Now it is official: the insecurity in Nigeria, sadly, is only escalating under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari, with no end in sight. The violence that has practically reduced Nigeria into a killing field and a kidnappers den; rapidly cruising through the nation with states now under siege, means nobody is safe anywhere in the country. This message was delivered with devastating effect two days ago, when the convoy of Benue State Governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom was ambushed and attacked by suspected Fulani herdsmen, less than 20 km from the state capital, Makurdi. The governor was lucky to cheat death. Quite predictably, the vanity industry of messages of outrage, condemnation and solidarity went into overdrive as the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), their Northern counterparts and Ortom’s colleagues in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Senate President, David Mark, expressed shock over the incident. President Buhari also condemned the attack as unacceptable, but reinforced his contempt and disdain for the millions of Nigerians affected by insecurity, when he spoke again through his special assistant on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu. Buhari’s “I-am-not-bothered-by-what-Nigerians-think-say-or-do attitude” speaks to the mesmerizing state of perplexity that has enveloped the seat of power amidst this ongoing carnage.
Buhari cautioned against politicizing the attack and welcomed the dispatch of a team of crack investigators from the Police headquarters in Abuja, urging the officers to uncover the suspects and bring them to justice. “Let there be an open and transparent investigation and whoever is linked to it should be caught and be made to face the law,” the president said, adding that an attack on one Nigerian is an attack on all Nigerians. Also condemning the attack, the NGF in a statement by its chairman and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said: “The news of the broad daylight attempt to cut short the life of the Governor of Benue State, Dr. Samuel Ortom, is shocking and a rude awakening. The Nigeria Governors Forum empathizes with the governor and the people of Benue State on this sad, cowardly, and wicked plan and vehemently condemns the act in its entirety.”
In a separate statement, the Northern governors described the attack on Ortom as a disturbing development. The chairman of the forum and Plateau Governor, Simon Lalong, in a statement, said the attack was yet another daring attempt by criminals to cause mayhem not only in Benue State but in the nation. In his reaction, ex-Senate President, David Mark warned the federal government against pushing Nigerians to resort to self-help. In a statement by his media adviser, Paul Mumeh, Mark said: “If our government and security operatives can no longer guarantee peoples’ safety in their homes, farms or places of business, I am worried that the situation may compel citizens to resort to self-help. That is the situation we cannot contemplate and must not be allowed to happen because the consequences would be catastrophic.” He said the deteriorating security situation had become scandalous making Nigeria a subject of ridicule before other nations; bemoaning that if a state governor can be so brazenly attacked, then the criminals are capable of doing anything to the ordinary citizens.
In their reaction, PDP governors in a statement by its chairman and Sokoto Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, warned that any attempt to harm any Nigerian will be viewed by the forum as an attempt on its members. It said: “We believe strongly that any dispute or perceived dispute should be and must be resolved amicably without resort to violence. Nigeria is not a Banana Republic, even though certain retrogressive elements and centrifugal forces are trying to consign Nigeria into a failed state.” However, the PDP governors said every Nigerian deserves equal protection of the law. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) condemned the attack in a statement by the national secretary of its caretaker committee, Sen John Akpanudoedehe. “We thank God for his safety and praise the dutiful security details for repelling the attack. We are confident our security services will do everything to unravel the criminals behind the attack and bring them to book.” The ruling party noted that a crime is a crime and should not be politicized in any way.
But no mollifying rhetoric can negate the barrage of hostilities currently bludgeoning the country. The massacres from Boko Haram are becoming so routine, kidnapping of students from their dormitories are carried out with scandalous audacity; and Fulani herdsmen sack villages and mow down helpless citizens as if they are clearing weeds. Nigeria is in a state of war, and the soldier-President, Commander-in-chief is missing in action instead of leading the charge. The lives of Nigerians are involved, and this is not the time for empty posturing and grandstanding.
For years now, the nation has fought insurgency in the northeast and other parts of the country including the capital, Abuja. Among many attacks on the seat of the federal government, 30 people were killed and over a hundred injured when the insurgents struck the UN office in Abuja in August 2011. The Nigeria Police headquarters was no sanctuary as the terrorists targeted it in June of 2011, leaving scores dead and injured. Before then, a military barrack was bombed killing 30 people. Boko Haram also inflicted searing damage on the soul of Nigeria when they invaded the College of Agriculture in Gujba, Yobe State, murdered about 90 students by slitting their throats while they slept, wounded many, abducted others and set the school on fire. And 276 girls were abducted from Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State. Since then, there have been several high profile kidnappings and mass abductions of students from schools; even as the government continues to claim that the situation is under control. Whatever success so far recorded in that war, appears debatable with the magnitude of the successes of the criminals.
With the prevailing climate of insecurity, whatever faith was left that there is any safe place anywhere in Nigeria has been shattered. The vulnerability of the entire country to this orgy of bloodletting has been exposed and all pretences to normalcy, even at the seat of government, have been removed. This must stop and the government of Nigeria should adequately discharge its responsibility for the safety of Nigerians everywhere forthwith. The strong words of condemnation against Ortom’s attackers and the consoling words to victims and their families are welcome but Nigerians want an end to the carnage. Ortom was targeted because of his principled stand against Fulani herdsmen. What started as clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers now looks like another insurgency in the country. Daily, hundreds of lives are lost to attackers with sophisticated weapons and property in unquantifiable sums are destroyed. While it may sound like a stretch, the claim that the civil war Nigeria fought against herself over a period of three years did not consume as much blood of the innocent as this insecurity has consumed is now ringing true. The Buhari administration can certainly not earn praises in its approach to tackling the insecurity menace. Of course, the government can and should do more.
And all talk of the buck stopping at President Buhari’s desk is true. He was, after all, hired as president to protect Nigeria and Nigerians against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That citizens, north, south, east and west, now live in fear is a testimonial that he cannot be proud of. This is also the best time for the president to review his style. Presidential spokespersons do have a role to play, but Nigerians did not elect media aides as their leaders. No. The electorate invested Buhari with full authority and powers to manage the country’s affairs in the best interest of all. They expect periodic report to the people on how well he is getting on with the job. No spokesperson can articulate this better than the man on the job. Elected after three rejections, Buhari is expected to speak to Nigerians with the conviction of a leader doing his utmost best to serve the greatest good of the greatest number.
Following an earlier terror scare when gunshots exploded in Aso Rock, the government is on record to have practically imprisoned President Buhari inside Aso Villa as ceremonies that ought to be held in Eagle Square or any other open space were observed inside the villa. While the president is entitled to maximum security in whatever form, that action, for whatever reason, smacked of a certain retreat and chicken cowering to the enemy, if not outright weakness and cowardice. On another level, the question may even be asked: when the president retreats and bunkers himself into a safe haven, into which territory do the rest of Nigerians retreat?
The point must once again be made with emphasis that, the sophisticated methods of the insurgents, the audacity of their open attacks and the devastating stealth with which they operate, call to question the strategy of the Nigerian security forces and their commitment to the fight. Is there an insufficiency in the tools for the war on terror and fight against insecurity or are there people profiting from its open-endedness? If there have been successes, such have been cancelled out by the plundering of Nigerian lives, lives of security personnel and innocent civilians. As the Nigerian life gets cheaper by the day and death stalks every nook and cranny of the country in the color of Boko Haram insurgents or Fulani herdsmen, armed robbers and kidnappers and ritualists, every Nigerian must pause, reflect on the death of the innocents, on the possibility that any Nigerian could be next and determine to be each other’s keeper. Vigilance, eternal vigilance on the part of all is what is most needed now. That is the first step towards cooperating with the security agencies and overcoming terror and insecurity in Nigeria.
