The North has slipped into its darkest period. It faces an existential threat, with no end in sight to the mortal danger. The magnitude of the crisis is proportional to its geographical vastness.
The regional challenge is Nigeria’s problem. It has also sent the wrong signal to the international community, denting the image of Nigeria.
Towns and villages are in panic. Schools are attacked and pupils and teachers are taken into captivity. Churches are unsafe. Palaces are invaded and monarchs also abducted. Socio-economic activities are disrupted.
Who are these troublers of the peace?
The man who saw tomorrow, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, introduced free education and non-discriminating scholarship scheme in the old Western Region. He warned the feudal lords and aristocrats up the River Niger that neglected children would not allow those of the powerful to have rest of mind. Was the late sage not right, after all? Has his prediction not come true?
Awolowo envisioned a Nigeria that would become truly independent through comprehensive economic policies, free education for all, massive industrialisation, and an unbiased protection of the rights of minority groups.
Even though it was obvious that the one who wanted to gift a cloth was himself well dressed, the “powerful” elite of the North resisted his plans. While the Western Region leapfrogged in several developmental areas, the North was all motion without movement. Its masses were mostly uneducated.
In the region, education was like a privilege, not a right, as Awolowo advocated. It was not too surprising that some people came up in the North to declare that education is sacrilege. The proponents of such horrendous ignorance might have found allies from outside the country, foreign enemies who wanted to destroy the nation’s peace and development. Yes, they exist. A nation does not wage a war against itself without the help of external forces that cash in on the weaknesses of the people within.
A lot of people are oblivious that many developed countries envy Nigeria so much that they are always unhappy to see it make progress. The major reason is that they fear Nigeria would become Africa’s power house that would prevent the external manipulators from getting whatever they want from the continent at the detriment of the people. There are also the economic factors. Many other countries covet Nigeria’s array of rare minerals for their own development. They find it cheaper to use mercenaries to steal the resources than tread the legal business route. The foreign manipulators have designed – and continue to design – destabilising agenda for Nigeria to always writhe in crises.
There are also concerns about spies and collaborators within communities. There are also concerns about limited intelligence gathering. Yet, bandits still have their way in some areas, despite the fact that the communities and security agencies have prior knowledge of impending onslaughts by the agents of the devil.
Vocal voices in the North seem to have a different perceptive about the war against banditry. Why are they pacifying bandits? Why are they calling for negotiations with terrorists? Why ask for budgetary allocations to them? What is the basis for suggesting amnesty for terror gangs?
Those advocating amnesty for bandits argue that terrorists deserve the same gesture given to the Southsouth agitators. But the argument is weak because their struggles and styles are not the same. Niger Delta militants only focus on economic sabotage, destroying oil pipelines and other facilities. They never kidnapped for ransom. They never attacked communities, schools, churches, mosques, and soft targets. The militants were identifiable and their leaders are known. Their agitations were clear: spend part of the money made fom the oil in the region to develop it, and stop environmental degradation.
If negotiators or intermediaries between the Boko Haram sect and the government or families of kidnapped victims are known – because they conduct negotiations with them – then, is the problem not half-solved? Why is it difficult to arrest many of the terrorists and bring them to justice since the negotiators know the hiding places of the terror gangs in the tick forests to the extent that, in the view of some top people, can withstand bombing?
Observers, therefore, ask: is the North ready to fight and win the terror war? If the bloc geo-political zones of the Northwest, the Northeast, and the Northcentral really wanted to liberate their people from insurgency, would their leaders continue to fold their arms?
It is important, first and foremost, for Northern leaders, the elite, the traditional rulers, religious icons, intellectuals, the mafias of Kaduna, Kano, and Sokoto, youths, and the residents to collectively resolve to say NO to the current nonsense.
Regional response to the security emergency is critical to halting insurgency, which has become financially profitable to the perpetrators. It is evident that the North is waging a war against itself because there is no evidence that the terrorists are from the southern part of the country.
Violent extremism in the North is not new. Zango Kataf riots and Maitasine uprising left in their wake unimaginable death tolls that called to question the value placed on the human life and peaceful co-existence.
Insurgency has been variously linked with poverty, unemployment, squalor, and neglect. Those who hold this view draw attention to the fact that kinetic operations without the human approach are grossly insufficient for resolving the complex issues.
While there could be some truths in these attributions, they also raise some questions. Who has marginalised or neglected the North that had dominated the national leadership for the greater part of 65 years of Nigeria’s nationhood?
Also, judging by the sophisticated weapons in the hands of these “poor and jobless” terrorists and how the abductees are kept for days and sustained, sometimes by food items, medical aids and even midwives in some areas, it would be realised that sponsors of terror gangs are wealthy people.
In the North, Islamisation should not be a clear danger to the vast and diverse communities, if there is a consciousness that the religious rights of those who choose to differ should be upheld with great understanding. This would be a factor in the creation of an atmosphere of mutual tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
But religion seems to be out of place in some instances as the tools of insurgency in the ravaged areas are not associated with religious discrimination. This is because Muslims, Christians, and even pagans are targets.
Governors can play their role in creatively securing their states by deploying resources, which have now increased due to the huge sum accruing to the states from the Federation Account.
Today, the Southwest regional outfit, Amotekun, is the legacy of the late Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), former governor of Ondo State, who mobilised his colleagues in the region to beef up security in Yoruba land.
In Oyo State, Governor Seyi Makinde has managed to solve the farmer-herder crisis. The porous boundaries are an issue which he has also been tackling through the proper deployment of security agencies. Also, former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose mobilised to ward off the threats.
It took northern governors a while to collectively respond to the security threats in their region, despite the fact that more northerners are the victims of horror. But it was not until their Southwest counterparts rose to the occasion that they woke up from their slumber. Southern governors are taking pre-emptive measures; Northern governors are searching for a cure.
Acknowledging that the region is facing a critical hazard and risk, the northern governors realised that the escape route is thin. Unlike some northern icons trying to bully the Federal Government and attack President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the rising violence, the Southwest governors embraced the reality that the anti-terror war is a collective responsibility that must involve the Federal Government, sub-national units, security agencies, and community resources.
The governors of the North have called for the suspension of mining in the North. Why? The mining activities are clearly illegal. It is not peculiar to Nigeria. Indeed, there appears to be a relationship between unauthorised mining and terrorist financing, which can only be ignored at national peril.
President Tinubu had once observed that the resources from illegal mining were being hijacked by terrorist groups in exchange for foreign cash, which was used to buy arms and ammunition. Thus, apart from kidnapping fellow bengs, huge resources are also kidnapped or captured, and billions of dollars that governments should use to fund education, health care, and other social services are exploited by terrorists to buy weapons and perpetuate violence against the people.
Whistleblowers of northern origin should come to the rescue. They owe the region a candid duty of intelligence gathering in assisting security agencies to arrest and prosecute the public enemies.
Northern states should brace up for state police. It is critical to security at the state and local government levels.
How would it be funded? The governors should anticipate an imminent legislative amendment that will pave the way for the multi-layer policing structure. Governors now give more money to do that. It should be borne in mind that state police would be corrupt if it is not well funded, like the current national policing structure.
Training is key. It takes time to wean the proposed state police for the purpose of filling the security void at the state level.
How could this be done to meet the requirements of the security emergency?
Northern elite must stand before the mirror and do an honest self-assessment. What do they want the region to look like in the next five to 10 years, judging by all that has happened in the last 10 years? Will life be better or get worse? Will there be pervasive peace or increased instability? A stitch in time saves nine.
While many northerners have been running away from their homes to other places considered safer, the criminals who terrorise the region multiply. The known allies of the terrorists, some of whom have been named and shamed outside Nigeria behave like untouchables. Many of them pretend to be religious leaders, but the insignia on their character clearly spells Satanism. The North must urgently embrace developmental religion and fight destructive practices. The latter has never given the region a good name. Across the world, nations with majority Muslims have low rates of corruption and poverty. The North should ask why the situation is different across the region. It is time to make amends. Actions speak louder than words.
