It is no longer a matter of debate that the level of insecurity being witnessed all over Nigeria is simply unacceptable and must be fought with the full weight of the Nigerian state.
Whether it is kidnapping for ransom, herdsmen unleashing fire and brimstone on hapless farmers in one remote village, or brazen armed robbery both in broad daylight and at night, or any other form of banditry, Nigeria is now soaked with terror so much so that no region or segment of the society is spared. This is taking a high and costly toll on the nation.
This orgy of lawlessness has imposed on the citizenry a psychological trauma the impact or cost of which is not yet fully quantifiable. Besides curbing people’s freedom and basic liberties guaranteed them by the Nigerian Constitution, this level of peacetime insecurity is sure to impinge negatively on the overall performance of the economy. From agriculture to commerce and industry, no sector is spared.
A report issued by the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, showed that within the first quarter of this year, 1,071 people were killed in crime-related cases, with Zamfara State recording the highest number of 203. Within the same three months, 685 people were kidnapped nationwide, again, with Zamfara recording the highest number of cases of 281.
Considering that not all kidnap and robbery cases are reported officially to the Police, it is possible that the actual numbers were higher than these. Besides, cases of kidnapping and armed robbery have remained high in this second quarter of the year. This is unacceptable.
The time to solve this problem is now. But the governments must show commitment to doing so. When militancy in the Niger Delta region threatened Nigeria’s oil industry – the heart of the economy- the government tackled it with the full weight of its might. It deployed the military to the area to crush the threat. To solve the problem comprehensively, it also introduced the amnesty programme, a significant component of which was the training and skills acquisition for repentant militants many of whom now live productive lives.
A number of factors account for the current nationwide banditry. Among them are unemployment; climatic change and specifically the drying up of Lake Chad, which had forced a southward movement from the north; herdsmen-farmers clash, and of course criminal elements who take advantage of the conflict. Nigeria also has porous borders that make it possible for arms to freely flow into the country, helping the various terror groups push their agenda into the country.
The government must deal with each element appropriately. It must fight banditry and all forms criminality. If the carrot-and –stick formula could work in the case of oil, government must muster similar courage to tackle headlong the current wave of terror pervading all over the nation.
The governments should also take a cue from Lagos state, where cases of kidnapping were nipped in the bud. The state created a security trust fund that has helped equip the state police command. The federal and state authorities should replicate this, while the federal government should consider improving the remuneration of the police officers.
The daily cases of kidnapping, maiming and killings on the Abuja-Kaduna road, Lagos-Benin road, or in Osun, Ekiti, and other states, are enough to compel the government at the highest level to deploy its full power to stamp out the current reign of terror in the land.
It is thus imperative for the governments – federal and states- to rise to the occasion by designing programmes to crush this criminality.
It has been said that unemployment is a time bomb. With unemployment rate of 23 percent according to the National Bureau of Statistics, it is clear that there is restiveness in the country, since the unemployed youths can be forced to take to crime.
The government must therefore take seriously the issue of job creation. Statistics showing economic growth or other indicators of good performance come to very little if there are no jobs for the ordinary people. The current level of crime clearly shows this.
