of Buhari and his war commanders. Buhari merely went to sleep while his commanders failed to provide leadership and equipment to the troops on the frontlines. So, the terrorists returned and took full control in the northeast.
Under Buhari’s watch, Boko Haram became the deadliest terrorist group in the world, with thousands of Nigerians killed in the last six years. In the words of the former UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Yassine Gaba: “Innocent civilians continue to suffer daily from direct and indiscriminate attacks in the North-east of Nigeria. Endless numbers of explosions, brutal killings, abductions and lootings continue to uproot the lives of women, children and men daily. Women, children and men face daily grave human rights violations and sexual and gender-based violence.” This is why over two million IDPs can’t return home. They are living in squalid conditions in camps, scavenging for survival. Daily, they dream of going home, but they can’t because their towns and villages are controlled by terrorists. The few that returned home have had to scamper back. It is therefore depressing for the president to persistently make promises of defeating insecurity yet, IDPs can’t return to their homes.
There is also an unprecedented long list of officers lost to Boko Haram under Buhari’s watch. They include: Colonel D.C Bako, Lt. Colonel O. Umusu, Lt. Colonel K Yusuf, Lt. Colonel Abu Ali, Lt. Colonel B. U. Umar, Lt. Col. Yusuf Aminu, Captain Victor Ulasi, Lt. Col. A. E Mamudu, Lt. Col. Ibrahim Sakaba and Lt. Col. Azubuike. Nigerians are also in no hurry to forget the massacre of soldiers in places like Sasawa, Magumeri, Malam Fatori, Gashigha, Rann, Kanama, Gamboru-Ngala, Mafa, Kunduga, Pridang-Bitta amongst others. The criminals are getting away with murder because they have a better intelligence network, which allows them to pick their targets and ambush our soldiers. There is also a long list of successful ambushes; including the massacre in Metele, Borno State, in November 2018; where scores of soldiers from the 157 Task Force Battalion in Metele, including the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Ibrahim Sakaba were killed. The exact casualty figure remains a closely-guided secret till date. The question for Buhari is: did you need to wait for the last two years of your presidency to prevent all these unjustified deaths? For how long will the killings continue?
Nigerians are bamboozled with mouth-watering figures of billions of dollars spent to buy ammunition and weapons to fight insurgents but under Buhari, it has become fashionable for soldiers to persistently gift weapons and ammunitions to terrorists; who attack and sack military posts and installations with impunity. In the last six years, many military posts have been sacked, with hundreds of soldiers killed in Gajiram, Mainok, Rann, Geidam, Sasawa, Magumeri, Malam Fatori, Gashigha, Kanama, Gamboru-Ngala, Mafa, Damasak, Gudumbali, Garunda, Kunduga, Kareto, Jilli, Arge, Zari, Arege, Metele and Buni Gari. It was depressing to watch Buhari, a retired army general, accept a flag and Koran purportedly captured from Shekau, as a symbol of victory over Boko Haram after Shekau was killed by ISWAP fighters. It took Buhari six years to change the languid service chiefs who failed the nation and allow insecurity to take hold in Nigeria. Does anyone really believe that the new service chiefs will succeed in two years, where their predecessors failed in six years?
Nigerians are not fools and Buhari should stop thinking that Nigerians are morons who cannot see that our gallant soldiers lack the capabilities to combat insecurity. But the strategy for getting results is not just a declaration of intent which is a mere luxurious desire. Ending insecurity requires a strategy that combines technology, quality equipment and quality manpower. It requires quality fighter jets and quality armored attack helicopters. Our gallant military lacks the competence and equipment to take the fight to the terrorists, while the police themselves have become compromised and engage in criminality. So, Mr. President must stop his delusional hallucinations and roll up his sleeves and get to work for the Nigerian people. For President Buhari at age 78, with few if any points to prove; for a man who, out of a fervent conviction that he has something positive to offer Nigeria, sought the presidency three times, Nigerians gave Buhari an opportunity to write his name in gold, but he apparently crumbled under the weight of public expectations. The point must not be lost on any one that Nigerians twice voted more for Buhari as a man of integrity than the APC party populated by disparate characters with dubious motives and shifting political inclinations. Either way, he has two more years to right the wrongs of the past because this is a Buhari-led government and, as the saying goes, the buck stops on his desk.
