VANGUARD
Is insecurity spiralling out of control in Nigeria because of the worsening cases of kidnapping and banditry across the country? Umar Aliyu, a retired military captain, says not exactly.
But the former military intelligence officer acknowledges that the security meltdown in Nigeria is worrisome as, according to him, the government is treating threats to the nation with kid gloves.
Aliyu, a security consultant, also speaks, in this interview monitored on Channels TV, on how Nigerians are inadvertently raising their kidnap/ransom value while giving tips on how the people can beat kidnappers. Excerpts:
Insecurity just got worse with the killing of traditional rulers in Ekiti and Kwara states as well as the kidnapping of the Ekiti school children. Do you think insecurity is spiralling out of control?
Not really! What I see is that we are actually experiencing a meltdown in our security posture in Nigeria and this meltdown is going to inform a countdown to a showdown.
We have been handling these threats with kid gloves, we have been calling the perpetrators names but whatever we do, you can see that, within the last 30 days, these criminals have become more daring, bolder and they really have no respect for any level of authority, be it cultural, religious, military or political. They just do what they will and dare who they will.
If I were to assess this situation from my sideline position, I will say it is a meltdown of security. But we have to show these people that democracy has teeth and, as such, can bite.
Any time I hear of insecurity, the first question I ask is, are the perpetrators above the law? The governor of Plateau State, for instance, just said he was going to see the President after some 64 communities in his state were occupied by non-state actors.
He suggested there are some powerful Nigerians behind some of the attacks in Plateau. The Minister of Minerals made similar reference that some powerful Nigerians are behind some insecurity activities, particularly in the mining area. Then some people spoke about lack of political will to deal with insecurity. I am at a loss…
Yes, you have to be at a loss but then we have to address these issues. I will ask again, who are the powerful Nigerians? Are they faceless and nameless?
If any man lives whose mother is like mine, then you can beat a kingdom. The most powerful Nigerian I know and I stand to be proven wrong is Mr President. So, this idea of telling me some ‘powerful Nigerians’ are behind insecurity and you can’t do anything about it doesn’t make sense to me. I once said these problems are not as intractable as they seem. Some people are just cashing in on our weaknesses. It’s a simple thing, if you did not meet madness with equal or more madness, as it is often said, you can’t solve a problem at the same level with it.
You have to go higher. So, it’s simple, who has the job to solve this problem? You put the problem on the table and let him pick the ones he can solve; he gives you a time frame, and the requirements in terms of logistics, finances or whatever it is. Give him what he requires and add a two per cent time frame to what he has requested and if he doesn’t come up with results and the money gets spent, then he has to go.
We have to be ruthless with those behind these threats and anybody who cannot provide a solution should just step aside. We have had enough. In the eight years of Buhari, over 17,000 people were said to have been killed while thousands were also abducted and in the last eight months, we lost over 1,800 or so and the numbers are not abating. The bottom line is, we have to lock horns with those behind insecurity in our nation and we have to break horns.
