SIR: Recognising that their people must first survive before they can prevail, the southwest governors put politics aside and floated a revolutionary regional security network, code-named Operation Amotekun, an arrangement that mirrors a true federal structure. The genius is that the southwest governors could no longer fold their hands and wait forever on the long-awaited restructuring of the country nor continue to rely on an inept federal police before securing the lives and property of their people.
Make no mistake about this: The Amotekun is not a magic bullet to the security crisis, but it is common knowledge that the mere emotion of fear stokes deterrence. The elaborate style in which the Amotekun was launched, coupled with its unique name, not only demonstrated unity of purpose in the region, it is also an eloquent statement that it is no longer business as usual. The optics quickly sent shivers down the spines of criminals who may entertain the thought of venturing into Yorubaland. More importantly, the Operation Amotekun would provide a new layer of security in the Southwest, amid waning public confidence in the Nigerian police.
In view of the worsening wave of insecurity in Igboland, the expectation was that the southeast governors would emulate their counterparts in the Southwest to float a regional security outfit. But the governors have decided to look the other way. Rather, they pandered to the federal government on the basis of a naïve political expediency and agreed to wait on a community police model that was proposed circa 2006 but is yet see the light of the day. To these governors, the status quo trumps a regional security apparatus. Ironically, such view is coming from the same Igbo leaders who have been going around in recent times, heaping every blame for the lack of development in the zone on the long-awaited restructuring of Nigeria, which they insist must feature regional autonomy. But there comes a time shenanigans give way to common sense.
The truth is that the southeast governors decided to discard a new layer of security in Igboland, because the victims of insecurity are typically the ordinary people. Unlike their counterparts in the Southwest, where the gruesome murder of the daughter of a prominent politician provoked a sense of urgency in Yorubaland, the Igbo politicians have had no cause to question their own sense of invincibility. The nonchalance, of course, is hinged on the fact that the Nigerian rich and famous enjoy maximum security by maintaining a retinue of large convoys of police personnel for the protection of their families and estates. Not surprisingly, a convoy of vehicles — with sophisticated sirens accompanied with police escorts — has not only become a status symbol in Igboland, it has also emerged as the most common security alternative in the region. To that end, instead of public safety, the southeast police contingent now focuses on the pecuniary opportunities in the convoy security model at the cruel expense of the vulnerable masses.
Every life matters. Moreover, the Igbo do not thrive on superficial politics. Instead of colluding with the police to promote convoys of individual security details, southeast governors should hearken to the yearnings of the masses and join their counterparts in the South-south zone by launching, without further delay, a true regional security network to stem the rising tide of crime in the entire East.
A stitch in time saves nine.
- Felix Oladeji, University Of Ibadan.
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