Insecurity: Buhari’s indifference no longer acceptable

The Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III recently took the bull by the horns when he told President Muhammadu Buhari that “There are lapses in Nigeria’s security architecture that need to be urgently and seriously addressed”.

For those who know him well, the Sultan does not speak in vain. Neither does he speak carelessly. Apparently, he spoke from experience having served the Nigerian Army and retired as a Brigadier –General. However, his admonition was not new. Before the recent incident of abduction of Kankara school children, several other personalities and organisations including BusinessDay have advised president Buhari to regig his security architecture to no avail. Last week, Buhari cancelled at the last minute, a scheduled address at the National Assembly on insecurity in the country. Rather than apologise to the nation the issue was politicized.

On Friday 11th December 2020 in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina state, bandits abducted hundreds of students of Government Science Secondary School (GSSS). Incidentally, the event took place few hours after Buhari arrived the state on a private visit. The boldness of the bandits to carry out the abduction on the day Mr. President arrived was a big embarrassment to Buhari and the nation. Had Buhari heeded calls from Nigerians to rejig the security architecture perhaps such ugly incident would not have happened.

How can we explain the movement of the bandits in their hundreds on motor cycles without being detected? What happened to intelligence gathering that this heinous plan was not uncovered before it was hatched? How come the bandits took their time, gathered the school boys, heaped them on bikes and whisked them away without being rounded up by the security agencies? Mr. President needs to hearken to the call of Nigerians to revamp the security architecture and address the nation!

This abduction in commando style is one tragedy too many coming on the heels of the infamous Zabarmari massacre where scores of farmers were murdered. The Kankara abduction is a sad reminder of the similar abductions of school Girls in Chibok and Dapchi of Borno and Yobe States of North-East Nigeria, and it’s an indicator that the powers that be don’t read the present through the spectacle of the past because if they do this wouldn’t have happened.

For the umpteenth time, we ask: For how long shall the masses continue to live in fear? For how long shall the Federal and State Governments continue to issue empty condemnations whenever tragedies occur? Is the government and the security agencies so overwhelmed and thus cannot secure the citizens? Are there insurmountable challenges or acts of sabotage that the Government is hiding from the public? These and many more questions are continually asked in every discerning mind within and outside Nigeria.

By kidnapping the school boys same day Mr. President arrived Katsina State, are the bandits this bold as to further test the resolve of the Government or smite the face of the Commander in Chief by bringing it up to his door step in his presence?

If there is any worse outcome than the abduction itself, it is the fact that this is the most potent action to frustrate school enrolment in Northern Nigeria, as many parents would be uncomfortable to send their children to boarding schools despite the many enrolment campaign efforts by northern states Governments. And it may even be insensitive for anyone to call on the traumatized parents to expose their beloved children to these unprotected environments to be used as fodder by bandits and insurgents at will.

What baffles us the most is the government’s inability to locate the enemy’s actual enclave, the focal point of their strength and to devote all available means to rout them out or incapacitate them. Is it that the political will isn’t there? It is imperative to know why Government appears incapacitated to confront and conquer Nigeria’s security woes.

We nevertheless in a plangent mood commiserate with the families of the GSSS Kankara victims and wish them safe and immediate reunion with their respective children. We also pray for God’s continuous guidance, strength and stamina to all those on the battlefields against all forms of insurrections in Nigeria.
Government at all levels in collaboration with different security agencies should proactively rise against the tide of insecurity in whatever guise by nipping it in the bud, before it escalates.

Nigerians require actions and not empty declarations of insecurity being solved, and we ask President Buhari to fulfil his oath of office, which includes keeping all Nigerians safe, wherever they may be.