Who profits from anarchy?

By Musa Ilallah

SIR: It is true that the country has witnessed an upsurge in criminal activities in the last six months or so. It may also appear that security agencies are overwhelmed in a way by such incidents because of their wide spread in the country.

From the north to the south, from the east to the west, the story has invariably been very gloomy with insurgents, bandits, cultists, kidnappers, cattle rustlers, murderers, armed robbers, unknown gunmen, cybercriminals/internet fraudsters and all sorts of criminals unsettling the country with hundreds of lives lost and properties worth billions of naira destroyed.

Despite all the efforts of the Buhari administration to deal with the situation and nip it in the bud, we are in all honesty far from achieving our goal of restoration of peace in the country.

The bottlenecks however are far from hiding their ugly heads out of sight. From the cries of insufficient budgetary allocations for security agencies to reports of allegations of sabotage and compromise by those charged with the responsibility of executing the war, either in the battlefront or off the field, there is no shortage of explanation. We have even heard of allegations about communities being on the payroll of criminals while serving as informants.

Recent negative comments on the security situation in the country by some prominent Nigerians and groups as reported by traditional and online newspapers are not in any way helping the situation.

Their comments are rather drumming up rhythms of war, disintegration, the break-up of the country thus overheating the polity. Such comments by any interpretation are not only uncomplimentary but are also views that should not be allowed to go without response by the government since they are capable of endangering our democracy.

From all indications those calling for President Buhari’s resignation or impeachment are reading a script by unpatriotic Nigerians and their likes, led by the opposition PDP towards destabilising the polity for them to reap where they did not sow as we approach 2023.

The consolation is that government is not only disturbed by the surge in crimes in our midst but also religiously pulling all its human and material resources to deal with the current security challenge bedevilling the country.

• Musa Ilallah

Abuja.