TheNiche comes out at a time when the Republic is profoundly at a critical juncture. It is also ill at ease with itself. Of course, there is the ‘cheering’ news that Nigeria’s economy may have emerged the largest in Africa and the 26th largest in the world.
This is based on the re-basing of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data. Reflecting the mood of the moment even this is met by cautious optimism rather than wild elation. The cynicism is that profound. Nevertheless, it shows that we are somewhat moving on the right trajectory even though it has not translated into better living standards in the metropolis let alone elevating the rural economy.
In the last one week, the spate of bombings and kidnappings has increased the state of heightened anxiety. To reverse this trend, there must be a strategy overhaul. It is obvious that the intelligence gathering mechanism is clearly not up to par. The following questions have to be answered. First, was there advance information on the Nyanya bombings? If, not, why not?
From what is happening, it ought to have been clear by now that the intelligence gathering framework and implementation mechanism must be aligned to a coherent and pro-active counter-terrorism strategy. The nation, it must be stressed, is not fighting a conventional warfare but a war of attritions whose attack strategy is aimed at dismantling the Republic. It is that serious.
The president is therefore correct in trying to rally the Republic to a common front. This is long overdue. The revered late literary icon Chinua Achebe was absolutely correct in identifying the problem with Nigeria as that of leadership. To go further it also emphasizes an absence of a common purpose within the political establishment.
In a mature democracy, by now we should have seen the evolution of a national democratic agreement. Such a framework would have outlined the dos and don’ts in an operating democracy. If this had been done there would have been no need to belatedly start rallying the republic now.
Nevertheless, it has to be done, better late than never. The political establishment must now agree on a general anti-terrorism strategy. The intelligence gathering mechanism has to be overhauled, strengthened and be made proactive. Fundamentally, the counter-terrorism strategy must be seen as a fight to save the nation as an entity. For this reason, it has to be taken out of the realm of partisan jockeying and point-scoring.
With the national dialogue in place and in view of recent events, the issue of community policing must now be put in place. The fact is that in today’s world, all intelligence gathering starts from the locality. Nefarious activities are best nipped in the bud when the core of intelligence gathering is focused on the local level. The confab, the government and the national assembly must now accept the reality. A revamp of the structure building up from the bottom must now be put in place. On our part we will continue to provide an all-encompassing response to all the national issues.
We believe that the Republic has to be saved. The economies of scale of a population of 170 million people and mouth-watering entrepreneurial skills, and must be used to build a modern nation state in which the collective will and natural endowment is used to achieve social justice.
To do this, the political establishment must lead by example. We applaud for example the sort of example set by the British high commissioner who donated blood to help the victims of the Nyanya bombings. He needed not have done so. However, this is the sort of signal that the populace need to show that there is a connect between the establishment and those they govern. On our part, we will continue to focus on revitalising the republic so that as Saint Francis of Assisi once observed, ‘Where there is discord let us find harmony’.