Insecurity: The Social Contract and Discordant Voices, By Dakuku Peterside

This merry-go-round blame game and altercation by our governors are unnecessary at this point when insecurity has become perhaps the most significant impediment to our peaceful coexistence and development. It is very insouciant to play politics with our security challenges in the country.

It is no longer news that Nigeria is currently facing acute security challenges. The country has become a theatre of various conflicts that make millions of Nigerians feel apprehensive and insecure; these are conflicts that threaten Nigeria’s very existence. The country is gradually degenerating into one of the most unstable environments, globally, with regard to the insecurity of human lives and property.

Worldwide, unemployment, bad governance, the lack of quality education or training, paucity of basic infrastructure, corruption and the corrupt practices of government officials, perceived victimisation, arrant poverty amid affluence, ethnic and religious affectations of superiority, domination, and exploitation, are the significant issues that fuel insecurity. The Nigerian case keeps exacerbating as the federating units making up the country do not recognise each other as constituents of one nation, due to prevailing religious, economic, political, and social factors.

The appalling security situation in the country is telling on the wellbeing of Nigerians. Security is the pillar upon which every meaningful development is achieved and sustained, and national security is a premise for  economic growth and the development of nations. It is only an atmosphere of peace that can attract the much needed foreign investments to the country. Even domestic investors find it difficult to operate in an atmosphere full of tensions and apprehension.

All over the world, security constitutes a significant policy challenge to leaders, decision-makers, communities, and groups. This is so because the concept of security remains a complex phenomenon that, in most cases, requires not just countermeasures to deal with but concrete preventive and robust decisions to manage, to avoid the loss of lives and property.

In any civilised society, one of the primary responsibilities of government, if not the most important one, is the safeguarding of the welfare and security of the people. Leaders owe a sacred duty to the citizenry to ensure that lives and property are adequately protected. Conversely, effective leadership is the key to tackling security challenges.

The recent altercations between some governors in the country over their various states’ security challenges can only make a bad situation worse. The governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, had gone on air to accuse the Federal Government of shielding Fulani herdsmen who are killing farmers in  some parts of the country, wondering whether there are different rules for the Fulani and another for the rest of Nigeria. He alleged that the Federal Government’s support for armed herders was the reason for worsening insecurity in the country. According to him, “Why is the Federal Government silent about these Fulani people? When will the Federal Government come out to criticise and arrest herdsmen carrying AK-47? Are we second-class citizens in this country? What makes a Fulani man superior to other citizens of this country? We are not their slaves.”

Then his counterpart in Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, accused Ortom of starting a wave of anti-Fulani sentiments. While condemning the treatment of Fulani herdsmen, especially in the southern region, Mohammed cautioned that the whole ethnicity should not be criminalised because of a few bad eggs among them who are responsible for deadly attacks on others. The governor added that herdsmen need the AK-47 rifles to defend themselves from cattle rustlers and to forestall other road challenges.

In a related incident, the Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, informed Nigerians about the lack of synergy among Northern states’ governors in the fight against insecurity. He said that the governors, himself inclusive, are frustrated, and almost helpless over the spate of killings and other criminal acts going on in the North. El-Rufai said, on “Politics Today”, a Channels Television programme, that, “I am frustrated in my state. Many governors are frustrated in their states. We are called chief security officers only in name, but we have no control over state coercive instruments. We are all frustrated. We are almost helpless.”

Governors must ensure that they, by words or actions, are not seen as ethnic, religious, or tribal bigots, demagogues or champions. Their utterances carry a lot of weight, as such their statements should be measured and deliberate to ensure that they do not fan the increasing embers of hate and division in the country.

El-Rufai was upbraided by his Kano State counterpart, Abdullahi Ganduje, who accused him of being ill-informed about insecurity in the North. Ganduje repudiated El-Rufai’s claim of a lack of synergy amongst the governors, accussing the cerebral author of The Accidental Public Servant of lacking in the understanding of the issue. He stated that no matter the cooperation among governors, they would still have different approaches in tackling security issues. “In Kaduna, there are ethnic and religious issues. This is Kaduna’s issue, every security challenge in each state depends on the efforts of the state and security agents with its people. Like in Kano here, we have a harmonious working relationship with security agencies,” Ganduje said.

Ganduje also attacked Bala Mohammed on his statement in support of herders carrying AK-47 rifles. “Those herders travelling from the North to South should be banned. Those that are saying they should not be banned from trekking to the southern part of the country for grazing should use their children to do so,” he said. The Northern Elders Forum added its voice to the contention, concluding that the Federal Government was no longer able to protect its citizens against the marauding criminals in different parts of the country. The group advised Northen governors to explore all lawful  means to improve the security of citizens within their domain.

This merry-go-round blame game and altercation by our governors are unnecessary at this point when insecurity has become perhaps the most significant impediment to our peaceful coexistence and development. It is very insouciant to play politics with our security challenges in the country. What Nigerians need at this point is a lasting solution to the security concerns that we face.

The recent meeting of all the governors of the 19 states of the North is a welcome development. We expect that they will come up with a plan, and a clear, coherent voice on how they will synergistically tackle the national insecurity, which is more prevalent in the North. Presently, their voices are discordant, and some of them are even in denial of the seriousness of the security threat confronting their region. As part of the governors’ social contract with the people who elected them, it is a must that they protect lives and property and provide enabling environments for people to live and thrive in. It is the failure of this social contract that may be fuelling insecurity and hopelessness among the people.

Although the challenges of terrorism and banditry resonate more in the North-Eastern and North-Western parts of the country, it is indisputable that virtually the whole country is groaning under acute insecurity. Available statistics paint a gory picture of a country ravaged by security challenges. Nigeria is said to have recorded a total of 8,279 deaths linked to insecurity in the past one year. These are only official records in a country where record keeping has always been anathema.

Governors must ensure that they, by words or actions, are not seen as ethnic, religious, or tribal bigots, demagogues or champions. Their utterances carry a lot of weight, as such their statements should be measured and deliberate to ensure that they do not fan the increasing embers of hate and division in the country.

The governors should realise that as chief security officers of their state, they are entrusted with safeguarding everyone’s lives and property within the state’s borders, despite places of origin, ethnicity, or religion. Much has been said about the governors being the chief security officers of their states only on paper, however with the substantial resources set aside for security available to most governors, they can find creative means of tackling their peculiar security challenges within our current security architecture.

This is time to put everything on the table and discuss how to solve most of Nigeria’s problems, including insecurity and take Nigeria to the next level. This may be an opportunity to re-evaluate the whole structures and formations in our polity to create a better system that will take care of our existing inadequacies…

This is also where we need to rethink our existing federal structure and redefine it to fit our current realities. The quasi-federal structure of the 1980s that we operate today may not be fit for purpose at this time. As they are currently constituted, states may not have what it takes to deal with their myriad problems. They cannot aggregate all their resources to tackle problems, without relying on external forces such as the Federal Government and other non-state actors.

Is it not yet time for Nigeria to practice true federalism whereby states are in control and only get help from the centre when they cannot solve their problems locally? The issue of state police has come to the fore. How can a governor be the state’s chief security officer without control of the police in his state?

The lack of unity among our political and religious leaders is one of the reasons they have been unable to curb the spate of insecurity bedevilling the country. Many known criminals engaged in acts of terror and banditry have escaped punishment because they enjoy tacit support of some political leaders who see them as useful tools in their pursuit or perpetuation of political power. Some of these criminals are always used as thugs by a section of the political class and their political parties during elections. They become untouchables, given free rein to terrorise and extort innocent citizens.

What is needed is the collective efforts of governors in collaboration with the Federal Government to tackle insecurity and promote harmonious and peaceful coexistence among citizens and all ethnic nationalities. The governors should engage less in irredentism and focus more on mapping out strategies for partnering with security agencies, traditional rulers, religious leaders, and all relevant stakeholders in the entrenchment of communal harmony, peace, and security in Nigeria.

In the long run, they should map out a strategy to tackle poverty and underdevelopment, create jobs and wealth for the teeming population in their states, and enthrone justice and equal opportunities for everyone. The absence of these is the root cause of terrorism, banditry, and insecurity. It is only in this way that they can create a sustainable and conducive atmosphere for socio-political and economic growth and development of the states, in particular, and the country at large.

Insecurity in the North is a national issue. How can a part of the country with a higher population and landmass have a problem, and some still think it is a northern problem? Fundamentally, we must change this perception of insecurity as majorly a Northern issue, and have all resources channelled towards solving it. It may have started in the North, but it is now reverberating across the country. We must turn these threats into opportunities.

This is time to put everything on the table and discuss how to solve most of Nigeria’s problems, including insecurity and take Nigeria to the next level. This may be an opportunity to re-evaluate the whole structures and formations in our polity to create a better system that will take care of our existing inadequacies and evolve a new ecosystem that will make Nigeria great. We must not miss this chance.

Dakuku Peterside is a policy and leadership expert.