On Tuesday, 2nd of March, 2021, after a meeting of the National Security Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, retired Major General Babagana Monguno, the National Security Adviser (NSA) addressed State House correspondents, telling the nation about the outcome of the security council meeting.
Apart from
dwelling particularly on the situation in Zamfara State, where 279 students of
the Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe in the Talata Malafa Local
Government Area of the state were just released in the early hours of that
Tuesday morning, the President, according to Monguno, also made far reaching
proclamations and gave sweeping orders as regards the nation’s security
situation.
To start
with, the President ordered a ‘no fly zone’ over Zamfara State and also ordered
immediate ban on mining in the state, which many believe is the genesis of the
persistent insecurity in the state.
Beyond
Zamfara, President Buhari ordered the nation’s service chiefs to recover all
the areas that are being occupied by insurgents, bandits and kidnappers all
over the country.
This particular order, for many, is the most important one made by the President, who has been accused for too long for his seeming silence and alleged carefree attitude over the security challenges facing the country.
For many
Nigerians, rooting out insurgents, bandits and kidnappers from their hideouts
and camps, mainly in the forests all over the country, will practically bring
an end to insecurity.
Speaking
further, Monguno, said there is no sovereign nation on earth that allows people
who are non-state actors to force it to its knees, bringing about panic,
apprehension, distrust and disorder.
“Therefore,
both the defence and intelligence organisations have been charged that while we
look forward to having a peaceful, non-kinetic resolution, we will not allow
this country to drift into state failure.
“And with
effect from today, the new service chiefs have been given directives by the
Minister of Defence, conveyed by the President to the Minister of Defence, to
reclaim all areas that have been dominated by bandits, kidnappers and other
scoundrels of scallywags.
“Now, I need
to stress also that there are individuals in this country who have assumed a
status that is beyond what they should be. The intelligence from our own
sources, the intelligence at my disposal reveals that we have certain entities,
certain individuals who are making capital out of insecurity, especially
kidnapping.
“This is a
situation that has to be brought to an end and I’m sending a warning to anybody
who is hiding beneath a veneer of some status, whether official, in terms of an
official capacity or traditional or religious, to stoke the flames of disorder.
“The
government is very serious about this. As I said, we’re drifting into a
situation that we can no longer afford to lose lives.
“We are not
going to be blackmailed, we’re going to use whatever that is at our disposal,
while operating within the confines of legitimacy, within the confines of
legality, but the government has a responsibility to assert its will, using the
instruments at its disposal to keep the state moving, alive, happy in
prosperity, this will not be compromised.
“I think
we’ve had enough of violence, enough of chaos, enough of anarchy but I want to
stress once more that any individual or group that thinks it can take it upon
itself to cause disunity, disharmony and push the country to the brink should
have a rethink.
“Any
individual who thinks he has any support, who thinks he can undermine this
government, anybody, any human being, as long as it is a citizen of this
country, any person who thinks he’s the cat’s whiskers, or he can be rocky on
the perch and lead us into a situation of unhappiness, will have himself to
blame at the end of the day”, Monguno said on behalf of the President and the
National Security Council.
Nigerians,
who have monitored past responses of President Buhari to issues of insecurity
will readily agree that the briefing by Monguno is no doubt the most far
reaching, specific and targeted response from the Federal Government under President
Buhari since he assumed office.
Though there
have been occasions, according to analysts when the President had made
pronouncements in the past concerning insecurity, but that of Tuesday remains
the most assuring, making many to believe that President Buhari has finally
woken up to the reality of the dire security challenges facing the country.
Picking Holes in the
President’s Order
Though many
Nigerians believe the orders by Mr. President were the most reassuring since
the security situation in the country nosedived, others have picked holes,
insisting that some of the orders were not well thought through.
First, to
pick whole in the orders is Governor Bello Matawalle, the helmsman in Zamfara,
the epicenter of banditry in the country, who insisted that the ‘no fly zone’
ordered by Buhari shows that he does not understand the situation in the state.
Matawalle,
who expressed disappointment in the decision of the President, said: “It seems
the security council doesn’t understand the nature of the security problems in
Zamfara State but if they decided to take such action, let them go ahead.
“I’m not
afraid of anybody and the problem of insecurity in the state predated my
administration.
“Nigerians
are waiting to see the outcome of the security council resolution to see if
these bandits would be crushed.
“If the
federal government fails to crush them after this resolution, then Nigerians
will understand that they only sat and served themselves tea.”
For the Yorub
Ronu Leadership Forum, the ban on mining in Zamfara may just be an invitation
to another round of criminality in the state, adding that the underlying
socio-ethnic tensions between the Hausa and Fulani in the state concerning gold
mining, may make the ban a double-edged sword.
The President
of the group, Akin Malaolu said on Tuesday, the statement reads: “The two
decisions which banned mining activities in Zamfara and no-fly zone order are
double edge sword for peace in the Northwest region because of the suspicion
that it could rob Peter to pay Paul.
“The reasons
for our fear can be traced back to the period between 2006 and 2007 when the
then Governor Sani Yerima displaced a large population of Fulani from many
mining sites and implanted Hausa youths to take charge. The displacement at
that time caused both discomfort and death on the Fulani youths who then took
to banditry life.
“If the
government is placing a ban, we hope they won’t cause a new displacement that
could re-enact the same security challenges we are yet to surmount.
“Our candid
advice is for the federal government to take absolute control of mining sites
in Zamfara and other states to nip in the bud such more scenarios of troubles.
“Nigerians
ought to be told the whole truth about the story that gave rise to banditry in
the Northwest of Nigeria. Fortune has been made through unofficial gold mining
for decades and now is the time to put a complete stoppage to corruption in
that sector. The no-fly zone is proper.”
Commendations, Doubts
For Mr.
Olatunde Sosina, the orders by the President are good and welcome development.
He, however, has doubts if they will be carried out to the latter.
According to
Sosina, this is not the first time the President will give an order that went
largely unimplemented.
“The problem
is not pronouncement of an orders but for those saddled with the responsibility
of carrying them out to do so. Remember when herdsmen/farmers crisis was at a
peak in Benue. The President ordered his Inspector General of Police to
relocate to the state and handle the situation but he simply disobeyed. The
President, while on a visit to the same Benue, confessed that he never knew the
IGP did not carry out his order. So, it is not about giving an order, the
problem is, will it be carried out and will the President and/or his aides
follow up to ensure compliance?”
For the
Convener of Safe Communities Vanguards (SCV), Mr. Shogo Adeyemi, in a chat with
DAILY POST, the President should be commended for coming out to speak and give
orders that were specific and targeted at addressing the security concerns of
Nigerians.
“I commend
President Buhari for this decisive orders and the resolutions of the National
Security Council. They have not just become responsive but have showed
leadership. They have reignited the trust of Nigerians in the government and I
am sure the end of insurgency, banditry and kidnapping is in sight.
“Questions
bothering on whether the orders will be carried out does not arise as far as I
am concerned. The Commander-In-Chief gave an order, everyone, from the service
chiefs to the lowest rank in the security forces are under obligation to obey
and carry them out,” Adeyemi said.
Speaking in
the same vein, a security expert, Simon Adeniyi said for the fact that the
President has spoken and given sweeping orders should give cause for cheers.
According to
him, President Buhari has been variously accused of been docile and too aloof
when it comes to the plight of the common Nigerian, who is at the receiving of
the security situation in the country.
“I believe
the orders by the President are in the right direction. They are no doubt a
step towards achieving security of lives and property of Nigerians. At least,
it was reassuring that we still have a government, as many have recently
wondered if there is actually a government in the country.
“Will the
orders be carried out? That’s another ball game entirely, but of course, I
expect that they are carried out to the latter. The Commander-In-Chief’s orders
are meant to be carried out and this is not different. So Nigerians should be
positive and watch the security agencies to do their job. It is not our job to
ensure that the orders are carried out and so, we should not be unduly bothered
by that. I believe there are inbuilt mechanisms that will track the level of
compliance with the President’s order”, Adeniyi submitted.
As Nigerians
express delight in their belief that the President has finally ‘woken up’ and
ready to tackle insecurity headlong, they also hope and believe that in no
distant time, people, wherever they may reside in the country, will be able to
go about their daily activities without fear of insurgents, bandits, kidnappers
or other criminal gangs.