The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Terrorism

  • Tinubu to Nigerians: unite against terrorism

    Tinubu to Nigerians: unite against terrorism

    President Bola Tinubu on Friday, November 17, urged Nigerians to stand united in the fight against terrorism and work for global peace and security.

    The President made the appeal in Abuja at a book launch on “Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism in Northeast Nigeria: Emerging Perspectives and the Imperative of Airpower.”

    The book was a research study sponsored by the Nigerian Airforce in collaboration with Babcock University.

    “Together, let us stand united against terrorism and work towards a future where peace, security, and prosperity prevail in the Northeast region of Nigeria, in Nigeria, and the global community,” Tinubu said in his speech read by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio who represented the President to formally unveil the book.

    Tinubu said the book “represents a significant contribution to the understanding of one of the most pressing challenges of our time, the fight against terrorism.”

    The President said the northeast region of Nigeria had been grappling with the scourge of terrorism for far too long, adding that the brutal attacks committed by extremist groups had inflicted immense suffering upon very innocent people of that region and Nigeria as a whole.

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    “But amidst this darkness, there is hope. Hope that with true knowledge, understanding and the collective efforts of all stakeholders, we can overcome these challenges and restore peace and stability to the region and by implication to Nigeria,” the President said.

    He said the book which was authored by experts who had dedicated their lives to studying and analyzing the complexity of terrorism and counter-terrorism offered unique insights and perspectives.

    The president said: “It delves into the root cause of terrorism in the Northeast region, examines the evolving tactics and strategies employ by extremist groups, and explores the roles of airpower in combating this menace.

    “Airpower has emerged as a critical component in modern warfare and its significance in counter-terrorism operations cannot be over-estimated.

    “The use of air assets such as drones, surveillance aircraft and precision weapons have proven instrumental in gathering intelligence, disrupting terrorist networks and providing support to ground forces.

    “The launch of this book is not just an academic exercise. It is a call to action. It serves as a reminder that we have a shared responsibility to fight against terrorism and protect the lives and liberty of our fellow citizens.

    “By fostering partnership and fostering a deeper understanding of the complexity of terrorism, we can enhance our collective efforts to address this threat comprehensively.

    “I will like to extend my appreciation to the authors for their tireless efforts in producing this remarkable book.

    “Their dedication to shedding light on the challenges faced in the Northeast and their commitment to finding solutions is very highly commendable.”

    Tinubu also commended the invaluable support by the organisers and sponsors of the events particularly the Nigerian Airforce and Babcock University.

    “Your belief in the power of knowledge and your commitment to fostering a safer and more secure world are truly inspiring.”

    The Senate President, on behalf of the Senate, launched the book with N10 million.

  • Terrorism: Air Force reviews policies to reduce casualties during operations

    Terrorism: Air Force reviews policies to reduce casualties during operations

    The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says it is committed to developing, implementing, and reviewing policies that ensure the safety of its personnel during operations.

    It said the safety management of its personnel is a major priority in its tasks and role during military operations.

    The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshall Hassan Abubakar said this while declaring open the 2023 NAF Safety Review Board (SRB) meeting on Thursday, November 16.

    Abubakar said his resolve to transform the NAF into “an agile and resilient force that effectively meets the airpower demands of national security in all operational environments” could best be achieved with safety as the bedrock.

    He said the NAF would continually improve its safety standards through deliberate programmes that are aimed at enhancing flight safety as well as occupational and domestic safety.

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    The NAF’s chief said: “I want to use this opportunity to appreciate the commitment of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration towards equipping the NAF with modern platforms in furtherance of efforts against terrorism, insurgency and other forms of criminality in various parts of the country.”

    Air Marshall Abubakar said some of the platforms acquired by the Federal Government have arrived in the country and would soon boost the NAF’s combat capabilities as well as help in increasing its operational tempo, adding that this also entails the need for safety vigilance.

    He said: “We are aware that an increase in operational tempo will lead to an increase in hazards associated with our operations in line with ICAO’s postulation that hazards are the by-products of production or operational activities.”

    The NAF’s chief ordered proactive management of safety in all units and commands. He also directed operational units where newly acquired NAF aircraft would be domiciled to commence the process of aggressively identifying hazards associated with the arrival and operations of the new platforms and finding ways to manage the risks involved.

    The CAS, who is also the Chairman of the NAF Safety Review Board, also emphasized the need for field Commanders to ensure that the safety training translates to the “development of positive safety culture, improvement in safety practices as well as the creation of awareness that safety is the responsibility of all personnel.”

    He said: “I expect us to redouble our commitment in this regard to ensure that as an organisation and as individuals, every NAF Unit and personnel have the responsibility to ensure that safety practices and standards are maintained in all activities.”

    Earlier in his remarks, NAF’s Chief of Standards and Evaluation, Air Vice Marshal Micheal Onyebashi said the SRB was designed to discuss and review issues related to safety policies and regulations as well as allocate resources for enhanced safety standards in the NAF.

  • Terrorism: Defence minister visits Turkey to facilitate quick delivery of T-129 ATAK helicopters

    Terrorism: Defence minister visits Turkey to facilitate quick delivery of T-129 ATAK helicopters

    The Minister of Defence, Muhammad Badaru, has visited Turkey to facilitate speedy delivery of the T-129 ATAK helicopters acquired by the Federal Government.

    Badaru’s visit was also to strengthen the partnership with the Turkish Government in intelligence and information sharing for the mutual benefit of both countries.

    A statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations, Henshaw Ogubike, on Sunday, October 29, said the Minister was accompanied in the visit by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar.

    The statement said Badaru also discussed and explored how best Nigeria can partner with Turkey on the production of Military hardware and equipment.

    He said: “The minister visited the Turkish Aerospace Industries in the capital city, Ankara, where he inspected various sections of the firm in charge of the manufacturing of modern military aircraft and other defence equipment.

    “In the course of taking him around the facility, the CEO of the company, Engineer Temel Kotel informed the Minister that the industry was established in 1973 with the primary goal of manufacturing military aircraft, satellites, and unmanned aerial vehicles.

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    “The minister commended the company for its over five decades of successful ventures in the manufacturing of military facilities.”

    The Turkish Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. Yasar Guler (rtd), promised that the Turkish government would support the Nigerian government in its efforts to defeat terrorism and other criminal challenges facing the country.

    The Nation recalls that the Federal Government procured six T-129 ATAK helicopters from the Turkish Aerospace Industry, out of which two had been delivered.

    Nigeria is expecting the remaining helicopters before the end of the Second Quarter of 2024.

  • Wanted: ‘War on terrorism dismantling new infrastructure’   

    Wanted: ‘War on terrorism dismantling new infrastructure’   

    There are many groups of thieves, bandits and terrorists with different agendas. We see trillions disappear into VIP pockets attested to by numerous mostly unsuccessful ICPC and EFCC prosecutions. We must also focus is thieves who terrorise travellers by dismantling any progressive infrastructure development provided as part of the cloak aka mantle of democratic development in the struggling country failing SDGs or other targets.

    Years ago, we were shocked when the aluminium railing on the Third Mainland Bridge began to be dismantled and disappeared only to appear in the market as spoons and plates. No arrests or conclusive police investigation, no night patrols until the entire bridge was stripped. The lesson was that new bridges have concrete railings.

    Before cell phones, we all suffered telephone cables dismantled and stolen by criminal gangs masquerading as pseudo-telephone NITEL staff, killing the conversation. One had to pay dearly to replace the stolen cable, probably with one’s own stolen cable, standard practice at the time, sold by the thief network back to the contractor through the back door.  We have all witnessed similar gangs dismantling Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure through similar terrorist attacks targeting power cable and armoured cable theft, pylon destruction [paralysing the country – terrorism] and even transformers countrywide. Many have knowledge of the dismantling and theft of metal manholes in busy roads, killing citizens, or dismantling metal culvert grills and even concrete culvert covers to steal the iron rod inserts.  

    Sadly, add to this already disgusting list the inexplicably wicked dismantling and theft of highly specialised airport landing and take-off lights. Suppose a plane had crashed? Terrorism! Just when we thought things could get no worse, some terrorist transport thieves dismantled and stole the junction metal buffers on the newly opened Second Niger Bridge which though costing N336billion, 40 years in the dream and five years in construction, remains inaccessible due to failure to adequately police red flagged security issues and construction peripherals like road access failures.

    As if all these terrorist dismantling activities against the Nigerian state’s disorganised efforts at developing the long overdue mantle of development infrastructure, are not debilitatingly destructive enough, we face a major terrorist assault dismantling our still 60 years late renewed railway network. Imagine an army of terrorist leaders leading nocturnal assaults to dismantle and vandalise rail lines across Nigeria, especially the Lagos-Ibadan, Abuja-Kaduna, Nasarawa (where two truckloads of sleepers were arrested) and the Southeast. And once stolen, they move the rails, sleepers and collateral railway equipment, thus endangering, callously Nigerian children, youth and adults merely taking a train.

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    The question must be asked as to where the iron and aluminium smelters are who buy and recycle these stolen items? Once stolen, where are the items taken for smelting which requires skill, not to talk of remodelling and reselling? Who is displaying and selling the end products – stolen goods? As yet, no smelter has been identified. Shame. As with the trade in body parts for fertility, political and other power and pregnancy, until we get the traditionalist, cultist and religious [mis]-leaders who demand such human sacrifices for body parts, such murders will continue unabated and even increase as poverty and need for instant cash miracles rise disproportionately.

    When will Nigeria gear up to the responsible 2023 police task of capturing the well-connected kingpins, smelters, financiers, major terrorists probably mingling with us? Will we continue to arrest easily replaceable petty thieves like lorry owners, drivers and porters of terrorist booty? Where is our Police Investigation?

    The police must first demonstrate commitment with 2023 cathartic leadership accountability by STOPPING CHECKPOINT CORRUPTION 2023.-through a morality drive and better pay and conditions of service please.  

    The National Orientation Agency must be reinvented, expanded and multi-focused because Nigeria has descended into the abyss of new nauseating dimensions of economic immorality crime – an abyss filled with 419, One-chance, baby factory, organ-and-human trafficking, cyber-criminality, cyber-identity theft, video-and-naked-selfie blackmail as well as mega-theft by mega-greedy public servants-especially ministers, governors and high government officers et cetera.

    Nigeria needs total NOA led, but CBN-CSR supported ‘NATIONAL REORIENATION CAMPAIGN AGAINST NIGERIAN INFRASTRUCTURE TERRORISM’ for citizenry, social media, each educational strata, community, society, NYSC, the workforce, trade unions and prisons. This 2023-2027 NOA campaign for development protection should focus on the need to protect, preserve and promote efforts at creating the mantle of development. It should highlight the danger, to youth and children of terrorist vandals and future generations, of maliciously dismantling the current development efforts.

    No country can provide development to its citizens if some citizens, terrorists overnight dismantle all the daily wheels of developmental progress. It takes a special deadly or murderous breed of terrorism to systematically specialise in paralysing Nigeria by dismantling its highly expensive [inflated contracts], long overdue, infrastructure for a petty monetary mess-of-pottage in gains. For Nigeria to have its bridges, railways, roads, electricity pylons and cables, communication towers and runways targeted, stripped and paralysed by terrorists is to have WAR DECLARED AGAINST IT. Nigeria needs to reciprocate and DECLARE WAR AGAINST DISMANTLING INFRASTRUCTURE AND CLASSIFY NON-WEAPON TERRORIST ATTACKS ON NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE AS TERRORISM WITH APPROPRIATE WARTIME PUNISHMENTS-long prison terms etc.

    Why do terrorists dismantle and steal iron grills and manholes? A lack of iron? Perhaps a working Ajaokuta Steel Mill would have prevented the need for iron at murderous cost. Perhaps soon thieves will be dismantling and stealing petrol tanks from cars just to get the expensive petrol???

  • Nigerian president tasks UN on providing practical support in fight against terrorism

    Nigerian president tasks UN on providing practical support in fight against terrorism

    • Says terror militates growth, prosperity

    • Hosts UN Secretary on Counter-terrorism

    President Bola Tinubu has tasked the United Nations (UN) to provide support for Nigeria in its fight against terrorism, noting that growth and prosperity cannot be achieved if the menace still thrives.

    In an audience with the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office on Counter-Terrorism, Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, at the State House on Thursday, the President noted that terrorism had consistently reversed the gains on development and increased instability in families and communities, but that the UN cooperation in dealing with it had always been inconsistent and whimsical in the developing world context.

    According to a statement issued Friday morning by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, President Tinubu said the UN’s practical support is now most required in view of the menace’s rippling effect on global peace, displacements of people, and rising poverty.

    “We appreciate all that you have been doing. We know that in the face of many demands and challenges, you can still do much better. We can score you ‘A’ in collaboration but ‘B’ in physical support. You have to do more because terrorism is an effective danger to democracy; terrorism is also an effective danger to development.

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    “Growth and prosperity cannot be achieved until we banish terrorism. We have to equally look at other sides of the issue, and I have said it is the where, how, and when of terrorism,” the President said.

    President Tinubu noted that in going forward, global peace and prosperity would demand the swift and comprehensive provision of the right answers to the challenge posed by insurgencies in parts of the world, which threaten universal stability.

    “We must take into account the basic needs of our people. If out of the meager resources presently available, we have to dip our hands without the steady support from organisations like the UN, then we are in trouble,” the President asserted.

    In his remarks, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar said he had highlighted some of the conditions that promote insurgency like poverty and injustice with the UN team while noting the Nigerian Government’s response.

    “Nigeria continues to make significant investments in education and social security,” he said.

    While commending Nigeria’s contributions toward global counter-terrorism efforts, the Under-Secretary-General noted that Nigeria already had a framework for prevention, mitigation, and reconciliation, commending the efforts taken so far in tackling terrorism.

    “Of course, terrorism is part of the international agenda, and we had a successful meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, discussing how to enrich our agenda on international terrorism response. I can only mention that politically, and from the point of view of capacity building on activities for counter-terrorism, Nigeria is one of the leading partners,” he added.

    Mr. Voronkov told the President that the UN was planning a Counter-Terrorism Summit in Abuja slated for April 2024, and it would be largely driven by African nations with an African agenda.

  • Nigeria seeks more foreign support to fight terrorism

    Nigeria seeks more foreign support to fight terrorism

    The minister of defence, Mohammed Badaru, has sought more support from the British and the United States in order to end terrorism in the country.

    Badaru said that Western countries need to give more support to Nigeria, as it has given to other nations, to enable it to confront its present security challenges.

    The minister said this on Thursday in Abuja when he received the United Kingdom (UK) minister for Armed Forces and Veterans, James Heappey, in his office.

    Read Also: Military action alone can’t end terrorism in Northwest, says Uba Sani

    He said the UK government has supported Nigeria in ensuring the safety of its waterways, adding that both countries must work together to also bring an end to terrorism in the country.

    Badaru said Nigeria and the United Kingdom have had a good bilateral relationship for decades, stressing that both countries must work closely in areas of capacity building, training of military personnel, technology transfer as well and provision of modern equipment to fight terrorism.

    In his remarks, the UK Minister for Armed Forces and Veterans, said the purpose of their visit was to adjust and expand their support to the Armed Forces of Nigeria based on the needs and perception of the changing threats.

  • Military action alone can’t end terrorism in Northwest, says Uba Sani

    Military action alone can’t end terrorism in Northwest, says Uba Sani

    Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has said military action alone cannot end banditry and terrorism in frontline states in the Northwest and Niger State in the Northcentral.

    The governor said this yesterday at a high-level town hall meeting on: Promoting Peace and Security in Northwest Nigeria, in Kaduna.

    He noted that what would enable the government and the residents to overcome the security challenges is the understanding of the crisis and close collaboration among the frontline states, various stakeholders and security agencies.

    The Kukah Centre, in partnership with Global Rights, with the support of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) organised the one-day event as a part of a project in Kaduna and Sokoto states towrads Building Community Resilience Against Insecurity and Violent Extremism and To Achieve Better Inclusion for Women in Peace-Building Efforts.

    Governor Sani, who was represented by the Mayor of Kaduna Capital Territory Authority and immediate past Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, said banditry and terrorism posed a threat to food security, education, healthcare delivery and development of rural economy.

    He said: “What I want to say here on behalf of the Kaduna State government is that the military action alone cannot solve the problems we are facing in the Northwest or frontline states. We need to come together; we need to understand that banditry has no political affiliation. Banditry is a threat to all of us.

    “It is also not proper to look at banditry with a prism of religion because everyone is a victim. So, when we come together and collaborate with security agencies, we will have an edge against these non-state actors.”

    Reacting to a comment by Father Barkindo, who expressed fear over an alliance between bandits and terrorists from neighboring countries, the governor said Nigeria was feeling the impacts of such alliance.

    He recalled that the attack on Kaduna-Abuja corridor on March 28, 2022 was a collaboration between the two groups.

    The Executive Director of the Kukah Centre, Father Atta Barkindo, said President Bola Tinubu should do three things to address security threats in the country, especially in the Northwest.

    Barkindo said the first thing is for the government to liberalise the economy by allowing the private sector to thrive.

    The cleric said this would in turn create employment for millions of unemployed citizens. 

    The second thing to do, he said, is that “we need security reform in this country”.

    Barkindo added: “The welfare of our security men must be packaged in such a way that they are motivated in defending the territorial integrity of the country. “

    “We must also cub the culture of impunity. There is no accountability in this country. People steal and go free. They kill and go free with no one holding them to account. If we don’t deal with that culture, all of us can be consumed by it.”

    “Again, the issue of education is key. This is because a lot of our people are living in ignorance, illiteracy, and poverty. I’m not talking about education with just certificates. I’m talking about robust education that pays good attention to technical skills where people can use their hands to survive, without depending on the government for survival.”

    In her keynote presentation, titled: Empowering Women in Peace Building: Highlighting the Role of Women in promoting peace and Security, and the Need for Gender-sensitive Approaches in Conflict,” a permanent commissioner with the Kaduna State Peace Commission, Rebecca Sako-John, noted that achieving lasting solutions to security in the country would be difficult without involving women in the decision-making process.

    She said women are more vulnerable in conflict situations as they are usually targeted as war tactic victims, victims of rape, kidnapping/abduction, terrorism, and violent extremism.

    The peace commissioner said there was a need to involve women in discussing and making decisions on issues that affect them directly or indirectly.

  • An end to kidnapping and terrorism is imperative

    Nigeria should be a gateway to Africa with the potential of having millions of tourists flying into our country each year. The tourism business is one of the key drivers for any thriving economy, unfortunately, it is sad that this is not happening because the country is not safe. We have the worst internal security, and border controls system in the world. These have been deterrent to the people who may likely come to visit or do honest business with us.

    Indeed, Nigeria is full of terrorist and kidnappers. The main problem is the Fulanis rampaging as kidnappers and herdsmen destroying farm crops. Some of those rescued from their captivity said that many of them are non-Nigerians. They are invaders, not citizens.

    Due to corruption, both the country and the borders are poorly controlled. The extremely worrying situation is that most of these criminal activities are orchestrated by some of our leaders who like to use them for cheap political gain or to bring down the government under the pretence of security lapse.

    Less attention has been paid to these dangerous activities because it’s not happening to some of us yet. Today is about the hard-working filling station owners and landowners in the Southwest; tomorrow might be something else. That is why we should be very serious about these problems.

    We need a new system that will make better use of data and technology to improve both security and fluidity at the border. We need to open our borders for foreign investors that can spend good money and help us grow our economy without compromising security. The way we recruit our law enforcement, most especially the Custom and Immigration, is below standard; it must be reformed. We need competent border force to carry out first class security checks in all our borders. We must be able to deliver a border and immigration system that can support our economy while also being user-and business friendly.

    Our leaders should rethink and make sure they do what is right. When leaders create monsters to win the election, bring the country down in order to take easy control of position, money, and power, it will be difficult to get rid of the same monsters either they get to the office or not. These people are nothing but criminals and given the criminals the licence to kill will be difficult to take them back such licences. We need to change this.

    Any unaddressed problem always develops in greater ones that may never be easily solved.

    We may not fully have the ideas of what the victims have encountered, but we can be sure it is not palatable and it may spread to many areas unimaginable if nothing is done to correct it on time. We need security experts to smoke these people out of the hole they are hiding and punish them heavily to be a deterrent to others.

    We need strong security and counter-terrorism measures. We need an effective treason law. It is a serious measure that could help us deal with those indigenes and foreigners who are involved in criminal activities here. We need to have an Espionage Bill which could include a requirement for the citizens of neighbouring countries to fully register with immigration. This would enable our government to monitor or ban individuals that have no business to stay here.

    These people have been radicalised to the extent that normal ways of doing things are becoming impossible. We have normalised violence and intimidation because our political system is a complete failure. But if we still value the safety of lives and properties, we can do something about it now.

    We need to do more to free Nigeria from the hands of these terrorists and kidnappers. We also need legislation that can equip police and intelligence services to deal with them. Criminals cannot take away our freedom and liberty; we need to fight back before it is too late.

     

    • Joseph Adams writes from the United Kingdom josephaaadams@gmail.com

     

  • Terrorism a global problem

    To forgive the terrorists is up to God but to send them to him is up to me – Vladimir Putin

    Not many people know that even Russia ruled with Vladimir Putin’s iron fist is plagued and afflicted by terrorism. Terrorists largely coming from the Caucasus southern Islamic region of the Russian federation have made life difficult occasionally for the new Russian Czar. But in his characteristic tough approach, Putin has sent many of them beyond this world by unleashing the power of the state to put down any act of terrorism or insurrection in any part of Russia.  The scourge of terrorism is global. It is a cancer that has metastasized and to treat the disease the cancerous part has to be surgically removed or else it will kill the patient. President Donald J. Trump issued the same sentiment as President Putin when he said many of the terrorists bothering the world belong in jail and most belong in hell and that they would be removed from this earth by him. He followed this up by introducing new mega bombs in his country’s campaign in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria which eventually ended the caliphate of Abubakar el Baghdadi and put the so-called “Caliph” on the run. I was not comfortable with the bombing of the innocents in Syria and Iraq but the terrorists made no distinction between Muslims and Christians in their murderous campaign to impose their Wahhabism on all Muslims. If their campaign had been successful, all Shiites and other non-Muslims would have been put to the sword. There was nothing Islamic in the terrorism previously sweeping the Middle East and some parts of the Islamic world. Our own Boko Haram terrorists are certainly not Muslims. Wiring up children and women to blow themselves up are acts of cowardice and cannot be said to be the way of genuine Muslims. We must of course admit that the greater part of the ummah that is the Muslim community globally does not subscribe to terrorism. But some of the acts of state sponsored murder whether by Communist, fundamentalist or right wing regimes must be condemned. It behoves on all Islamic leaders all over the world to condemn any act of violence and intolerance taken against innocent people, particularly children, old people and women as un-Islamic and inhuman. The same condemnation must be declared against any long arm of a state involving itself in extra judicial murder, terror and genocide.

    Refusal to condemn any form of terrorism makes those in authority accessory to the charge of state-sponsored murder and genocide. In the whirligig of time, such people when they are no longer protected by the office they hold may find themselves tried and sentenced to die or to long imprisonment. People should learn from the case of the leaders of Serbs such as Slobodan Milosevic (who died in detention), Kadovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic who have been hauled before the International Criminal Court in The Hague and sentenced to long term imprisonment. Many of those Serbs also hid under the camouflage of protecting Christian Europe against Islam. This harked back to the control of most of the Balkans in medieval times by the Sublime Porte in the Ottoman Caliphate. In other words, there were instances of Christian terrorism in modern times but this is few and far between and certainly not like the crusade against Islam started by Pope Urban ll in 1095 for the liberation of Jerusalem during which time Christian knights fought with terroristic fervor against the Muslims between 1095 and 1296. The world will not easily forget the atrocious Nazi genocide against six million Jews, an atrocity rooted in Christian antipathy and hatred for Jews on religious grounds.  The leadership of the Nazi regime who did not take their own lives by committing suicide were tried and hanged by the victorious Allies in 1945. Earlier persecution against the people of God had taken place all over Europe climaxing in pogroms against the Jews in 19th century Russia. Terrorism rooted in communist ideology in modern times have wiped out millions of people in Stalin‘s Soviet Union and Mao Zedong’s People’s Republic of China and Pol Pot’s Laos. The surviving leaders of the Pol Pot regime responsible for murdering more than three million of their people between 1976 and 1979 have seen nemesis catching up with them in recent times even in their old age.

    The murderous campaign being waged by Boko Haram against their fatherland must not go without retribution eventually. This must be made clear to all those who have raised arms against their fatherland. There must be no amnesty without justice. This is the message our government must pass on to ALL insurgents in the land, be they criminal terrorists, so-called Islamic fundamentalists and their sponsors, cattle rustlers and cattle herders, kidnappers and all kinds of brigands and molesters. Children who say their mothers would not sleep would also not be allowed to doze off.  I will like President Muhammadu Buhari to follow the footsteps of Putin and Trump by issuing a statement unequivocally condemning all acts of terrorism and promising swift punishment for those captured. It is when punishment is sure and swift that it has deterrent effect and value. No society can progress in chaos and without order and expect development and employment. A Hobbesian society like we seem to have now in Nigeria will not allow us to develop. This is why we must take drastic measures to stamp out this incendiary Jacobinism spreading into all parts of Nigeria.

    Things are so bad now that everybody is calling on non-state actors to step in and provide security where the state seems to have failed. From the North to the South the trend has been the same. Some of the ethnic organizations are even calling for arms to be given to them to fight the terrorists and kidnappers hiding in the forests all over Nigeria. Our people are supporting them without thinking through what may be the consequence of rabble groups armed with precision weapons and not subjected to military discipline, training and control. In Borno, Civilian Joint Task Force is fighting alongside the Nigerian Army against the Boko Haram insurgents. Such civilian forces are now in one form or the other fighting in several parts of the north. Such armed militant groups have been in the Delta and the Southeast for some time. The Southwest is gearing to join the rest of the country by asking the OPC to join the fray. We need to put our thinking caps on right away because the consequence of abdicating our security to rabble forces may not augur well for our future.

    We should immediately begin recruiting members of these irregular constabulary into the various organized armed forces of the Navy, Air Force and the army as well as an expanded police, Civil Defence Force, Immigration, Customs and a reinvigorated road safety organisation redefined as road traffic force or mobile highway patrol provided with powerful patrol cars and motor bikes. All this will have a costly tag. This will have to be funded by special tax levied on all of us and those doing business in Nigeria. It is becoming increasingly difficult to farm and produce enough food in Nigeria. It is even more difficult to trade farm products to the urban conurbations. The result is incipient famine and starvation. The insecurity has also destroyed our social lives in the sense that those living in the urban areas can no longer visit home in rural Nigeria and fellowship with their brethren in the interior or visit the graves of their parents and ancestors. People are now being advised to either leave the country or acquire AK–47 guns after sending their children and wives out of the country. Desperation has driven our people to the point of abandoning their common sense. I say this because there is growing hostility against Nigerians virtually everywhere in the world. The western capitalist countries where we used to find succor in the past no longer want us in the face of rising populist politics and xenophobia. The East Europeans who were not exposed to colonial contact with Africans are militantly hostile to Africans coming to live among them. Russia dislike Africans and their history of antisemitism and Islamophobia has not prepared them for welcoming Africans. Africans are treated as slaves in most of the Middle East where there is lingering racism dating back to Arab slave raids in Africa. In Asia dark people among them are treated with disdain and intolerance. In India in particular, the lower caste among them are usually the dark ones. China, Japan and the rest of Asia would rather that Africans stay in their own countries.  Fellow Africans are even hesitant about welcoming Nigerians to their countries. In other words, emigration and running to other people’s countries is not the solution to our problems of insecurity and under development. We had better stay in Nigeria and solve the problem together. Unfortunately the problem of underdevelopment is intricately linked with insecurity. If we must kill the dragon of underdevelopment, we must first slaughter the bear of insecurity.

  • Terrorism, identity and democracy

    I start  and stand  today  with  the view  that  with regard  to Democracy  one man’s  food  is another  man’s  poison.  I  also lace that with  the dictum  that a  hero  in  an environment  can  be a villain to others,  in the same environment. Given  the title  of today’s  piece  it is not difficult  to guess the events  that engaged  my thoughts  and agitated  my mind  on the world  scene in the last  week.  These  are happenings  in the world at large  that have tasked  peaceful communal  living under  democracy  as we practice  it in various  parts of the world including Nigeria.

    These events have raised serious doubts about how democracy  is getting on with the rule of law and  are challenging the virtues of tolerance, and respect for dissent which have hitherto been the main selling point of democracy as the best ideology in the world as we know it today.  It  is  not  an issue  or development  that can  be explained  away  by apologetic concepts  like the Clash  of  Civilisations  or  the End  of  History,  because  these are  issues  that  have arisen  unexpectedly  in various  parts  of  the world  seemingly  unexpectedly  but in reality  were    bound  to  happen  sooner  than  later,  given the unusual  scenarios  that  preceded  them.

    For  today’s  analysis  I will  like to give  my own  definitions  of the concepts  I  have  chosen  for discussion,  namely  Terrorism , Identity  and Democracy,  mainly  for  today’s  discussion.  Which means I cannot  be held accountable  for  any  different  meaning thereafter.  Just  like the Nigerian Chief  Justice  Fatai  Williams ruled  that his  judgement  in the infamous  two  thirds  of  13 case  cannot  be taken  as a precedent  in  one of  Nigeria’s  many post  election  cases  that  make  you  wonder if  post  election verdicts  were  about  events that happened elsewhere and  not  in Nigeria  right before  our  eyes. This is  important  to  note especially  as we  enter  the season  of  post election litigations in  Nigeria.  This  undoubtedly    is  a very  lucrative  festive season  for  the  Nigerian  legal  system  and  the  judiciary.

    Not  to  mention the  ebullient array    of  Men  In  Silk called Queen’s  Counsels  elsewhere,  but  more  famously  prodigiously known as  SANs –  Senior  Advocates  of  Nigeria  –  in  our  great nation. This  then  is the background  of  my  conceptual definitions  today.

    I  define  terrorism not  only as killing of innocent  people  for whatever  causes  or motive  but  all  violations of set  rules  and values  of  democracy by  force  within  the state or  polity. I define Identity  as the nationality or  tribe  which  sets  one set of  people apart from another within the nation  state.  I  also define  democracy  as  government  of the people,  by the people and  for  the people  flowing from  free  and  fair  elections.

    Given  these  definitions  then  let  me highlight  the incidents to illustrate  them.  The first  is the prevalent  charge of militarization  of the last 2019  elections in  Nigeria  and the introduction  of the dubious  terminology  of’  inconclusive elections ‘ in many states  of  the Federation.  The  second  was the slaughter  of innocent  people in Europe  namely  New  Zealand and Netherlands  and the use  of such  tragic  events  for propaganda  and  electoral  campaign  by  Turkey’s  President Tayyip Erdogan. The  third  is the state of  leadership of  Nigeria’s  temple of  justice, the Judiciary as  we  enter  the era  of  post  election  litigation, after  surviving  or sailing    through  the much feared  era  of  post election  violence ,  literally  effortlessly.

    Let  me state  clearly  that    I  put  militarization  of politics, especially  elections  on the same pedestal  as terrorism by  Boko Haram  or  ISIS.  I  hold  the same view  on inconclusive elections when  it is  apparent  one side or  the other  is on the verge of  winning.  This  is because all involve the dehumanization  of  human  beings. One  – that    is terrorism – does  this  bloodily  and with blood  letting . The other  does it by killing the  voters    right  of  choice  of  those to give power to rule them. Both  castrate  human  values    and  make  nonsense of  the rule  of  law  and a mockery  of  democracy.  In  the last election  it  was apparent  that the state  was being  used  against the state in the deployment  of soldiers  to  guarantee  the security of  the elections  so  that people  can  go  out  to  vote. They went  out in the presidential  elections and stayed indoors in the state assembly  and  governorship  elections. That  is  not how democracies  work  and Nigeria  is  Africa’s  biggest  democracy.

    In  Rivers  state the Army  issued  a statement  to  accuse INEC  of bias.  It  must  have  been  hard  pressed to  do  that  and  the statement  was  bitter  and  had  a tinge  of betrayal  by INEC. That  incident  should  be probed  further  to know who  betrayed democracy and if  the referee, which  is  INEC  took  sides  in the election.  Such  actions  are  subversive  of  democracy and  are treasonable  as elections,  free  and fair,  are  the source of legitimacy, which is the end product  of  democracy  and which becomes  questionable when  elections are not free  and  fair  or are  abandoned to favor one group  of  contestants  or  another.

    Voters  in any  democracy should  not  be intimidated  or deterred from  coming to  polling  booths.  Such  actions are  as bad  as plain  rigging  and stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  with terrorism in devaluing  and  dehumanizing  voters and  humanity in the march towards  inequality  and  justice  which  are  the essence of any democracy.

    The  killing  of  worshippers in two  mosques  in  New  Zealand and three people  in a tram  in Utrecht in the  Netherlands  are  both tragic  and  condemnable  and the  leaders in both nations have shown that such  acts  are  not  part  of their  culture  or  way  of  life.  But  the truth  is that  the issue  of  identity  and  nationalism are  behind  both  events.  The  killers  are  really  mad  but they  are basically  mad  at  the influx  of  migrants  into their environment.  Such  killings are totally  uncalled  for  as  voters have a right  and duty  to vote  out pro or  anti migration  political parties  at  elections when  they  become due  and  that explains why new  parties  are  coming  to  parliaments  based  on these  anti immigration  concern  of  those  who think  that the EU  is for Europeans and  no one  else.  Yet  it is equally  objectionable the way  the Turkish  president  is  politicizing  the  issue  and making it look like  a religious  warfare. That  is blatant escalation of  religious  hatred  and is  dangerous  for  world peace  and  Turkey’s  Erdogan  should  be called  to order in the comity  of  nations.

    Thirdly  one  cannot  but  wonder  how  the judiciary  would handle our post  election  petitions  and litigations  when  it  is virtually  headless.  The  Acting  CJ  reportedly  defended his appointment  by saying  he was right  to make himself  available  for swearing  in because  he  is acting  and the Substantive CJ is just on  suspension.  But  the suspended CJ is  also  on trial  for  false declaration  of  assets. Yet  justice  on political  petitions  need a transparently  free  and fair  environment  to  thrive  and justice  must  not only be done  but  be seen  to  have been  done.

    For  now  given  the configuration of  leadership  of  our judiciary in this    election    petition  era,  one  can  only  repeat that  ancient  saying  that ‘the hood  does  not  make the monk. ‘ Which    really    is  a great  pity.  Once  again, Long live the Federal Republic  of  Nigeria.