The war on terror should be re-invigorated

As bandits attack Kaduna airport, killing one and abducting 11 in Zaria, the battle to control terror is intensifying rather than abating. Within the past month, bandits killed 43 in Kaduna and Zamfara as the Kaduna State governor imposed a 24-hour curfew in two local government areas. Tension mounts as gunmen threaten schools in Imo State forcing President Buhari to approve additional security units for the state. Moreover, 70 houses were burnt in Kaduna making the security situation in the states of Kaduna, Zamfara and Imo intolerable. As against the opinion of the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, Nigeria isn’t winning the war on terror. With five killed, scored injured as bandits open fire on travellers in Katsina and in Benue herdsmen continue taking people hostage daily, demanding money and food; which forced governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom to say that Nigeria is drifting towards anarchy. Thus, it is noteworthy that we pay scant attention to various forms of bias and self blinding falsehood in which we help deception to interact with one another in our national life. “When regard for truth has been broken down, or even weakened, all things will remain doubtful,” St Augustine. We’re not out of the scourge of terror yet, we are still waiting to recover the missing Chibok girls. General Irabor is just mimicking our political office holders who live in denial of the rampaging banditry and corruption in the country. It is as if our leaders are conniving with terrorism with the way they turned a blind eye to the ethnic cleansing in Kaduna and Zamfara states. A justification for government connivance with terror is the alleged disappearance of 178,459 arms and ammunition belonging to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). The details of the missing arms on pages 383-391 of the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF’s) annual report on non-compliance/internal control weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government for the year ended 31st December 2019. The report indicated that 88,078 AK-47 rifles, 3,907 assorted rifles and pistols from different formations nationwide could not be accounted for as of January 2020. It further queried the failure of Police Headquarters to provide comprehensive details about unserviceable weapons even when such arms could fall into some unauthorized hands. According to the report, this contravenes paragraph 2603 of the Financial Regulations document which stipulates that, “in the event of any loss of stores, the officer in charge of the store in which loss occurs shall report immediately to the head of Department of unit but not later than three (£) days by the fastest means possible, if loss occurs away from headquarters.” Sadly, records obtained from force armament at the Force Headquarters showed that 21Police Mobile Force Squadron Abuja did not report a single case of missing firearm, whereas the schedule of missing arms obtained from the same police formation showed a total of 46 missing arms between 2000 and 2019. The value of the lost firearms could not be ascertained because no document relating to their cost was presented for examination. The above anomalies could be attributed to connivance by the authorities. Like those funding terrorism, government has refused to prosecute them. Just about ending this editorial, breaking news has it that many are feared abducted as terrorists attack a Kaduna bound train, detonating explosives and opening fire on about 970 passengers on board. The train derailed as explosives planted on the rail track went off close to Rigasa station. On the same day, gunmen killed three persons in Kabo, Gurara Local Government of Niger State. Further more 15 villagers were killed by terrorists at Hayin Kanwa in Giwa Local Government of Kaduna State. A government whose security operatives cannot protect its citizens from rampaging marauders and terrorists and kidnappers cannot wield any influence on the global stage. There is no short cut to greatness, Nigeria must reform or disintegrate. The way forward is delivering good governance. Without running Nigeria on its natural contours of diversity, disaster and an unfavourable image will persist. With about 370, 000 police personnel for a population of about 211 million, Nigeria cannot meet the United Nations 340 to 100,000 police to citizen ratio. Nigeria’s current police format is not congenial to effective policing in a federation. The zones should be empowered to secure their own territories. Let us utilize the regional policing exemplified by the Amotekun police force from the South West and the Hisbah of the North West. The federal Government must of necessity immediately embark on recruiting and equipping commensurate numbers of policemen in line with our population. More so, the military should face its core duty of protecting Nigeria’s territorial integrity. A state of emergency on national security should be declared enabling government to use every available strategy to protect the lives and property, which is the function of President Buhari’s government. With the killings, abductions and arson reported daily around the country, it is clear, weapons are in dangerous hands. Worse still, arms are being shipped into the country illegally on a consistent basis. The National Guard Force proposed many years ago to complement the police should be revived.