TS from the Sidelines 
Last weekend during a historic two-day visit to Katsina State, President Bola Tinubu once again reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to reclaiming ungoverned areas, particularly the forests, in the North West and across Nigeria, promising to also deploy advanced surveillance and technology to combat kidnapping, banditry, and terrorism.
Speaking two Friday nights ago while addressing Katsina elders and leaders at a state dinner held at the Government House, the President said: “On the issue of security raised by former governor, Aminu Bello Masari, again this evening; yes, I agree that security is a challenge for the country. I addressed the men and women of the armed forces earlier today and assured them that we will do everything to fight terrorism and banditry.
“We will invest more in technology and take over the forests. Security is a national issue, not just at the local or regional levels. If we genuinely need investment in Nigeria, we must address security.
“Investment is cowardly, and it will not go where there is banditry and terrorism. We will solve the problem together with the states and local councils.”
The President also assured that victims of terrorism will receive support to pick up their lives.
While such talk was to be expected from the nation’s Commander-in-Chief as he needs to allay the fears of those that gave him their votes two years ago, unfortunately for him, we had repeatedly heard such tough talks from his immediate predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, who spent the best part of his eight years also promising the nation that he would end banditry and terrorism under his watch.
Expectedly, government officials, including the military brass, in his administration also towed his line and even came up with a phrase that the terrorists had even been ‘technically defeated’!
In April 2022, the then Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, gleefully made the above statement at a press briefing in Abuja to tout some of the achievements recorded by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.
Speaking at the media briefing, the minister said the country is becoming safer with the successes being recorded in the fight against insurgency and banditry.
“I am proud of our security forces, our men and women in uniform. Despite a myriad of security challenges, they are living up to the billing. The recent string of successes recorded in the fight against Boko Haram and ISWAP is uplifting.
“As the terrorists and their camps are being decimated, thousands of terrorists and their families are surrendering in droves. The effectiveness of the security forces has been enhanced by the leadership provided by President Buhari and the unwavering commitment of the armed forces and its leadership.
“The procurement of modern platforms for the armed forces has also gone a long way in raising the level of their operational readiness and efficiency, in addition to boosting their capabilities.”
However, in my piece also in the same month titled: “When ‘technically defeated’ terrorists refuse to be defeated”, I wrote: “Unfortunately for him, this claim was to be punctured spectacularly when later in the day terrorists launched an audacious attack on an Abuja-Kaduna train around 8pm at Dutse Village in Chikun Local Government Area, just a few kilometres from the Rigasa Train Station, which is the last transit point of the train.
“In the aftermath of the attack, the Kaduna State Government confirmed eight dead and 26 injured. Some of those killed included were, a doctor identified as Megafu Chinelo, who was billed to leave the country yesterday; Farida Sule Mohammed, 29-year-old daughter of National Organising Secretary of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Mallam Sule Mohammed and the Secretary-General of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria, Musa-Lawal Ozigi.
“Some of those who sustained gunshot wounds included Katsina State Commissioner for Health, Nuhu Danja, who lost two of his toes, and a former Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, Mallam Ibrahim Wakkala, who was also hit in his leg.”
This was written some three years ago and yet can we honestly say the security situation has improved and the ‘technically defeated’ terrorists have stopped committing havoc across the length and breadth of the nation?
The answer must be a resounding ‘no.’
Last month, the nation was awash with sad tales of massacres that took place in both Benue and Plateau states in which more than 250 innocent men, women and children lost their lives.
Sadly, weeks after the dastardly incidents (as in earlier ones), none of the culprits has been brought to book, which in itself is one of the main reasons why the scourge is not only continuing but actually spreading.
This I pointed out succinctly in another article written years ago titled “Insecurity: When will we punish the bad guys?”
In it, I wrote: “Like I have repeatedly said in previous write ups – so long as the bad guys are snug in the knowledge that the likelihood of them being caught is very remote they will not only continue to commit crimes, but will be able to entice more people to join their nefarious ways.
“It is only human nature to want to enjoy the good things of life and if one sees a friend seemingly basking in wealth, the one without is bound to ask his or her friend what they are doing to make money. And if the person has no scruples, it will be very easy to cross over from keeping on the right side of the law to becoming a lawbreaker, especially since chances of being made to pay for doing so are virtually non-existent.”
As I pointed out earlier in the weeks after the massacre in Benue and Plateau states, no one has been brought to book. Barely 48 hours after President Tinubu’s ‘Katsina Declaration,’ were 25 people reportedly killed in the Gwana District of Alkaleri Local Government Area of Bauchi State following a clash between suspected bandits and members of a vigilance group.
And on Wednesday, Boko Haram terrorists killed an Army Captain and a private in a midnight attack on a community in Borno State.
There have also been reports of bandits and herdsmen still wreaking havoc in other places including Benue, Plateau and Enugu states, among others.
This only further enhances my position that unless bandits and other non-state actors are made to pay for their actions the lawlessness pervading the land will not only continue but get worse.
It, thus, behooves the President and his security team to devise new strategies of tackling the insecurity ravaging the nation, if Nigerians are to have some respite from the nightmare.
