State of emergency not the answer

Some of Nigeria’s top military officers, both serving and retired, seem to have found a magic wand for stopping the resurgence of insurgency, banditry and other violent crimes – the declaration of state of emergency. And they are in bed with several regional and civil society groups. The military leaders converged at the public presentation […]

Some of Nigeria’s top military officers, both serving and retired, seem to have found a magic wand for stopping the resurgence of insurgency, banditry and other violent crimes – the declaration of state of emergency. And they are in bed with several regional and civil society groups.

The military leaders converged at the public presentation of a book, ‘Scars: Nigeria’s Journey and the Boko Haram Conundrum,’ written by former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor (rtd), lamenting the absence of political will to take necessary drastic actions, but with a consensus that proclamation of emergency would rally all elements of national power towards ending insecurity.

Last month, Northern Elders Forum (NEF) joined the fray, urging President Bola Tinubu on the need for the declaration, citing the escalating devastation of lives, crippled economic activities, and threat to national stability. NEF observed that the security architecture remains inadequate, overstretched, and in some cases complicit through inaction and silence, leaving citizens vulnerable and helpless while eroding public trust in government institution. The group warned of the risks of inaction which may push communities to resort to “self-help,” which could trigger anarchy and undermine Nigeria’s democratic stability.

But we at Daily Trust believe that though the clamour is gaining ground, it is still debatable if mere declaration of a state of emergency will bring the needed peace and security. After all, we had lived through such pronouncements over insecurity before.

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The first was during the ethno-religious violence in Plateau State in 2004 when President Olusegun Obasanjo suspended the then Governor Joshua Dariye and the legislature, appointing a former Chief of Army Staff, late Major General Chris Alli (rtd.) appointed as administrator. In December, 2011, President Goodluck Jonathan declared “localised” emergencies in parts of Plateau, Borno and Yobe over terror attacks. Again on May 14, 2013, the emergency was declared in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states following escalation of terrorists’ attacks. Yet, the best the nation got was reduction, not cessation of hostilities, which is still festering.

So, Daily Trust believes that mere declaration of state of emergency is not a mystical stick that will make Boko Haram and its affiliated groups, banditry, kidnapping and other crimes disappear. First, Nigeria needs the full deployment of “maximum force” necessary to force belligerent non-state actors to flee the country or come to the negotiating table. Mere optimistic declarations or minimal improvements in security can only widen the disconnect with Nigerians as situations most often slip back to anarchical situations that force communities to negotiate with bandits from position of weakness.

Therefore, we call for holistic implementation of the carrot and stick (kinetic and non-kinetic) approach. This is time to embrace bolder measures which wing out the fangs of the nation’s lethal forces while addressing the root causes of insecurity. This requires the enthronement of good governance at all levels of government that will reduce the high poverty, unemployment rates and out-of-school children levels. Such move will remove the fertile breeding grounds that fuel terror recruitment.

We also note that eradicating insecurity goes beyond killing terror fighters but also involves countering radicalisation and creating an alternative to the environment that feeds the fighting recruitment grounds.

Government also should lead businesses and well-to-do individuals to invest in human capital and skill acquisition programmes to wean vulnerable population off the streets and reduce the pool of people who can be drawn into criminality. Such youths should be provided with tools and equipment and those interested in cattle rearing should receive startup capital so that they can earn a living.

We also insist on less dependence on physical human presence and more reliance on drones, surveillance tech, and intelligence-sharing platforms as a 2024 International Crisis Group report notes that enhanced tech could reduce casualties by 30-50 per cent in ambushes. Also, the defence and security forces must occupy the nation’s ungoverned areas (especially Sambisa Forest, Lake Chad islands, Kainji) and other forests zones thereby denying the terror fighters sanctuaries.

It is also time for Nigeria to control the influx of undesirable elements and proliferation of small arms and light weapons by policing its 923,768 square kilometres of porous land borders and 852 kilometres of coastline. The porous borders with Cameroon, Chad, and Niger could be policed better with deployment of AI-driven border sensors and joint patrols with neighbouring security forces in order to disrupt the supply lines for fighters and weapons.

This newspaper also believes that the time for political correctness, rhetoric or name-tag in the fight against insecurity is over. No nation can survive with the type of relentless and unforgivable brutality on innocent civilians and troops as we are witnessing. The gloves should be off and all armed criminals should be dealt with decisively and mercilessly.

Nigeria’s war against insecurity is taking too long. There is need for a definite action plan laced with timelines, identification of individuals and targets and decimating them.

Only a holistic enhancement of strategic and tactical operations will give us back a peaceful Nigeria where peace reigns. This requires more than quick fixes. We are waiting to see the effective deployment of political will, employment of kinetic and non-kinetic powers, not mere quest for declaration of state of emergency.