Something may be fishy in the high places of our dear Nigeria. It looks like, up there, things are not what they appear to us downstairs. Not the British variety, though, because it would have read ‘upstairs.’ There are some good reasons to suspect so.
Not long ago, the Nigerian Senate passed a bill recommending the extension of the tenure of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun. It was done at the instance of the President of the Federation, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The extension of the IG’s tenure sparked fears among the majority of ordinary citizens that it may signal requests for tenure extension from his fellow security chiefs in other services.
Surprisingly, however, instead of a request for tenure extension, what Nigerians heard were the voluntary resignations of the Director General of the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Abubakar, and his counterpart at the Directorate of State Security (DSS), Alhaji Yusuf Magaji Bichi. Both were appointed by the former President, Muhammadu Buhari. If their resignations were actually voluntary, it would mean either their time was up in the services or the President had no more use for their services in their respective organizations.
For the uninformed, the NIA and DSS are the Nigerian equivalents of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States. The first is supposed to operate outside the country, while the latter is supposed to operate only within the borders of the United States. Whether or not they stick to their respective mandates is another matter altogether.
That these security chiefs should voluntarily throw in the towel says a lot about what’s happening at the nation’s presidency, especially coming in quick succession after the swearing-in of the new Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Kudirat Motonmori Kekere-Ekun.
Soon after, some bandits made a demand of N50 million ransom from the people of Moriki in Zamfara State before releasing ten abducted people, ‘or else.’ Well, we all can guess what that ‘else’ stands for.
But it is worthy to ask, probably for the umpteenth time: why are these non-state actors always able to defy the combined forces of the Nigerian state? What is the secret behind their ‘invincibility’ against the power of state actors and the goodwill and encouragement of most Nigerians?
In Nigeria, we have the Nigerian Military (consisting of Military Intelligence (MI), the Army, the Airforce, the Navy, and the Coast Guard), the Nigerian Police, whose IG just had his tenure elongated, the DSS, the NIA, the Civil Defence, the Nigerian Customs Service, the Nigerian Immigration Service, and the Federal Road Safety Corps—all tasked with the security of people and property. Yet, they still fail woefully to bring an end to the insecurity caused by a bunch of untrained bandits operating in the bushes of northern Nigeria.
In addition, the Minister of Defence, HE Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, is a Northerner; the Junior Minister of Defence, Honourable Bello Mutawalle, is a Northerner; the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, is a Northerner; the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, is a Northerner; the outgoing Director General of the Department of State Security, Alhaji Yusuf Magaji Bichi, is a Northerner; and the outgoing Director General of the Nigerian Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ahmed Abubakar, is a Northerner. Yet, despite this, they have failed to protect the lives and property of many Northerners, worth millions of naira.
Some state governors in the north have created organizations they thought could contain the banditry menace in their states, but the federal government has refused to authorize the use of modern weapons by individuals. On the other hand, the bandits wield and use sophisticated weapons that may be the envy of many third-world countries’ security agencies.
The government’s denial of the right for individuals to own sophisticated weapons appears to serve as an impetus for the bandits to be more daring in their raids and boast about their ‘invincibility’ on social media.
The bandits have the ‘courage’ to call their intended victims or the places they intend to attack in advance, without the fear of being tracked or traced. This supports the allegation made by a former minister that his life was threatened with death if he insisted on having all phone lines in the country registered.
A chieftain of the Fulani and a noted northern female politician have separately asserted that the banditry could be addressed by the federal government without the involvement of two security outfits, which are allegedly not too keen on ending the menace.
The banditry has resulted in the deaths of tens of people, both high and low, the abduction for ransom of hundreds, the destruction and theft of millions worth of foodstuffs and property, the prevention of farming in many communities, and the forced payment of levies on some communities.
Two notable bandits were seen in a viral video clip alleging the complicity of security officials in the banditry affecting the north. A governor from the northwest made similar allegations. Before the video of the two bandits appeared on social media, a different bandit kingpin alleged the involvement of a former governor, now a ranking official of the administration, in the banditry. The accusation was, however, vehemently denied by the accused.
The Arewa Consultative Forum, better known by its acronym ACF, and the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) have called for a ‘full investigation and overhaul of the national security architecture’ following the murder of Sarkin Gobir of Sabon Birni, Alhaji Isa Muhammad Bawa, by bandits.
The foremost northern politico-sociocultural organizations could only find their full voice and courage to make demands after a monarch was brutally killed by bandits. But the murder of tens of lesser mortals by the bandits before the emir’s killing should have also warranted the groups’ serious reaction.
On the day Sarkin Gobir was killed, some notable northerners were in the Abuja home of Atiku Abubakar, ostensibly to ‘seek the hand of one of his daughters in marriage.’ They might argue that the event had been arranged beforehand. That may have been so. But even then, it could have been postponed, considering we are talking about the death of a monarch.
That the event went on as planned says a lot about how much value is placed on life in the north, where the pursuit of worldly happiness of the upper class seems to outweigh concerns for the common people. In the north, people are celebrated not because of their contributions to society but based on the money they have amassed, regardless of the source.
It is the hope of every patriotic Nigerian that the recent rejig of the leadership of some security outfits will bring an end not only to banditry but also to insecurity throughout the country, so Nigerians can travel anywhere, at any time, without thinking about any danger that might ‘lurk ahead.’
May God protect us from the bandits and their menace, and may He expose them and their sponsors, whoever they are and wherever they may be on this planet.
Labaran wrote from Abuja.
