Insecurity: If only Northern elites would cooperate with the government, by Kola Amzat 

Quite a number of well-meaning Nigerians, respected diplomats, as well as religious leaders have passionately appealed to President Tinubu to replicate across Nigeria, the same decisiveness and spirit of urgency he deployed to abort recent coup in Republic of Benin, to tackle the challenges of insurgence, banditry and general unending insecurity across the country.

Recently, a clergyman and president of Apostolic Grace Network Inc. Apostle (Dr) Lawrence Bamilaw opined that the president’s swift move to rout out coup plotters in Benin Republic clearly indicated Nigeria dominance and imperial status on the African Continent, as well as a big brother that other nations in the West African Sub-Region and African continent placed reliance.

From the ADC camp…obviously an unfamiliar quarter, equally came the unequivocal approval of the president’s swift intervention in the Benin Republic coup, urging the Commander-in-Chief to adopt similar firmness in combating the insurgence and banditry all across the country.

But, the party mischievously noted that the president’s ability to act promptly throws into sharp relief his slow and haphazard response to the banditry and criminality devastating Nigeria communities across the country.

With no shadow of doubt, the ruthlessness and breathtaking fashion of Nigerian troops in routing out Benin Republic coup plotters underscores what Nigeria armed forces are capable of doing…internally and externally, if the circumstances are right.

For emphasis, Nigeria troops significantly contributed to the final collapse of apartheid in South Africa.   

Nigerian troops were the military backbone of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) from 2003-2018, assisting to ultimately restore security and orderliness into the country that had been ravaged by brutal civil war.

Militarily, Nigeria troops were towering and indomitable in peacekeeping efforts in Congo, Chad, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Darfur, as well as providing military assistance to Gambia and Tanzania.  

Remarkably, in the Nigeria of 21st Century, it’s the same armed forces, even, with better and contemporary capacity building, impressive personnel, patriotism and zeal, generally acknowledged for their professionalism & ruthlessness, modern and contemporary war equipment and armor, local & international exposure.

How come it’s taking the same armed forces decades to neutralize the internal banditry, insurgence and criminality?

How come there are discordant tunes amongst the military in the North, West, South and East of Nigeria, a challenge alien to the armed forces of that glorious time?

For the avoidance of doubt, the problem of militating against this government is an internal challenge, rooted in the entrenched interest of the Northern group of elites.   

In the North-west, North-east and North-central where there are preponderance of bandits, insurgents and criminals, the political leaders and traditional rulers have over decades paid little or no attention to the very powerful and stupendously wealthy men, as well as financiers of terrorists, who have together hold the country by the jugular.

Until the men in authority and power that be, in the northern regions collaborate and resolve to work in conjunction with the President Tinubu government in its efforts to deal and completely neutralize the key figures and the so-called untouchables in the north who now control the bands of criminals and militias in the region, the criminals would continue to hold the nation to ransom.

Instructively, the identities of these men, funding terrorism were disclosed in 2017 when UAE authority arrested, prosecuted and convicted six Northern Nigerians alongside other foreign terrorism sponsors.

There are other 50 individuals and groups linked with the aforementioned men.

For the president and federal government to make significant headway in combating criminality, banditry and insurgence, northern authority must collaborate with the government in order to draw curtains on the activity of these agents of darkness.    

It’s also important to emphasize the high level of frustration in the densely populated north, challenge necessitated by wide-scale poverty, low-level of education amongst the generality of citizenry, very poor health schemes, and generally non-exposure of millions of northern youths.

With the diverse challenges highlighted above, the continually hungry teeming youths, with little or no care, coupled with scourge of illiteracy are easily attracted and recruited into criminality and banditry.

Also worthy of note is the Northern criminal system structured to pamper terror financiers, a development that elevated insurgents and bandits to tin-gods and cult-heroes.

Besides treating bandits and insurgents with glove hands, the awkward system also provides a platform for criminals to be rehabilitated into the society even, well ahead of their victims.

It’s indeed unfortunate that quite a number of Northern stakeholders have continually been making reckless pronouncements drawing comparison between insurgents in the North and militants in the Niger Delta Region, a deliberate attempt aimed at subjecting the government to pressure to adopt the same treatment for the two separate groups.

The two groups are never the same. They don’t fight for the same course! They’re obviously not driven by the same agenda!

For Nigeria therefore to triumph in the battle against banditry and insurgence, the Northern elites must arise and work in concert with the government.

The North must dutifully accept that the region contributed to the unrest and general climate of insecurity in their region, and by extension, all over Nigeria.

They must accept that the wide-scale insecurity in the north is what has overflown to other regions, causing breaking down of laws and orders.

It’s against this backdrop that the drawn three (3) communique: Immediate suspension of mining activities for 6 months, Establishment of a Northern Regional Security Trust Fund and Full backing for State Police, during the recent meeting of 19 Northern Governors and the Traditional Rulers Council, would be inconsequential, as the laudable contents of the communique would amount to nothing, if the foundational challenges that have subjected the North and the entire Nigeria to this pitiable and frustrating insecurity situation not frontally and promptly addressed.                            

Kola AMZAT (FCA, FCIB),

Lagos based Financial & Management Consultants,

09077509348.