The recent spate of wanton killings in Nigeria paints a gory picture of a nation gradually degenerating into a Hobbesian state where life is short and brutish. Despite Nigeria’s vast human and material resources, the country has become an international laughingstock in the comity of nations. Crippling insecurity has reared its ugly head in states like Plateau, Benue, Zamfara, and Katsina, among others. Daredevil bandits and herdsmen are daily unleashing terror on communities, destroying lives and livelihoods, and forcing farmers to abandon their farms. These heinous activities have led to rising hunger and food insecurity—developments that severely impact the mental and nutritional well-being of affected communities.
In Plateau State, for instance, the recent killings in Bokkos and Bassa Local Government Areas are unacceptable and must not be swept under the carpet. Over a hundred lives were lost in these attacks, which also involved the destruction of property, including homes. Unfortunately, the Plateau State government appears almost helpless, looking to the federal government for the much-needed support on security.
With barely 400,000 police officers for a population of over 200 million, Nigeria is in the throes of a security crisis. The available number of officers is hardly sufficient, especially as they are largely assigned to protect the political elite. Governors, ministers, senators, and other political officeholders enjoy the luxury of police protection at the expense of ordinary citizens.
The current state of security in Nigeria is particularly embarrassing, given the country’s once-esteemed military and policing pedigree. Some experts have called for a complete overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture. Others have pointed fingers at political and religious extremists accused of deliberately pushing the country towards chaos. One such voice is Navy Commodore Kunle Olawunmi (retd.), who insists that certain elements are determined to Islamise Nigeria and are sponsoring the carnage in several parts of the country. The seasoned security expert attributes many of the lapses in the country’s security apparatus to lopsided appointments into top military positions. He also criticised the ethno-religious bias of the Buhari administration, which he claims “northernised” the Nigerian military structure.
It is on record that the Buhari regime reintegrated captured Boko Haram commanders into the Nigerian Army—a move that was widely criticised. Stakeholders questioned the rationale behind such a policy, especially given that the insurgency in Nigeria has been linked to sponsors pushing an Islamist agenda. Many of the decisions taken during that regime continue to haunt Nigeria today. Former Boko Haram fighters have reportedly rebranded themselves as bandits and kidnappers, terrorising residents in the northeast and northwest. For the first time in Nigeria’s history, farmers are now forced to pay taxes to terrorists before they can farm.
Even the Nigerian Army has been compromised, as soldiers no longer command the respect they once did. In August 2021, gunmen suspected to be terrorists invaded the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna, killed two officers, and abducted another.
“There are some hardliners in the Buhari government who are sponsoring these narratives,” Olawunmi observed in 2021. “They just want to show that they can Islamise this country. They think about the Taliban and the Mujahideen and want to replicate that here. They don’t care…”
Returning to the recent killings in Plateau State, Governor Caleb Mutfwang, in a statewide broadcast, called on citizens to rise up and defend themselves whenever they are attacked. This call amounts to an acknowledgment of the people’s vulnerability due to the government’s failure to protect lives and property. Truth be told, Nigeria is drifting towards a failed state where the blood of the innocent cries out from the ground daily. The horrifying images of children and mothers hacked to death in their sleep would move any conscience-stricken person to tears.
These killings raise serious questions about the “One Nigeria” project for which General Yakubu Gowon fought during the Biafran War. Many argue that the unity mantra is unsustainable amid the incessant killings often perpetrated by members of a particular ethnic group. Nigeria belongs to all Nigerians. No ethnic group is superior or more entitled than the others. Those who claim that Nigeria was handed over to them by the British must abandon such divisive narratives, as they only serve to deepen unrest and fuel anarchy.
I want to use this opportunity to commend the Plateau State government for taking proactive steps towards addressing the incessant killing of its indigenes by criminals who are bent on forcefully claiming their land. The youths of Plateau State must rise to the occasion by forming themselves into vigilante groups, while the government should procure licensed arms for them to protect their land from foreign aggressors.
