By Zik Gbemre

Without a doubt, the insecurity situation in Nigeria is a serious cause for alarm because practically on a daily basis, countless (recorded and unrecorded) Nigerians are being slaughtered/killed/maimed and chased/displaced out of their natural homelands within the country. The supposed Fulani Herdsmen, as well as the Boko Haram sect, have been reigning havoc on poor innocent Nigerians, especially in most Northern parts of Nigeria. The onslaught by Herdsmen against Nigerians across different parts of the country, is becoming more endemic and overbearing that many are wondering if we still have a Government, whose primary responsibility is to secure the lives and properties of Nigerians. It is evident that the Nigerian Government is not doing enough to address the insecurity menace in our polity, particularly the killings by Herdsmen. We strongly believe perhaps; it is about time a National Summit is convened by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Government involving leaders of all the ethnic groups and the Federal Legislature, to “aggressively” address these insecurity concerns. Otherwise, the country will not only lose countless of prospective foreign and domestic investors, but Nigeria will become a failed state in all ramifications.

We recall how some time last year, former Minister of Defence, Gen. T.Y. Danjuma (rtd), accused the Nigerian military of prejudice, urging people to defend themselves, rather than rely entirely on the institution for protection. Such commentary/statement coming from Danjuma, who was also a former Chief of Army Staff, obviously brought a disturbing twist to the country’s insecurity crisis, and as such, it should not be treated lightly or swept under the carpet. But rather, this is something the Federal Government, the Nigerian Army as well as other Security agencies, should look into and make the necessary adjustments where necessary to assure Nigerians that indeed, all is well, and that they can guarantee the security of the lives of Nigerians.

Agreed that the sort of insecurity situation in the country, is one that is complex and quite complicated to handle, but the Federal Government leadership must be seen to be overboard and on top of the situation at all times, so as to assure Nigerians that it can guarantee the security of lives and property. And most importantly, the Federal Government must be seen to be very honest, transparent and holistic in addressing this sensitive insecurity issue in the country. The Federal Government should not be seen to be saying one thing, and doing something else entirely. Or be seen doing something that suggests they have ulterior motives in addressing these insecurity concerns in the country.

Recently, one of the invited speakers on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, Mr. Katch Ononuju who is an Economist, noted that while on his way to Katsina State, along the kwataragwachi – kankara road, he observed Hausa youths blocking the road, preventing motorists from passing. When he asked them what was the problem, the youths said “their people are being killed daily, and the Government is not doing anything”. Ononuju also said he noticed that a lot of the Herdsmen he talked to, could not speak English or Hausa. But when he spoke and greeted them in French, the said herdsmen became comfortable and could communicate with him. As he continued to talk to them, he discovered that some of these people are from Mali, from Mauritania, etc. He then asked the question, which most Nigerians are asking: “Are we having settlements built for imported population?” This is because, there are no Nigerians, be it from Kano, from Sokoto, from Katsina, etc., applying to be moved from their current homes into bushes somewhere. It does not exist anywhere in this country. According to Ononuju, “what we are seeing is a strategy to import population from the sub-African region, and then use them to displace and alter the demography in NIgeria.” The current Federal Government is believed not to be honest with their plans in addressing the Herdsmen/Farmers crises. “Initially they said they want to establish Games Reserves, Nigerians said no! Then they came back again with Cow Colony, Nigerians said no! Now they have come with the RUGA settlement, which was only suspended after majority of Nigerians vehemently kicked against it. Ononuju also noted that “the issue here, and the major thing in this game is land. As we speak, countless Nigerians have been displaced from their lands by these so-called herdsmen, but why have they not been resettled back to their lands? Why are we having foreigners allowed into the country to try to settle in these lands?”

While it has become evident that the issue of Fulani Herdsmen/Farmers clashes have proven not to be an easy issue to address, due to its “terrorists-laden tendencies”, however, the mannerism and sentiments, as regards the body language, as demonstrated by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, have made “every administration action and inaction” to be viewed by majority of the Nigerian masses with “suspicion” and “distrust”. Which is why we were not surprised when the said RUGA settlement scheme came up, more Nigerians were against it when compared to those for it. This is basically because this present administration has not been able to build public trust and confidence amongst the majority of Nigerians with its past and present actions/inactions.

It is on the basis on this that we believe the President Buhari-led Federal Government urgently needs to adopt a different approach and body language in addressing the insecurity concerns in the country. They cannot fold their hands and allow innocent Nigerians to be killed daily by these criminals that are supposed Herdsmen. This is why they need to convene a National Security Summit involving all stakeholders stated, to aggressively address these insecurity concerns headlong in Nigeria. The President and relevant Security Operatives must be seen to be impartial, honest, transparent, and always a step-ahead in addressing these insecurity concerns in the country.

It is about time President Buhari APC-led Federal Government tackles this pressing insecurity problem across the country and bring to book all those directly and indirectly involved/connected. It is time for President Buhari to summon a National Summit on Security alone, involving all the different ethnic tribes that make up Nigeria, which should be fairly represented, as well as the representatives of the National legislature, to find a lasting solution to the insecurity problem in Nigeria. And the communique reached from that gathering should be gazetted, passed into law and fully implemented. The Federal Government and National Legislature should not shy away from this. The Nigerian masses do not have any iota of trust on the Federal Government and the National Legislature. But with the argument by some critics that the National Legislature is already in place to handle all issues in the polity, owing to the fact that they are the representatives of the people, but they are heavily politicized and will always shy away from the realities on ground. But with the said National Summit on addressing the insecurity situation in the country, all the leaders of the different ethnic groups will represent their own people. This will not be a PDP or APC political affair.

Zik Gbemre.

National Coordinator

Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC)

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