Security Under President Buhari’s Watch

By Kolawole Anthony

The first official covenant a leader makes with the people, on the first day of official function is security of lives and property of the citizenry. It is neither negotiable nor subject to compromise under any guise.

A law abiding and peaceful nation is the panacea to uninhibited development and prosperity. It is the primary essence of governance. And the capacity of the Armed Forces anywhere in the world is gauged by its capacity and competencies to assist the President to defray internal and external aggressions against its country. But the military abdicated on this basic constitutional responsibility under the last administration.

And the consequences were quite grave. No Nigerian can agree less that Nigeria was on a precarious cliff of total breakdown of law and order, by May 2015, when President Muhammedu Buhari took the reins of office.

Nigeria was literally and practically handcuffed by subsisting, budding, consuming and persistently explosive acts of terrorism, local armed conflicts, militancy, violent separatists’ agitations, ethno-religious conflagrations and other insurrections. They did not only disturbingly assail and crippled Nigeria, but had morphed into threats to regional insecurity threats.

Burdened by an extremely weak Military, prior to the ascension of the Buhari Presidency, Nigeria replaced its peaceful soul with almost everyday violence, deaths and agonies from terrorism. Dominantly at the home front, Boko Haram Terrorists (BHTs) obstinately pulled the cord of disunity and disintegration of Nigeria. It went paranoid and regrettably unchallenged in the organized atrocious acts and heinous crimes against Nigerians. But Buhari has smothered the fire.