MORE than any other issue in Nigeria today, the greatest concern is the security condition of the country. The problem of insecurity in Nigeria, which used to be one of the lowest in the pecking order of social problems facing our nation, has undoubtedly assumed alarming and disturbing proportions. Literarily on a daily occurrence, there are accounts of several security threats arising from assassinations, kidnappings, armed robberies, armed militancy, banditry, and insurgency. Thus far, our country has suffered plagues of crisis, each leading to scores of lives lost and the destruction of properties. The recent spate of violence, killings and suicide bombings has deplorably assumed worrisome dimensions within the country. From insurgency in the North-Eastern part of the country, to ethnic crisis in the North-Central region, to militancy, vandalism and kidnappings in the South-South and South-Eastern parts of the country, to the armed robbery gangs and the emergent ritual killings in the South Western part of the country, alas, the current security situation has lamentably moved from the realm of security threat to an area of real and present danger.
Of more concern is the worsening security situation in the Northeastern part of the country, which is getting more and more worrisome by the day. We awake virtually every morning to gloomy and dispiriting news of senseless killings and destructions by insurgents in the region. More demoralizing was the recent insurgents attack via a suicide bomber at a secondary school in Yobe state, killing innocent children who were having morning assemblies before going to their classrooms, as is customary in Nigerian schools. Perusing various reports pertaining to the insurgency in the Northeastern region, between July 2009 and June 2014, the insurgents have killed more than 8,000 civilians, including at least 2,000 in the first half of this year. They have abducted more than 1000 women and children, including the infamous kidnapping of 276 teenage schoolgirls from Chibok in April this year. By August of this year, over 650,000 people had fled the area of conflict and reports suggest that there is an unprecedented increase of displaced citizens.
A recent report by the Internal Displaced Monitoring Centre and the Norwegian Refugee Council stated that the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria is approximately a third of the IDPs in Africa and 10% of IDPs in the world, making Nigeria (with 3.3 million IDPs) the largest population of persons displaced by conflict in Africa. Thus far, the insurgents have spifflicated hundreds of schools and government buildings and devastated an already ravaged economy in the North East. The violence has consequently overstretched federal security services and apparatus. And with no end in sight, the violence seems to be spreading at an alarming rate over to other parts of the Northern region. As at the last count, the insurgents had captured about 9-LGAs in Borno State, 5-LGAs in Adamawa State and 2-LGAs in Yobe state. For a sovereign nation like Nigeria, this is preposterous, deplorable and highly unacceptable.
The current insurgency in the Northeastern region is both a serious security challenge and manifestation of more profound threats to Nigeria’s security. Unless the federal, state and local governments, as well as the affected region, develop and implement comprehensive and holistic plans to tackle, not only insecurity, but also the injustices that drive much of the troubles, such groups or religious sects will continue to undermine and subvert large parts of the country. While insurgency in the region can be attributed to the high levels of poverty, unemployment, education, religious extremism, other social ills and, perhaps more sinister covert agendas, curbing the problem of insurgency in the region would involve proffering both short-term and long-term solutions. The short-term approach involves improved security collaboration and intelligence sharing, in order to arrest security breaches in addition to recruiting local vigilantes, hunters and those in the community who have a stake in the affected areas (as we are already witnessing).
Reflective of the points that the Presidential committee on the insurgency in the region made, security lapses, inter-service rivalry and lack of collaboration are factors that have encouraged the proliferation of security crises in the Northern part of the country. The government must build and enhance its inter-agency cooperation, harmoniously sharing information and intelligence, collaborating in forestalling and preempting any likely security threat that would have lead to scores of casualties.
Also, the government via diplomatic channels and pacts should seek international intelligence and collaboration to ensure that crime of whatever scale is nipped in the bud. On their part, the citizens should cooperate with the security agencies by supplying them with prompt, useful and relevant information on likely security breaches. According to reports and as a matter of fact, there have been heroic instances by locals and indigenes within the troubled “hot spots”, successfully defeating and thwarting the advances of the insurgents with crude and local weapons. The military should immediately collaborate with such individuals or groups, formally conscripting them, albeit temporarily, in an attempt at further thwarting the advances of the insurgents. Thus being an indigene or local of such hot spots, these groups of people know the terrain and topography of the community very well. And more than anyone, they have a direct interest in ensuring that the violence in their locality is quelled. Accessing their knowledge and collaborating with them is vital if we really want to win the war against the insurgents.
Similarly, there have also been “unofficial” reports that the military lacks motivation in fighting the insurgents, perhaps due to the widely alleged lack of ammunitions and weaponry. However, one way the military can motivate its soldiers is by instilling the notion of patriotism in them, increasing their pay and remuneration and handsomely compensating the families of any soldier who dies during battle. Such compensations should involve huge cash rewards, scholarship for one or more of a family member up to tertiary level and an ownership occupier housing scheme, whereby the next of kin of a deceased soldier who died in battle would automatically assume ownership of the house. This would go a long way in positively boosting the psyche and morale of a soldier, as he knows, in the event of his death during battle; his family would be taken care of.
In addition, the government should cease heavy-handed military and police methods that risk pushing yet more restless, jobless and frustrated youths into violence and extremism. The long-term solutions involve a complete overhaul of the traditional method of Quranic education. Public enlightenment campaigns discouraging the custom obtainable in the North of sending very young children to neighboring and far away towns with the aim of acquiring Quranic education has got to be stopped in light of this current crisis we find ourselves in. The Almajiri children are primarily catered and cared for by their Imams and religious tutors and minders. In most cases, their sheer numbers overwhelms their tutors and they are left to fend for themselves and beg on the streets. Some of these children hardly return home; they are vulnerable and provide a potential breeding ground for ill intentioned extremists. As a matter of fact, majority of the insurgents allegedly had their origins as Almajirs, and due to their lack of formal education, poverty and unemployment, become willing tools in the hands of a twisted, murderous and fundamentalist group.
The formal registration of all Quranic schools within the northern parts of the country should be done immediately. It may be necessary for a Regulatory Authority for a religious school or learning facility (both Christian and Muslim) directly linked to one of the arms of government to be established. Mandatory, rather than voluntary registration, curriculum reform, and financial control mechanisms for religious schools and learning facilities should be imposed. The tutors in these learning facilities should also be accordingly registered and known by the authorities, enabling government to keep track of activities and numbers of Muslim and Christian schools throughout the country. A government board can be set up and empowered to review and regulate a prescribed curriculum to be taught in the schools in order to support this scheme. All existing regulations for the registration of NGO’s should be reviewed in order to monitor infrastructure and tighten financial controls.
Officials have got to be trained and security monitoring systems have got to be updated so that authorities can link the necessary information together; including the individuals involved with the mandatorily registered religious schools, declaration of financial assets of the institutions, implementation of standardized curriculum and all financial gifts donated to registered religious centers. This would be vital in spotting a red flag and potential threat when necessary before it becomes a danger to Nigerians.
The reform of the religious educational system should also be encouraged throughout the country, by introducing a dual curriculum, presently introduced in Kano state. While acquiring religious education, these children should also be exposed to formal education, enabling them be more learned, enlightened and prime-placed to carve out a optimistic future for themselves.
Another solution that could be explored is communal monitoring systems, whereby members of a particular community should notify the head of the community or appropriate authorities, if a stranger comes into their midst, staying for long periods of time. Questions should be asked about the occupation, nature and scope of the stranger’s visit and possibly be documented. This would allow members of a community to keep track and alert the appropriate authorities on any undesirable element, plotting to wreck havoc on their community.
Also, security agencies should embark on the total elimination of private militias and organized groups that were and are established, funded and used particularly by politicians and individuals, to further their personal aspirations, later dumping such groups after having been trained to handle arms. This militia groups constitute a huge source of concern within our society, and for a fact, a sizeable amount of the current insurgents had their origins serving as private militia groups and thugs for some politicians.
