Contemporary National Insecurity: The Way Forward 

Police IG: Kayode Egbetokun

By: Shehu Bashir Esq.

Let us stop playing politics with security and be conscionable for once. Let the government declare state of emergency in any state with the prevalence of serious national security concerns. Let us restructure the command and control of the military and other security arms managing the national security. Let us stop adhoc management of insecurity and be more potent.

National security is not what should be used to play politics of impression, caution and/or political correctness.

Refusal to act accordingly in fear of losing political patronage is itself a complicity. Insecurity does not require talk show, it requires action and firm leadership. Let us stop being cosmetic in our approach, national security is better managed by proactive action and not cosmetic reaction.

In that order, for the affected areas around the bandits and terrorists, let us relocate the civilians around the bandits enclave and go for full scale war with them. Nigerian Armed Forces are well equipped to tackle this but something is missing somewhere – patriotism.

There is inherent conspiracy from within the system and unless that is tackled with good and patriotic intentions, we will be doing roller coaster of demand and supply on security for insecurity.

Meanwhile, let us stop protecting the financiers of these crimes. Let us start naming and shaming, exposing all dealings in terrorism financing and arms dealings. Let us take over the communication space and frustrate the terrorists. Create a specialized eagle eye on banks operation via their KYC and be ready to deal with any violation of the rules.

Let us free ourselves from the blackmail of Western countries who are giving us with one hand and taking it from us with another hand. The guns and other military weapons in the hands of these terrorists ravaging the country were not manufactured by these terrorists, they must have gotten their supplies from abroad. Who is controlling our air space and how are these weapons transported through the land borders?Sad and heartbreaking how we feign ignorance and do nothing. It is a brutal world of entanglement and a very frustrating one.

Let the matter of national security take priority over any other social dealings. There cannot be economic prosperity where insecurity takes the centre stage. National and transnational treaties are better hinged on internal security.

Let us have a special border crossing squad with full scale military forces to tackle border breaches. Freedom of movement is not freedom of violence. This is is not a rocket science except for those who like to politicize everything.

Let us change the governing law on terrorism and gun running from imprisonment to capital punishment. Let us create a special court for terrorism and terrorism financing for quick and efficient justice. Deterrent is key to efficient crime reduction.

Kidnapping and ritual killings should also be capital punishment like armed robbery. We can only achieve the desired goals when our common survival depends on this goal.

Please, which of these above is difficult to do except that the politicians don’t want to do them because they are concerned with something else?

Let the politicians be godly in their dealings, have the fear of God and the political will to save this nation from the brink of further deterioration. Everyone will give account to our Creator for our complicity and conspiracy against this helpless nation, much more our silence while this is going on.

We are all in this mess not because we don’t have the capacity to tackle this but because the political class are profiting from the crises in one way or another. If some are not getting financial gains from it, some are using it as pawn to gain political advantage. Anybody can say anything to the contrary, personal opinion does not change the inherent fact. We are all God’s creatures and one day, we will return to Him. So, what should anybody fear to refrain them from saying the truth?

In this case, whatever is anyone’s motive in allowing all these to continue, we should all remember that we can still get whatever we wish for without having to come through the blood of innocent Nigerians.

Take note, all that anyone benefits through the blood of others will not prevent the beneficiaries from leaving this world one day. And on the day of reckoning, nothing that you got by spilling others blood will save you from the punishment of God. The words of God are true and sacrosanct.

Let all of us continue to pamper criminality and indulge corruption, God is waiting for all of us. He alone is the best Judge.

May God Almighty save this innocent nation from the hands of her tormentors and protect the citizens from the heartlessness of their attackers, Amin.

GOD IS HERE