The current security arrangements where the federal government has the monopoly over country’s defence can not work under the 21st century. Let states governments recruit own security outfit who have the knowledge of their terrain. By so doing, the rising cases of insecurity will be nipped into bud.
Two ugly incidences which happened last week proved the alarming rate of insecurity in the country. The attack on President’s advance team in katsina state and the Kuje jail break where many inmates including hardened criminals and suspected boko haram members escaped. Prior to these two simultaneous and unfortunate attacks, it is evidently clear, the level of country’s insecurity has surged beyond lamentations with many parts of katsina,zamfara and Niger states under the firm control of rapacious bandits. In Kaduna state,the farming communities of Birnin-gwari, another no go area,had to cough up 400 millions and bribed the criminals for them to return to their farms. Also, within the period under review,there were massive abduction of clergymen across the length and breadth of the country with some of them lost their precious lives. The recent attacks on innocent worshippers in Owo, Ondo state,points the frightening dimension with which insecurity has taken. Upon all these, is the havoc the unknown gun men continue to wreck in South- East. The tales of insecurity bedevil the country is endless with government looking helples.
While the primary responsibility of government the whole over is the protection of lives and properties,reverse is the case in Nigeria. If the advance team of Mr president can be attacked and correction centre located within the nation’s capital broken,it has shown that,no where is safe in the country. The question begging for answer is: how did the country find itself in this mess? It is truth,security challenges are part of the Nation building process which both developed and developing countries undergone. Even US and other advance countries had faced similar problems in the course of their nationhood. However, the onus lies on how they effectively managed the challenges to navigate the troubled water. For Nigeria, billions or trillions of naira are said to have been spent to tackle insecurity. Sadly,instead of the security to improve,the country continues to wallow into deep crises with bandits and non-state actors stealing the show. Our security personnel are left with obsolete equipments to face modern criminals armed with sophisticate weapons.
The recent directive by Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, for his people to apply for gun license and defend themselves against bandits, says the obvious facts about government failure to protect lives and properties. Though, Zamfara state governor’s directives has received mixed reactions from nigerians, including the Chief Of Defense staff who kicked against it,he is not the first to call for self defense. His colleagues, the governors of Benue and Katsina respectively had many times without numbers called their people to armed and protect themselves. If we can be recalled, disturbed by worsening insecurity in the country,the south-west governors floated a regional security outfit and codenamed it, Amotekum. While head had roll between the governors and federal government on the constitutional legality of establishing it, Amotekum has justified its operation. It has waged and declared total war against criminals and complemented federal government security architects with useful informations.
Besides corruptions and inadequate personals, poor intelligence gathering as stated by president Muhammadu Buhari during his visit to Kuje’s correctional centre must have contributed or confounded the insecurity situation in the country. Beyond that, there is the need for constitutional amendment that will guarantee state police. Our quasi-federalism should allow the adoption of state police to work in unison with the federal security establishments towards addressing insecurity in the country. The success story of civilian JTF in the fight against boko haram in Borno state and Amotekum in south-west proves the imperative of state police.
The current security arrangements where the federal government has the monopoly over country’s defence can not work under the 21st century. Let states governments recruit own security outfit who have the knowledge of their terrain. By so doing, the rising cases of insecurity will be nipped into bud.
Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua
