Recent times have witnessed the escalation of highway attacks and kidnapping, a situation that is worrisome almost to everyone in the country. T he expectation before now is that given the relentless efforts of the Nigeria Armed Forces who have carried the war down to the enemies’ camps, and also considering the number of bandits and other criminals that have surrendered, that the state by now would know relative peace.
But that is still not the case, unfortunately. While we are hopeful that this situation would be over someday, the regrettable thing is that lives lost and properties destroyed have continued to rise, as the enemies of the state continue to challenge the will of the Federal government, every inch of the way. Not too long ago, a serving Commissioner in Katsina State was mowed down in cold blood in his house, with the same happening in other states across the Federation.
In short, every state has continued to witness fair share of this dastardly act that has lived with us for over one decade, and still counting. Recently, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Samson Ayokunle berated the Federal government owing to what they called poor management of the nation’s security.
While they condemned the attacks on the Shinkafi area of Sokoto State, the eminent Nigerians urged the Federal government to come up with what they called a collective and coordinated approach to solve the nation’s lingering security problems, which is already an albatross. They cited the threat letter written by the bandits to the Christian faithful in Zamfara, and however averred that the police were supposed to have investigated the veracity of such a violent letter.
They said that caution should always be taken, especially at this trying moment of the country, occasioned by insecurity and other related crimes everywhere, which the government is fighting to contain. The declaration of the bandits and other insurgents as terrorists how be it has not changed anything much, maybe because, the government is still pampering them. Maybe, the downtrend of their inglorious activities would begin to manifest when maximum force is applied against them, now that they cannot be called other name but terrorists, which they are.
The season we are into calls for more vigilance on the part of the security personnel. The regular carnage on the Kaduna expressway, which is close to the nation’s capital, is a cause for worry and should be addressed squarely, so also in other parts of the country. That non-state actors have successfully waged war against a formidable force of the Nigeria military for more than ten years calls for serious concern and probing too.
With less than two years for Nigeria to go for another round of general elections, the insecurity issue must be addressed and permanently too. This is a task, the regime of president Muhammadu Buhari owe all Nigerians, which he also promised when he was seeking for power. We call on the security agents to come out with full force this time, more so now that people would move from place to place to celebrate the Christmas and the New Year that is not too far from now.
We also call for adequate provisions of working tools for our security agents to prevent them from coming to harm in the hands of the enemies who have continued to inflict deep wounds in the minds of the state, which has led to fear and state of uncertainty of people’s safety everywhere. Safety of all citizens at this period is crucial and paramount.
