On politicization of security
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday alleged that the security situation in the country is unduly politicized saying the records show a decline in terms of security from 2015.The president who stated this when he received promoters of the proposed African security leadership summit at State House, Abuja said no matter how much the revisionist try […]
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday alleged that the security situation in the country is unduly politicized saying the records show a decline in terms of security from 2015.The president who stated this when he received promoters of the proposed African security leadership summit at State House, Abuja said no matter how much the revisionist try to distort history, his administration would be vindicated by the record. Of course, Mr President is right that many local governments in Borno state have been liberated from the grip of Boko Haram within the period under review. There is no gainsaying the fact, the murderous Boko Haram sects have been degraded or incapacitated, leaving the remnants at the mercy of Nigerian Army which is determined to crush them to logical conclusion. While considerable success might have been recorded or achieved in the war against the dreaded Boko Haram members ,insecurity in the country has worsened and taken frightening dimension particularly in Katsina state in which armed bandits unleashed terrors to the hapless peasant farming communities.
Before, it was Zamfara state, where armed bandits in collaboration or connivance with some selfish traditional rulers held the rural communities to ransom. For the state to enjoy relative peace, it took the intervention of the new executive governor of the state who is disturbed by the level of atrocities committed by these devils paraded themselves as “bandits” to finally grant them amnesty for peace to reign. Now, the cases of periodic or continued attacks in the state have been reduced drastically and normal lives have returned to the troubled communities. However, for the commuters who fly the Kaduna-Abuja road on daily basis, the fear of kidnappers is the beginning of wisdom. The road has always been in the bad news for rampant cases of kidnapping. Hardly a day or week passes without the road being blocked and motorists whisked or taken away to forests by these masked and dangerous kidnappers. The Jukun/Tiv ethnic and communal tussles or clashes in Taraba state have attested to the facts that the country is still battling or grappling with insecurity.
The Buhari administration can not be entirely blamed for the general insecurity bedeviling the country. His government when it came on board had inherited many crises such as the Boko Haram, the herdsmen/farmers crises and above all ethnic and communal strife. It has become imperative to say that the crises under his watch further escalated, claimed thousands of lives and displaced several people. However, to the credit of this government, the hitherto killing of farmers by suspected Fulani militants have been halted or subsidized. Mr President may be right that the security is politicized based on the security records available to him, with the recorded portions of violence, the insecurity across the country is not in anyway politicized.
Mr. President should not admit that the country’s insecurity is politicized. The president must build upon the success gain in the last dispensation. This can be achieved through the deployment of modern security gadgets such as drone and patrol helicopters. The high rate of unemployment and poverty should also be fully addressed in the country.
Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua, Kaduna [email protected]