Column No.6: Dear elected official, let’s throw everything at the wall

You know a situation is really bad when someone as basic as Governor Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau State expresses confidence in the Nigerian Army’s tackling of insecurity in his state, “and the country at large”. He’s not alone on that shelf, mind you. In fact, most of the governors of security-addled states tend to […]

You know a situation is really bad when someone as basic as Governor Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau State expresses confidence in the Nigerian Army’s tackling of insecurity in his state, “and the country at large”. He’s not alone on that shelf, mind you. In fact, most of the governors of security-addled states tend to be among the most inept, with the exceptions of bright spots here and there. Lalong spoke when the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Faruk Yahaya, paid him a courtesy visit in breathtakingly-beautiful-but-perennially-troubled Jos. I begin by looking at Plateau, because of fairly recent news of mindless killings and equally mindless reprisals that have plagued the state. 

Just Plateau’s security issues are enough to prompt intensive action from the Federal Government, but so far it seems most of what is being done is just more of the same that has been done in the past: nothing new, and definitely nothing out-of-the-box, either. In fact, the only fresh, heartwarming things that have come from those quarters are mainly stories of the triumph of the human spirit, when a person belonging to one ethnic group or the adherent of a religion, guards the life of another of different origins. But this is not a piece about Lalong or the long-suffering state he is governing. I am just increasingly alarmed at how much of the same motley, ineffective ‘solutions’ we keep repeating.

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One of the signs of madness, they say, is the repetition of a single process while expecting different results every time. So, does that mean we suffer a collective madness then? How else can one explain the meteoric rise of that currently-daily staple in the news, the grossly misnamed ‘bandit’? Even lawmakers are hopping on the ‘call them terrorists’ bandwagon, one which left the motor park a longtime ago. The problem continues to worsen, improper nomenclature notwithstanding. That they chose to respond to an issue many months after it was tabled in Nigeria’s public domain says volumes about their commitment, or its absence. 

The lack of commitment to actually working is so strong that even constructive criticism is seen as an attack. Take for instance the media – that favorite punching bag of everyone – always fingered as ‘the problem’, simply for reporting what happened. And reporting what happened is its very raison d’être, mind you. But deflectors don’t seem to think that way while bashing the fourth estate. After all, no-one wants his or her ineptitude pointed out. And what does the innocent, hapless, ordinary Nigerian have left? Only faux coping mechanisms, and temporary fixes, like the refusal to travel by road, and opting for trains or flights. I dislike pointing out the obvious, but I’m Nigerian, so bear with me. 

Schools are suffering from the insecurity that plagues us nationwide, and businesses are dying at an alarming rate, which makes what elected officials choose to say – or not say – about insecurity is most interesting. They would rather talk about party leaderships, convention mega-galas, pointless feuds, defections by defective politicians, and the next election cycle which is many moons away, than have serious, deliberate discussions about how to solve the raging insecurity in the land. They would rather set-up this or that committee tasked with one political shenanigan or the other than setup a think tank to help solve our security problems. Who would blame the terrorists, really, for having and enjoying the field day they have been given on a platter of gold? 

Then there’s the other elephant in the room, that one of what politicians are doing – or not doing – about ‘banditry’. I won’t pretend to understand what the cancellation/shutdown of telecoms services in some states aimed to achieve, or aims to in the case of Kaduna State, but at least something new is being tried. I have mentioned few state governors in the past who have impressed me with their fervor and commitment, so I won’t risk sounding like a broken record. But those governors, do they have the proverbial two heads on their shoulders? It looks like all they have is God-given common sense, and the will to use it. 

The other day, walking from a car park to a meeting in a public building, I overheard two frustrated Nigerians lamenting openly. “When someone is simply telling [Nigerian leaders] the truth about the security situation in the country, they see it as insults,” one sighed. The other added: “Like anyone gains anything from insulting others. We just want the right thing done. Is that too much to ask for?” The first man just sighed, concluding: “Even their efforts are half-hearted, and mostly for show.” In the end, even the apparent ‘effort’ looks like desperate, poorly-thought out remedies, much like throwing a messy pile of something at the wall and hoping some of it sticks. How else will anything but an epic mess remain?