By Oguwike Nwachuku
Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were at Aso Rock, Abuja on Tuesday, June 18 to laud President Muhammadu Buhari on what they regard as the giant strides he has been making in the areas of economy, security and fight against corruption since he took over power in 2015.
It was also an opportunity for the governors to show solidarity with Buhari as he begins the second but final leg of his presidency, having been declared winner in the February 2019 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
There are so many reasons I regard the APC governors visit as self-serving and off tangent given that same day in some parts of the country, particularly in Borno, Niger, Zamfara and Taraba states, insurgents made mincemeat of the people in such callous savagery that should remind every right thinking person that the war against Boko Harma and other forms of criminality in Nigeria is far from being won contrary to what the authorities think.
In Konduga area of Borno alone for instance, 30 persons were reportedly mowed down to death with no less than 40 others left with devastating injuries they are still nursing till now in the hospitals.
There were also report of killings in Taraba, Zamfara and Niger that propelled the women in Taraba, for instance, to proceed to the streets to demonstrate their frustration for the whole world to behold.
On the strength of the killings up north coupled with what has famously become kidnapping epidemic, herdsmen menace, banditry and other insecurity induced tendencies testing the capacity of government to protect lives and property of its citizens, the British Government, same Tuesday, issued a travel advice to her citizens. The advice restricts their movement to only 15 states out of the 36 states that make up Nigeria. They are not to visit 21 states in Nigeria due to insecurity.
The United Kingdom in a statement issued by Catriona Laing, British High Commissioner to Nigeria said the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has warned British nationals against travelling to about 21 states in Nigeria over security concerns.
The reason for the travel advice (though such pieces of advice are not new)stem from the “worsening security situation” but majorly prompted by the Boko Haram attacks in the North East, banditry in the North West and militancy in the South South.
Pronto, the British nationals are restricted from all travels to Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe and the riverine areas of Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states.
They were cautioned against trips to areas within 20 kilometres of the border with Niger and Zamfara states and advised against all but essential travel to Bauchi, Zamfara, Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Kogi and within 20km of the border with Niger in Sokoto and Kebbi states including the non-riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Abia states.
More importantly, the British nationals were advised to avoid crowds, including political meetings, religious gatherings and places of worship, markets, shopping malls, hotels, bars, restaurants, transport hubs and camps for displaced persons.
“Attacks could be indiscriminate and could affect western interests, as well as places visited by tourists. Besides Abuja, other major towns and cities remain particularly at risk, including Kano and Kaduna,” the advice said.
The FCO insists there is a high threat of kidnap throughout Nigeria, and that abductions are motivated by criminality or terrorism, and done in such ways that suggest financial or political gain.
The advisory added: “The security environment in the North East has deteriorated since 2018 and there is a heightened risk of kidnap.
“There is also a high threat of criminal kidnap in the Niger Delta region and Kogi State. If you travel to areas to which the FCO advise against travel, you are particularly at risk and will need a high level of security.”
While the UK travel advice was being read and digested nationally and internationally in the light of recent upsurge in insecurity, our dear APC governors, guided more as usual by their inordinate ambition and penchant to downplay the suffering of the people under their care, were at Abuja massaging the ego of Mr. President and sycophantically reminding him about how he has been able to deal with the issue of insecurity in Nigeria.
Present at the meeting were the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Yahaya Bello (Kogi); Godwin Obaseki (Edo); Dapo Abiodun (Ogun); Babagana Zulum (Borno ); Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos); Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano); Chairman of APC Governors Forum, Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi); Simon Lalong (Plateau); Gboyega Oyetola (Osun); Mai-Mala Buni (Yobe); Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq (Kwara); Abdullahi Sule of (Nasarawa); Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa)and Abubakar Bello (Niger). The Deputy Governors of Katsina, Mannir Yakubu; and Kaduna, Mrs. Hadiza Balarabe were also present.
Let no one misunderstand me here as regards Mr. President’s efforts to ensure that the country is safe.
However, it hurts that we have governors who are constantly playing politics with our lives and fixated on what they want to get or are getting from Abuja like the N2trillion benevolence they said Buhari extended to them and perhaps, looking forward to receiving more of such largesse as he kick-starts his second term. It does not matter if they may not be putting the money to public use.
Who goes about pursuing rat, when his house is on fire like we saw out APC governors do on that day? What was more threatening to our commonality of purpose as a country the day our dear APC governors visited Buhari than the blood of fellow Nigerians that was being shed in Borno, Taraba, Zamfara and Niger, yet they preferred to have as top on their agenda, matters of political victories from the recent elections?
This is what Bagudu told reporters after the meeting.
He said: “This morning Mr. President graciously granted audience to Progressive Governors Forum. We came to congratulate him on the National Assembly elections and thank him for the confidence he had in the Progressive Governors Forum members who participated actively in all the processes that led to the emergence of Senator Ahmad Lawan, as Senate president; Senator Ovie Omo-Agege as deputy Senate president; Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, as speaker, and Hon. Ahmed Wase as deputy speaker.
“Furthermore, we used the opportunity to thank Mr. President in all he has been doing and all the successes recorded in the areas, which he campaigned upon and by extension our party which are: security, economy and accountability.
“We are quite happy with his support for states where close to N2 trillion was given to states in form of restructuring of loans, refunds on federal roads, refund for Paris Club, which has helped to encourage economic activities in the states, payment of salaries, payment of pensions, payment of gratuities and overall investment in infrastructure.
“We are also appreciative of increased investment in agriculture, which has been a result of conscious decision to support agriculture as a way out of our economic challenges and provide economic growth.
“We also congratulate Mr. President that despite dropped incomes, the value for money that he insists upon has begun to pay off in terms of more security across the country even though some challenges still remain, he is working hard on that with sincerity.
“Last and not the least, we offered to work with Mr. President continuously to ensure that we increase economic performance, security of our country and social cohesion. We thank Mr. President for celebrating the Democracy Day consistent with the promise he has made which is a major element reflective of his democratic ideals in ensuring that an issue which is so important to many Nigerians has been finally addressed in a way that we are all happy.”
Juxtapose Bagudu’s statement with the reason the UK FCO gave the damning advice to its nationals you will discover how a jest governance has become in our country.
The UK is saying that virtually all parts of our country are no longer safe for anyone who risks visiting them, including the places we ordinarily take for granted like the restaurants, pops, churches, Mosques, markets, shopping malls, hotels, bars, restaurants, transport hubs and camps.
By implication, these “dangerous” places as we are being reminded once again by the UK are right there in the states where our dear APC governors, and by extension all the governors are calling the shots. What a shame!
What are the implications of the travel advice by the UK?
One, it punctures the claim by the authorities that Boko Haram has been technically defeated. Second, it shows that the security architecture of our country is still very problematic as to deal with the challenge, and urgently needs re-jigging. Thirdly, it shows that the policies, strategies and leadership around our security challenge are also not working, meaning that the minders of our security agencies are not yet thinking out of the box.
I will be surprised if certain persons close to the powers that be will not advice Buhari to ignore the UK travel advice as another propaganda stunt. After all, government has maintained a dignifying silent since the advice was given.
And typical of how critical national issues are constantly ignored, Nigerians have simply, but quietly been told to find a way of living with whatever experience as regards kidnapping, banditry, herdsmen hazard, and the rest they are going through.
The larger implication of what is happening in a country where the economy is in very bad shape is that in the absence of the famed low-hanging fruits that should help cushion the effects of colossal hardship and poverty being experienced by the citizens, factors that propel insecurity become a way of life, a way of economic survival.
On Tuesday, June 18 at a dinner and Interactive Session with Faculty Members, Harvard Business School (HBS) in Lagos, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo bemoaned the problem of extreme poverty in Nigeria which he said keeps him up at night. I hope I heard him right?
“I think what keeps me up at night has to do with extreme poverty; the issue is that the largest number of those who vote for us are the very poor.
“The promises that government makes to them is that their lives will be better and obviously they are looking at their lives being better in the shortest possible time.
“I will like to see Nigeria being an industrialised nation in the next 10 years; a very strong middle class and most people living above poverty line,’’ Osinbajo said.
Mr. Vice President needs to reconcile his fear of burgeoning poverty in Nigeria that has international acclaim with government enthusiasm that policies in agriculture and Social Intervention Programmes (SIP) have lifted Nigerians, particularly farmers and petty traders, out of poverty.
Whoever does not see this period in the history of Nigeria as frightening times must be in deep hallucination. I can explain.
Regardless of the efforts Buhari is making in the area of security, economy and fight against corruption, the lot of Nigerians are not improving commensurate to what his government thinks.
Go to the major cities in the country you will see more Nigerian youths riding motorcycles (okada) and tricycles (keke Maruwa) to eke out a living. Majority of them, able-bodied youths so do out of frustration and due to nothing more sustaining to do. Sadly, majority of them are from the north, obviously fleeing from the dangers posed by insurgency.
If government policies in agriculture were comprehensive enough, by now, most of these army of youth would have been better engaged in the farms than seen on motor bikes that is fuelled majorly by desire for what to do to eat and remain alive.
Today, Nigeria’s inflation rate has relapsed to 11. 40 percent in May and there are no indications the situation will be better in June going by prevailing circumstances. In April it was 11.37 percent.
There is simply no alternative to improvement in the security situation in Nigeria. Government will be deluding itself thinking that the insurgents have been stripped of their capacity to do harm and so, no longer exert strength in the areas they hitherto posed so much threat to the country.
It is high time the government restored the crisis of confidence within the military high command that has made the Army Chief, Lt General Tukur Buratai to say that: “It is unfortunate, but the truth is that almost every setback the Nigeria Army has had in our operations in recent times can be traced to insufficient willingness to perform assigned tasks: or simply insufficient commitment to a common national/military course by those at the frontlines.”
If one juxtaposes what Buratai said and the recent comment credited to the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed that the police are overwhelmed, then, you come to full comprehension of the reason for the escalation of insecurity in the country.
At the risk of sounding immodest, the president must rise to the occasion of taking the current Service Chiefs out of the system because their capacity to deliver seems to have been gripped by diminishing return.
Even though it is being said that Buhari does not like firing his employees, such “magnanimity” on the part of Mr. President should be excused in the interest of the protection of lives and property of Nigerians and its visitors as far as the Service Chiefs and their continuing hold on the structure of the military high command is concerned.
Today, the country requires commanding officers with fresh ideas and little affected by the politics of the system. Nigeria at this point in time cannot afford to continue to romance with Service Chiefs, most of who also served in critical positions during the previous regimes when arbitrary funding of security with its negative implications, until now, was seen as the norm.
Those who are calling for the rejigging of national security architecture based on the soldiers’ indiscipline as Buratai hinted cannot be wrong as the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and Southern and Middle Belt Leadership Forum (SMLF) have all expressed concern over the alarm raised by the Army chief.
It is not a concern that ought to be treated with levity, else, more foreign countries will take turns to advice their nationals on why they should leave the Nigeria not to restrict their movement within as the UK advised.
