The many failures of state of emergency

Before last week Friday prayer time attack in Kano which was given several interpretations, among which was the clarion call by the Emir of Kano to the effect that people need to wake up and defend themselves in view of the colossal failure of the Nigerian state and its security apparatuses to do so and […]

Before last week Friday prayer time attack in Kano which was given several interpretations, among which was the clarion call by the Emir of Kano to the effect that people need to wake up and defend themselves in view of the colossal failure of the Nigerian state and its security apparatuses to do so and importantly, the foot dragging by the two chambers of the National Assembly to extend the state of emergency proposed to them by the president for another six months making it the 4th time, thus two years and four months out of the four year tenure of the governments in these states.
The handwriting is clear that the assembly, despite the willingness of some Turks to let the president have his way, seems bent on not approving the request giving the cost benefit analysis as well as the efficacy of the previous regimes put in place to deal with the situation. The verdict from all Nigerians of conscience is that the state of emergency declared over the last two years has only succeeded in emboldening the insurgents and giving them a free hand, time and access to conjure more territories and cause more tragedy than resolving or alleviating the problem.
The conspiracy theory in town today posits very loudly that in fact, the current of attack and its intensity over several parts of northern Nigeria is a usual strategy of those in government and possibly collaborators, to the effect that such intensification is one way of discouraging the National Assembly from refusing the presidential request to extent the rule and cause public sentiments and sympathy in pushing the parliament to renew the emergency.
On the other hand, some Nigerians who believe they know so much are urging the assembly and those of us who are against the extension of state of emergency not to mix the issue with politics. One funny position was the one I watched the one time, renegade separatist Col Tony Nyiam, who was part of a coup that expelled several parts of Nigeria, calling on Nigerians not to see the presidential request for an extension from the viewpoint of politics.
What a shame. What politics are we talking about when in reality the whole insurgency palaver has since been seen at the highest level of the nation’s leadership as political? Who said members of the Niger Delta fraternity do not still believe that the insurrection is purely because some Nigerians from the north have vowed to make the nation ungovernable because an Ijaw man is the president? Which politics are we therefore talking about?
I think the request for the extension of emergency rule in the three north-easternstates is a ploy by the political wing of government to predominate in the politics of the region that has been far away from PDP since 1999 and the desperation to ensure that the two states of Yobe and Borno are finally taken over by the ruling party.
It is unthinkable for anybody to try to separate the application of state of emergency in these frontline states with politics because the president himself did make one very reckless comment at the national executive council meeting of his party earlier in the year to the effect that he was happy that the insurrection was happening only in those states that were not controlled by the PDP. What is the import of that statement? Definitely politics!
Nigerians do see how the national security outfits sealed Maiduguri airport to the extent that the state governor duly elected by his people cannot fly in or out but politicians of the ruling party at the exigencies of the powers that be in Abuja do fly in and out of Maiduguri. This is what Fela called ‘wrong power show.’ What politics are those people talking about in the midst of all these?  
Again, the most important question to ask about the state of emergency is its efficacy or otherwise. Are these sealed areas better off under the emergency rule or are they not? Did the previous three-time impositions reduce or increase the level of hostility and destruction in the areas?
To me these are some of the strategic questions that those who sing the choruses for this government need to address and convince the nation that indeed the imposition of a state of emergency is the way to go. Certainly, all figures and statistics have shown otherwise and in fact the emergency rule only worked against law abiding citizens who are unable to stay out of their housesfor most part of the day and gave unfettered access and opportunity to the insurgents to drive and walk freely through the night and day and carry out theirnefarious activities unchallenged.
What logic would therefore be advanced to legitimise any further extension of state of emergency in the face of this daunting failures and continued breakdown of law and order in the affected areas and even the fringes?
My take is that the state of emergency option has failed woefully and should not be extended. The only reason why the political authorities in Abuja would wish to extend it is to prepare the ground for military elections in this region that is certainly a stronghold of the opposition and it will appear the government of the day is desperately determined to not just take it over but to ensure that it does not serve as an area where the 2015 presidential elections could be determined.
There can therefore not be any politics with the imposition than this thesis that seems to be gaining acceptability across the landscape at the moment.
The final word here today is that the state of emergency declared in the north-east for about the last 24 months has failed and thus should not be approved by the National Assembly and instead, the security apparatuses should explore other strategies in attending to the insurrection.