Insecurity In Nigeria: Zero Effect Of Foreign Intervention And The Way Forward
By Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Omirhobo.
LAGOS MAY 2ND (NEWSRANGERS)-Barely twenty four hours after Boko Haram hoisted its flags in Kaure and Shiroro local government areas of Niger State about 140km to the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria’s seat of power. displacing residents in about 50 communities attaching the wives of the locals to its men, Senator Smart Adeyemi and other performers of the circus , oh sorry I mean and other law makers of the National Assembly put up a spectacular show at circus, oh sorry I mean at the hallow chambers of the National Assembly for the need of the Nigerian government to seek help from the international community to address the insecurity in Nigeria .
For the first time, I saw majority of our law makers brush aside their party differences to put up a common front proffering solutions on how to solve the insecurity challenges in their father land . Enjoying every bit of the entertainment put up by the company of performers at the circus or sorry I mean by the law makers at the hollow chambers of the National Assembly I asked myself could this be true act of patriotism? Could this be the fear that Abuja is now within the reach and target of Boko Haram , just barely two hours away ? Or could it be that the law makers are afraid of the likelihood of their wives being commandeered and assigned to Boko Haram Commanders ?
Before I could finish, applauding Smart Adeyemi and company for their spectacular performance , President Muhammadu Buhari entered into a virtual meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken suggesting that Washington could consider relocating the headquarters of the U.S. Africa Command to the continent from Stuttgart, Germany, to better support the fight against rising insecurity in the region . He emphasized that the security challenges of Nigeria which remains a great concern has been made worse by existing complex negative pressures in the Sahel, Central and West Africa, as well as the Lake Chad region. In what I see as an attempt to blackmail or cajole the United States of America, President Buhari reminded the USA that it set up Africom to help countries in the region tackle transnational threats and that unless the United States of America intervenes in the insecurity in Nigeria which is Africa’s most populous country the effect of a full blown war in Nigeria will affect the whole world. as a result of spillover effects therefrom.
The feeble attempts by Geoffrey Onyeama , the Nigerian minister of foreign affairs and the ring maker of the circus , oh sorry I mean the Senate President Ahmad Lawan, to seek the support of the British Government to address Nigeria’s security challenges failed. James Duddridge the British Minister for Africa aptly describing the Nigeria’s security situation as massively complex told Onyeama , and Lawan that no partnership would resolve the multiplicity of the country’s problems, whether it is Boko Haram insurgency or a number of other issues. He pointed out that it’s not just about intelligence and hard security and military, it’s about societies, it’s about humanitarian support, it’s about education and development partnership.
I cannot agree more with Duddridge because the insecurity in Nigeria today is self induced , and self inflicted . The only way out of the situation is for the Nigerian government to be honest enough, come down from its high horse to carry out a self appraisal of itself with the bid of not only solving the problem but seen to be doing so . The Nigerian government must create an enabling environment and make the necessary concessions to the international communities to avoid a zero effect of foreign intervention .
The Nigerian government must know in clear terms that the act of fighting terrorism is different from the act of looting , embezzling and squandering public funds without regards to the welfare and wellbeing of her citizens , their children and unborn generations by obtaining foreign loans for unproductive ventures .
Foreign intervention without enabling environment , sincerity and the political will to fight terrorism will result in stultifying effect which the international community is not prepared for. Nigerians must know the bitter truth that neither the United States of America or the United Kingdom or any of the other world super powers, not even China are prepared to send their citizens to die in Nigeria or waste their time in any conflict without benefits . The Nigerian government must know that her Crude Oil is now worthless to the United States of America and the United Kingdom in the face of green energy . The best that they can do for Nigeria is to give us arms and ammunitions to fight our war at a premium price of course .
The Nigerian government and Nigerians must be told the brutal truth that no country in the whole wide world, without being disrespectful , not even Benin Republic can take Nigeria seriously in her fight to overcome insecurity when Nigeria has failed, refused and/or neglected to protect the lives and property of her citizens and would want them to defend themselves with their bare hands against armed militia with AK 47. We cannot be taken seriously when top government officials and the presidency are sympathizers of terrorist groups responsible for the insecurity in Nigeria. We cannot be taken seriously when we have terrorist as top government officials . We cannot be taken seriously when our government has refused to proscribe terrorists groups , investigate report on acts of terrorism , arrest terrorist , prosecute them or convict them . We cannot be taken seriously when our government refuses to disclose and prosecute the sponsors of the insurgence in Nigeria. We cannot be taken seriously when our government negotiates with bandits and terrorists and pay them ransom. We cannot be taken seriously when our government knows the hideout of terrorists and refuse to smoke them out. We cannot be taken seriously when we forgive terrorists and fully reintegrate them into the society without justice and any consideration to the victims of their crime. We cannot be taken seriously when our government is full of bigots and when our government is tribal and clannish to a fault . Look at all the public institutions in the country , they are all being headed and ran by a particular ethnic group of the same religion .
How can we be taken seriously when monies meant to buy equipments, training for military personnel , logistics, and for the welfare and wellbeing of the army at the warfront is been siphon by corrupt politicians and army officers ? For example the sum of $1billion taken from the excess crude account by the government went down the drain .How can we be taken seriously when our government refused to lay off the service chiefs of her armed forces and Inspector general of police and kept them in officer after they were long over due for retirement even when their performance were abysmally poor ? How can we be taken seriously when the service chiefs were rewarded for their poor performance with ambassadorial nominations and shield from trial by the International Criminal Court, ICC for their crime against humanity.
We cannot be taken seriously when our government is guilty of the unabated on going internalised, systematic and institutionalised genocide in Nigeria today . Our Government allows Bandits, militia Fulani herdsmen and terrorists to kill defencelss Nigerian citizen, children , women, old and abled bodies alike without any consequences throughout the country. How can we be taken seriously when we throw our borders open to economic refugees, terrorist and illegal alliens from all over the world to enter into our country without profiling them ?
How can we be taken seriously when our government prefers foreigner based on ethnic affiliation to our President and top government officials to their own citizens ? How can we be taken seriously when our government is encouraging foreigners to kill its very own citizens in order for the foreigners to seize and occupy their land?.
After the whole lamentations and wailings as the Nigerian government and her bootlicker would like to tag me the big question is what is the way forward ? The way forward I say is for the Nigerian government to make a u turn on its act of dishonesty, deceit , tribalism , clannishness , nepotism, favouritism , bigotry, medeocracy , bigotry , bias, marginalization and embrace , inclusivity , honesty, transparency truth, merit , unity , justice , peace, love and tranquility.
How can we be taken seriously when our law makers are not courageous enough to impeach our President for ineptness?
.The Nigerian circus or sorry I mean National Assembly must stop confirming the appointments of incompetent and unqualified persons to public offices by allowing them just take a bow and go without proper interrogation . Imagine how embarrassed Nigerians are before the whole world that Isa Ali Ibrahim aka Pantami became the their Minister of Communications and Digital Economy without being interrogated on his posture on terrorism ? It was an international embarrassment . Another embarrassing and abysmal performance by the Nigerian circus oh sorry I mean the National Assembly is her confirmation of the ex service chiefs of the Nigerian Armed Forces whose ineptitude escalated the insecurity in Nigeria as Ambassadors despite the anxiety and cry from the audience oh sorry I mean Nigerians . Tell me why any reasonable person or Duddridge will not with indignation reject the request of the ring master of the Nigeria circus or sorry I mean the Senate President of Nigeria for intervention in the insecurity of Nigeria ?
The Nigerian circus oh sorry I mean National Assembly must stop putting up silly and clownish performances oh sorry I mean stop legislating on bills like bleaching cream , under aged house wives right to vote , Ruga , the forgiveness and reintegration of terrorist into the society , the digitalization of cow and get down with speed to more serious bills like bills on Fire Arms Act, the Electoral Act , the autonomy of the component parts of the country, the decentralisation and devolution of powers, referendum, and the comprehensive overhauling of the Nigerian constitution if not working with the audience or sorry I mean the good people of Nigeria to establish an autonomous constitution and thereby giving birth to a new Nigeria.
Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Omirhobo a lawyer and an activist writes from Lagos
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