What serves as a stark reminder of the seemingly irredeemable
character of the President Muhammadu Buhari government is its blithe
appropriation of its failings as the hallmarks of its triumph. Lost in this self-assigned halo of
infallibility, it denies itself the capacity for introspection and thus holds
no promise of self-correction.
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| *Air Marshal Alex Badeh |
Hence, while it is clear to the majority of
Nigerians that the government has failed in the three major areas – economy,
corruption and security – in which it wants the citizens to measure its
performance, it is still afflicted by the delusion of having recorded indelible
strides in those spheres. The alarming rise of the unemployment rate from 17.6 million to 20.9 million as
has just been released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is obviously
disdained by the government.
Apparently blinkered by their own
state-nourished affluence, the government officials think life has improved for
every citizen and those who legitimately identify this as a reality in the
febrile imagination of the Buhari administration are easily dismissed as
hankering after a dark past.
But has life really improved when the citizens
are afraid to move from one place to another? Or has this government not
returned us to a Hobbesian state where little or no premium is placed on life?
Evidence of a state racked by insecurity abounds.
But with the murder of a former Chief of
Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh (retired) just on Tuesday, we do not need
to go far into the past to look for the indices of the absence of security of
life.
Again, as though to drive home the absence of
security in almost all parts of the country, the murder occurred in Abuja, the
seat of power that is supposed to be readily associated with heightened
protection of life and property.
Yes, before his brutal demise, Badeh was
facing charges of corruption.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) was prosecuting him as one of those who unconscionably diverted to
personal use billions meant for the equipment of the military in order for it
to effectively fight Boko Haram. Yet, he remained part of the military. This was why in the midst of sundry
speculations about his tragic fate, it was the air force that confirmed that he
was murdered.
Thus, the military, as in the case of retired
Major General Idris Alkali may deploy its resources, against all odds, to
ferret out the culprits.
But while his murder is really painful and
condemnable, the fact remains that his fate should serve as a reminder of what
awaits all officials who travestise the opportunity to serve their fellow
citizens as a channel for state heist.
Those who think that because they have a
retinue of security aides and therefore they would not put in place an enduring
security architecture would be out of government one day.
Now, they are free to divert money meant for
security. They should build mansions and establish big farms and companies.
They can go ahead to neglect providing jobs for millions of youths.
But when they leave office, they would be as
vulnerable as the ordinary citizens they refuse to think of their security now.
Then they may be mowed down by the youths they
have refused to provide jobs. They may not be able to access their so-called
investments. Those who think that as long as their children are overseas they are safe would
have to permanently keep them there to guarantee their safety.
In the long run, it may not be the EFCC and
other anti-corruption bodies that would send our corrupt public officials
abroad. It is rather the insecurity that they have failed to check that would
do this.
In this regard, we are reminded of the case of
former President Goodluck Jonathan who was – and is still – haunted by the
poverty and insecurity he failed to check.
His Abuja house that he was not occupying
obviously because he has two many in the midst of grinding poverty, was
despoiled by the policemen who were guarding the place. They took away
television sets and clothes which were suffering disuse.
The nation’s insecurity has also found
expression in kidnapping.
Despite the arrest and the ongoing prosecution
of the kidnap lynchpin Evans, the complicity of security operatives and real
starvation has bred more Evans who have discovered how lucrative this strand of
criminality is.
Faced with the present danger of kidnap, those
who have made enough money despite the failed economy cannot travel to their
villages for Christmas. In fact, it is no longer whether those to be kidnapped are rich.
Teachers in primary, secondary and tertiary
institutions have been kidnapped and those who could not pay the ransom being
demanded have either been killed or have some parts of their bodies like
fingers cut off.
Worse, there is state-backed insecurity. The
military, police and Department of State Services (DSS) have been identified as
being responsible for perpetrating this kind of insecurity.
Through them, the government attempts to
suppress dissent. Those who refuse to be suppressed often pay with their lives.
What comes to mind here is the ordeal that
members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria have suffered at the hands of state
security operatives.
Hundreds of them have been killed as they try
to exercise their freedom of worship and ask for the release of their leader
Ibrahim El Zakzaky who has been in the custody of the DSS.
There has been a viral video of the grisly
fate that the Shiites have been subjected to by soldiers. They have been mowed
down while protesting unarmed.
In the face of this egregious violation of the
security of the citizens, the government only mocks itself when it claims that
it is miffed by the Amnesty International’s position that the military has
killed thousands of citizens on account of crises. Instead of Buhari to be ashamed and caution his soldiers against such impunity,
he has been the one defending them.
He has apparently supported their threat to
send Amnesty from Nigeria so that they can perpetrate their carnage unobserved
by the outside world.
The insecurity would have been worse if Fulani
herdsmen were still on the prowl in the same way they were raping, maiming and
killing before.
But have they decided to embrace peace because
the issue of their quest for grazing opportunities that allegedly provoked
their terrorism against their hosts has been resolved?
Has Benue repudiated its grazing laws that
provoked the lunatic massacre by Fulani herdsmen? Or have the Buhari government
and some other state governments taken their own cue from Nasir El-Rufai and
they have given the Fulani herdsmen enough money to assuage their fury?
If they could stop inflicting massive
destruction of property, pain and death now without their so-called grouse
being clearly addressed, it means they could have been reined in earlier if the
Buhari government had wanted to do this. Thus, there is the suspicion that the Fulani herdsmen may have only halted
their criminality in view of the 2019 elections. They may be waiting for the
elections to end before they may resume their terrorism.
Boko Haram is still killing, raping and
abducting men and women.
In a short time after their famous technical
degrading, they have mutated into a strong force that now overruns military
formations and dispossesses them of their weapons.
Of course, the eternal scar is on our
conscience – the continued hostage of Leah Sharibu and the Chibok girls.
The grave situation of insecurity in the
north-east the Buhari government wants to hide from the citizens has been
captured in a viral video by a former President of the Guild of Editors, Sani
Zoro, as he addressed his colleague-lawmakers.
He tells them that security is far from
returning to the north-east and that communities that have been reportedly
liberated are still unlivable and prone to raids by insurgents.
If Buhari were judged by the criteria,
especially as regards security, he set by himself, he has failed.
Thus, Nigerians should be concerned with how
to survive these perils of the sunset of the Buhari government.
But more importantly, since Buhari is not
willing on his own to acknowledge that he does not have the capacity to stop
this insecurity, it is the citizens who are afflicted by it who should replace
him next year with someone who can better guarantee their safety.
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