Examining the country as it is now; there is no arguing that insecurity remains its greatest. The country appears overwhelmed causing great confusion in the leadership as violence bestrides the landscape like a colossus. Like Chinua Achebe remarked “things have fallen apart and the centre cannot hold.’’
There is virtually no part of this country that is not engulfed by either Boko Haram, banditry, kidnapping, herdsmen attack, cattle rustling etc resulting into senseless and avoidable loss of lives. Nigeria suddenly became a killing field presided over by a leadership that has no value for human lives.
The rate of abduction of school children with impunity in the northern region which has compulsorily shut down schools leaves the mind guessing if there is still any government operating in this country. Need we remind that security is one of the three pillars on which the federal government anchored the success of its administration?
Recently governors and officers of some socio-cultural organizations are now speaking out and challenging the federal government on the need to end this carnage. Gov. Ortom of Benue State has led the pack engaging the president toe to toe in the effort to ward off unending herdsmen attack of his state. He has requested his people to defend themselves
Gov Masari coming from the president’s home state disagreed with him when he asked the people to protect themselves. He took a swipe on the federal government’s amnesty policy to repentant Boko Haram terrorists lamenting that those who were pardoned suddenly became the headache of his government.
Not long ago the governor of Bayelsa State, Diri, also asked Christians to take steps to protect themselves. Few days ago, the publicity secretary of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) expressed regrets that the confidence reposed on Buhari to fix the nation has been squandered, lamenting that the president himself became the destroyer of the nation.
Many other persons have spoken in the same light even from the legislature demanding the president to take appropriate measures including tips on how to end the self imposed termination of lives. The consequences on our socio-economic lives are colossal.
The body language of the federal government consequent on the granting of amnesty to the so called repented Boko Haram culprits and their subsequent admittance to the Nigerian army has questioned the sincerity of the federal government. There is also the issue of inability to prosecute and jail the suspects.
A former president, Olusegun Obasanjo once accused the president of the fulanization and islamization of the entire country arising from his lopsided appointment of Muslims of northern extraction which dominated the system. This conspicuously sacrificed merit on the altar of religion and tribe. All the hues and cries so far have fallen on deaf ears.
The implication is that this has fuelled more agitations for separatist states among the agitators. The country has never been more divided at any time than under the regime of President Buhari. While the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) has continued to up the ante, the South West is angling with their Oduduwa Republic and just recently it was reported that the Middle Belt has launched their own group to pull away.
News Echo regrets the depth we have degenerated, a situation where bandits, religious terrorists and separatist fighters are now at the commanding heights seizing territories, calling the shots in some areas while the government appears unconcerned. There is need to add more pressure on the government to take the right steps
Until the government addresses the issue of injustice prevalent in the polity there can never be peace. The question is when and who will get Buhari to listen. Enough please.
