Assistant Politics Editor, DANIEL KANU, captures views of analysts and stakeholders on the merits and demerits of extending emergency rule in the North East states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe
For the third time, President Goodluck Jonathan, citing deteriorating security situation, last Tuesday, issued a proclamation extending emergency rule in the three North East states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe.
Emergency rule was first imposed on those states in May 2013, extended in November 2013 and was to expire last Thursday.
The president, in letters addressed to Senate President, David Mark, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, asked the National Assembly to expeditiously approve the extension, insisting that extending the emergency rule was an option to consider because the security situation in the affected states had not improved.
Jonathan said the security situation in the three states remained daunting in view of persistent attacks by members of the Boko Haram sect, whom he said had continued to unleash terror on both the civilians and the military.
Part of the letter read: “May I respectfully draw your attention to the state of emergency proclamation of 2013, in respect of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, which was approved by the National Assembly. By virtue of the provisions of Section 305(6)(c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, the proclamation aforementioned would have elapsed after six months from the date of approval of the National Assembly.
“However, after due consideration of the representations made to the Senate/House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the effect that, while substantial progress had been made to contain the situation and restore normalcy in the affected states, the security situation that necessitated the proclamation of a state of emergency is yet to abate.
“Distinguished senators, the security situation in the three states remains daunting, albeit to varying degrees, in the face of persistent attacks by members of the Boko Haram sect on civilian and military targets with alarming casualty rates.
“In view of the foregoing, I most respectfully request the distinguished senators to consider and approve, by resolution, the extension of the proclamation of the state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states by a further term of six months from the date of expiration of the current term.”
Mixed reactions have continued to trail the move, as some critics have argued whether in view of the apparent failure of the same measure over the last 12 months extension of emergency rule remained the best alternative to checkmate the worsening security challenge.
Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, for instance, has kicked against the president’s request, saying that imposing emergency rule was not the solution to the protracted Boko Haram menace in the area.
Gaidam communicated his displeasure in a statement issued by his Special Adviser, Press Affairs and Information, Bego Abdullahi.
The statement reads: “It has come to the notice of Governor Ibrahim Gaidam that President Goodluck Jonathan has written to the National Assembly asking for yet another extension of emergency rule in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, as the current emergency rule expires in the next few days.
“The Yobe State Government, under the leadership of Governor Gaidam, takes very strong exception to this move by the president. We believe that extending emergency rule is not the answer to the prevailing security challenges in the three affected states, in view of the apparent failure of the same measure over the last 12 months.”
In the words of Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, the state of emergency is “useless”.
He is unmoved by the extension for which Jonathan is seeking the support of the National Assembly.
To him, the state of emergency, which has been in place in the last one year, has been largely ineffective in addressing the security challenges in the North East. The proposed extension, he said, had already been rejected by the Yobe and Adamawa governments.
Speaking in an interview aired on the Hausa Service of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Shettima accused the military of being ineffective in carrying out their responsibility, just as he recalled that during the Boko Haram attack on Giwa Barracks in Maiduguri, it was the civilian JTF that confronted the terrorists and not soldiers.
The governor expressed regret over the worsening condition of life in his state which he described as bad. He said residents were wallowing in poverty because the insurgents had made it impossible for businesses to thrive and farming impossible.
He said: “This state of emergency is useless; these wicked people had a field day when they annexed Giwa Barracks. The civilian JTF confronted them, and many of them died. This state of emergency is nonsense.”
There are indications, going by the body language of the North, that the zone is displeased with the president’s move for emergency rule extension. TheNiche gathered that federal lawmakers, particularly from the North, are reaching out to their colleagues from other zones to shoot down Jonathan’s request. The Northern Senators Forum (NSF) on Wednesday vowed to vote against the request by Jonathan to extend emergency rule.
Chairman of the NSF, Umaru Dahiru (Sokoto South), told reporters after an over three-hour meeting by the lawmakers, that it was glaring that extension of the statement of emergency is not the best way to fight the Boko Haram insurgents in the area.
Dahiru said: “If you notice, we had a meeting this afternoon (Wednesday), and basically the issue of state of emergency is one of the things that we discussed. We discussed it thoroughly, the pros and cons, because majority of us were here to make their own contributions and a lot has been said.
“You would discover that in the past, a request was made and it was approved the way it came. This time around, there is a re-think. The majority position, which we have agreed upon, is that we are not going with the state of emergency.
“Categorically, that is our position. We are not convinced that it is only with the issue of state of emergency that the security personnel can achieve.
“We believe that more needs to be done and there are things that need to be addressed to conquer this issue of insurgency and what have you. So, if I am to go by your question, our own position is that we are not going to support extension of emergency rule.”
Constitutional lawyer, Tunji Abayomi, told TheNiche that it makes sense that the emergency is extended.
He argued that if with the state of emergency the degree of violence is still alarming, then it would be suicidal to drop the arrangement.
Said Abayomi: “It makes sense that the state of emergency is extended. It would be unthinkable to contemplate what would happen in those areas without emergency pronouncement. Something has to be done because things will be worse if this strict measure is not taken.
“Imagine the level of brutality now that there is emergency (rule) and what will happen without it. No matter what anybody will say, its advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, although we expect the federal government to improve upon what is on the ground to accelerate the pace of efforts against Boko Haram.”
Critics see extension of emergency rule as a sterile measure, arguing that in the last one year duration of emergency rule the areas affected have continued to witness some of the worst forms of attacks by the deadly group.
The argument is that although the security forces on the ground have done and continue to do their best under the circumstances, Boko Haram insurgents and criminals have always carried out attacks when they wanted to and have almost always got away with their barbarous and despicable acts.
In their view, what is needed is a new approach by the federal government to defeat Boko Haram, restore peace and stability, and rebuild the livelihoods that have been lost.
Another suggestion is that the federal government needs to evaluate its military strategy regularly, provide additional and superior weaponry to the security forces and use the endowments of advanced communications and satellite technology to be several steps ahead of the insurgents.
Addressing a world press conference recently, interim national chairman, All Progressives Congress (APC), Bisi Akande, had maintained that the Nigerian military was capable of stopping the insurgents, alleging that Boko Haram activities thrived on federal government’s refusal to empower them for that purpose.
According to Akande, “Stories emerging from the front in the battle with Boko Haram have been saddening: low morale among our troops, obsolete equipment, including guns that fail to fire and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) that won’t move, given to our troops, and cases of deserters.”
Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim, representing Gulani, Damaturu, Gujba and Tarmuwa Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, called for the replacement of the emergency rule with the Joint Task Force (JTF) operations.
The female lawmaker believes that the insurgency could be contained with JTF security operations.
“Personally, I think we need to have all the help that we need to curb the insurgency. You don’t have to impose a state of emergency. You can actually put in place a joint task force within the state without actually saying there must be an emergency rule. I think that is a possibility. So, I don’t see any reason they should extend the state of emergency,” she said.
Some observers say the Boko Haram battle has taken a political dimension, the reason it has remained intractable. They believe that, given the way the issue is being handled, there appears to be a planned sabotage by some groups to discredit Jonathan’s government.
There are unconfirmed reports that the Boko Haram has been fortified, as its members are now emboldened and armed even with some counter-insurgency information from soldiers.
An army officer, who pleaded anonymity, told TheNiche that “the soldiers in Maiduguri last Wednesday who shot sporadically to express their displeasure over the killing of their colleagues while returning from an operation in pursuit of members of the Boko Haram sect was one of such numerous acts of sabotage. Sometimes, it is the locals who know the information on movement of the soldiers, but who secretly work for Boko Haram, that mostly mislead them into an ambush. The soldiers too are not given all the needful for their job. The authorities must look inwards.”
Lately, the country has become one of the most featured in the global media giants like the Cable Network News (CNN), Aljazeera, China Cable Television (CCTV), Euro News, Sky News, virtually all African broadcasting channels and networks across the world. This is in the wake of the abduction of over 200 school girls from their school in Chibok, Borno State, more so that their whereabouts is still unknown.
What is obvious is that Nigeria has continued to attract unsavoury global attention. Thus, political analysts are of the opinion that if emergency condition must continue, government must ensure that the soldiers and all security agencies involved are well equipped in the fight against the terror group.
The Boko Haram experience has been a harrowing one. In 2011 when the group became vicious, it bombed the United Nations (UN) complex and the Police Headquarters in Abuja. Later that year, the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was bombed. And as these went on, worship centres in states like Borno, Yobe, Plateau, Niger, Adamawa and Kano states were constantly under attack. Palaces of respected royal fathers and market squares were not spared, including popular motor parks and the siege still continues.