We have had countless opportunities. Indeed, rare ones to end insecurity. They were generously dropped on our laps. On a gold platter. And guess what! We have had the golden chances to miss them all. Also, on a gold platter. Stranger than fiction!
Instead, we opted for the insane, the sordid. The manner we’re wired? Baffling, amazing, amusing. We chose to plant, grow and nurture our own: War economy is it!
This is one of the contingencies. And you can’t pick such stakes up carelessly in the open market anyhow. They don’t come that often. They are not accidental happenings. You may recklessly throw them away for life.
So, we did with this old, evergreen video clip. Somehow, it surfaced again this past week. Now trending, exposing our deceit, our complacency. This happened to us in 2015.
If we hearkened to its candid advice then. This would have ended our security absurdities. But the evil politicians and their cruel collaborators in us wouldn’t allow that to be. They were thirsty for a war economy. Thank heavens. Now, they’re shamelessly proud to have a flourishing one as their necklace.
The character talking in the video is not identified. For it’s a chance security leak. But the message addresses our challenges. It speaks to our plight:
“During Jonathan (era), we brought in mercenaries. They were about to finish Boko Haram. But because of our complacency, personal aggrandisement and personal interest, we asked them to go back. We are still battling with the issue.
“I was a member of Borno State House of Assembly when the mercenaries were in the state. They were less than 30, everybody with a laptop. They were observing what was happening in the bush in a room.
“The moment they discovered an enclave, they would identify: how many weapons did they have? What types of weapons? How many AK-47? How many explosives did they have? They would take only three or four people in a chopper to go and clear everything.
“They would snap pictures before clearing them. And bring back exhibits. We were about to finish it. And because we felt that if we allowed the mercenaries to do it, we would not get anything.
“The National Assembly (NASS) provided all the enabling laws. The enforcement of the laws is not ours. We can only advise. If the government refuses to do it, there is no way you can force them. Because they have the mercenaries for implementation.”
But the agents of the devil thought quite differently. Perhaps, not unexpected. The men from the deepest pit of hell stood out to be counted. For the wrong reason, of course.
They erected a huge spanner. In the good works of the mercenaries. And frustrated them out of Nigeria. With ultimate accuracy. They prepared ground for the grand entry of late President Muhammadu Buhari.
That came to be in 2015. And Buhari explored and exploited the space to the fullest. He came and acted like a pandemic of which he was.
He overwhelmed us. We were bewildered. From his start-off. He never feigned his intentions. His body language, actions and inactions exposed that early enough. He reached out straight to our fragile jugular. And held us tight when his weird eight dark years lasted.
He wreaked havoc on us. And wrecked us completely. That has been his long, old, odd lifetime mission and vision. He was glad, elated he achieved it. To our peril.
But we not only survived. We outlived him also. Thank God for the uncommon resilience he made us to display. Where did we gather the strength? It could only be God.
That legislator in the video spoke well. But he missed the most vital point. NASS wasn’t totally out of blame here. That’s what he would want us to believe. There are more the lawmakers can do. You can’t enact law and watch the Executive mess it up.
NASS is not helpless in this situation. It cannot abdicate its responsibilities mid-way. There are constitutional provisions to make the Executive enforce enabling laws. You exercise your enormous powers. Apply strict sanctions to effect implementation.
Why are there adequate checks and balances? They are not fillers nor decorations. They are meant to be applied appropriately. But the NASS has been weakened. So, it claimed hopelessness in performing its duties. As it’s presently structured. It can’t stand up to the Executive. It dares not. That’s what this lawmaker just demonstrated in his last paragraph.
That is the huge price you pay when one becomes a rubber stamp. You’re easily cajoled, cowed and intimidated. A vibrant legislature won’t succumb to that voluntarily. NASS has to be more assertive, blunt. It’s then you can be respected. For now, we don’t see that happen.
The reason, seven years later. Another video clip made its audacious appearance. Dateline: August 2022. The eve of 2023 presidential election. Senator Kashim Shettima was on the ballot paper. He was running mate to the then Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Jointly, they held the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket. He had been a two-term governor of Borno State.
They were all over us, trailing our footsteps. Wherever we went, there they ran, overtook us. Preaching their gospel: Renewed Hope 2023. That was how Shettima caught up with us in one of his outings. And he made the maximum use of the opportunity.
He picked on the vexed insecurity that has become our dreadful lot. He pretended to us he would wrestle terrorists out of existence. You would be tempted to submit to him. Great risk? He poured out:
“I have been in the theatre of conflicts for 18 years. I will lead the troops to battle. My principal (Tinubu) is an economy wizard. He transformed Lagos into the third largest economy in Africa. He will concentrate on the economy.”
He even had the guts to drag his Creator along. Politicians can do anything for anything. They are eternally mindless: “By God’s grace, I will handle the security. Not only handle the security. I will lead the troops to battle across the length and breadth of this country.”
This is the crux of the matter. We allowed Shettima to deceive us. Every word he pronounced did not fly. Why are we so gullible? We always willingly present ourselves as prey to these politicians with sugar-coated tongues. They speak from both sides of their loud mouths.
Shall we not perceive this? His alleged link with Kabiru Sokoto, a convicted Boko Haram kingpin. Sokoto mastermind behind the bombing of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State. He was heartless. He blew the church on Christmas Day, 2011. Killing 37 worshippers instantly.
And this is where Shettima came in. Sokoto was nabbed on January 14, 2012. Right inside Borno State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja. Yes, while Shettima held sway! Notorious Sokoto escaped just two days later. All the same. He secured his life imprisonment on December 20, 2013. And that sealed it.
Do we need to be convinced otherwise of Shettima’s empty boast? This gives us a better understanding of his ambiguous and confused utterance: “I have been in the theatre of conflicts for 18 years. I will lead the troops to battle.” Pure deception. Now, we know the root of the escalation of our unending insecurity. And how deep it is. It’s quite deeply rooted.
But it can still be uprooted! Defence architecture needs a holistic and robust overhaul. From bottom-to-top. That’s the sane way to go. Not top-to-bottom.
That’s absurdity in place. And it is stupidity. As it’s presently wired, we can’t win any war. Not even against bandits and terrorists.
Pity. Our leaders elected to remain unrepentant, complacent and adamant. They refuse to do the needful. Our missed opportunities are growing our war economy. That makes the plans of our enemies to fall in pleasant places. And our woes leap unhindered.
Consequences of our missed opportunities are in legion. They show up in forms of fire-brigade measures. Exemplars: For the undaunted Tinubu, the fear of the North is the beginning of wisdom. Year 2027 is ever on his mind. Waiting patiently with bated breath.
He beat his chest with all his perceived valour. And vowed to the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF): “I won’t allow Northern Nigeria to continue to bleed. I will tame the insecurity menace.” He performed the ritual at ACF’s 25th anniversary. That was on Saturday, in Kaduna, the heartbeat of the North.
The reason he needed to do what he did is 2027. He was strategically wise enough. He sent one of theirs to speak for him. The lot fell on Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker, House of Representatives.
The rest of the country can go to blazes. But, not the North. It’s an uncontrollable fear, anxiety. If he allows this terrorist audacity to fester on as it is. It can sink his 2027. Or place it in serious jeopardy. It may not even come. At least, as easy as he thinks. That’s the factual fact. It’s not a prediction. It’s the stark reality on ground; in the air. It will be another instance of missed opportunity.
Bending to the North aligns with his 2027 aspiration. Why must every single decision be “politicarised” and 2027 based? Our collective life, existence must not revolve round the parochial ambition of an individual.
Never. Not even the President. Or better still, Tinubu. A spade remains what it is: A spade. No other toga. No other tag. No colouration suits it better. We insist: A spade!
Then, the blind shutdown of schools. In a span of one week. Hundreds of schools were rendered inactive. At the last count, the Federal Government shut 47 schools. Kwara State forced schools in five of its local governments to close shop. All schools were locked up in Niger and Plateau states.
The terrorists are winning. And our children are the hardest hit. They are the casualties. Terrorists are adopting them as shields. Strengthening their negotiating power. Imagine their trauma; their excruciating pain. All because of our neglect and missed opportunities.
Cheers! Our war economy is excelling at the speed of light. It’s booming sporadically. The growth is monumental and phenomenal. What a crude, cruel, wild and weird combination! This newfound war economy won’t stop ascending. And to nowhere in particular. At least, not to heavens. Nor aljanah!
Let’s collectively resolve to help it to the enclave exclusively reserved for it. Let’s push it down to the bottomless pit of hell. That’s where it belongs. Its rightful abode. It, its sponsors and operators can’t co-habit with us. We are strange bedfellows. Never to share the same bed.
Truncate the war economy now. Before it consumes us all. We can’t afford more missed opportunities. We have missed it several times over. Too many to bear. And endure.
The drift must cease forthwith!
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