PUNCH
The insecurity faced by Nigerians is a testament to the fact that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has ruined the hope of the many Nigerians who believed in the President and his “Renewed Hope Agenda.”
Since President Tinubu assumed office, nothing seems to have changed. For most Nigerians, it has been the more you look, the less you see. This is why people, including organisations, have continued to see his administration as worse than that of his predecessor.
As it stands today, Nigeria is confronted with several woes when considering the fact that it is poverty-ridden with incidences of increasing inflation, surge in crime and absence of peace which have led us into battling kidnapping, banditry, drug trafficking, ritual killings, and cyber fraud, amongst others.
However, it is becoming obvious that the nature and character of banditry and kidnapping today are different from what they used to be.
Today, it is not merely an infraction of the course of doing business, but a blatant and criminal violation of the constitutional right to life and liberty of innocent citizens of Nigeria.
It is fast becoming a reality that this government cannot effectively guarantee the security of lives and property of the citizens with different lawless individuals holding the country to ransom by their conduct, which security agencies in the country have not been able to quell as a result of the absence of political will by those at the helm of affairs.
It is a known fact that this government is performing abysmally low, most especially in the area of security, which is having a resultant effect on the economy with many businesses closing down while others relocate.
There is no doubting the fact that the country is drastically drifting toward the “state of nature” but the government owes it a duty to fulfil every term of the social contract it willingly entered into with the people for the sake of maintaining the continued existence of this nation. Anything other than the urgent intervention of the government would definitely consume a country that is already sitting on a keg of gunpowder.
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), in Section 14(2b) is also very clear on what the primary responsibility of every government should be, which is the provision of security and welfare services for the people.
The security of the citizens is what defines a state. Government exists for the state and not the state for the government and this is well-captured in the constitutional provision cited above which states that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”
Today, the situation we have found ourselves as a people is one in which none of us is safe, not even the traditional rulers who used to be sacred persons within the community. Anything can happen to anybody at any material time as this government has failed to fulfil the most basic essence of its existence.
The state of insecurity in the country questions the essence of the social contract between the citizenry and government which is predicated on the centrality of security to human flourishing and felicity. In the social contract, citizens willingly abdicate their rights of self-protection to the government, thereby authorising it to enjoy the monopoly of force.
The social contract also envisages that the government will evolve veritable mechanisms to prevent, abate, and resolve violent external or internal conflicts perpetuated by state or non-state actors.
What we are witnessing in Nigeria is an anomaly because it is inconceivable that in the 21st century, when the whole world is making appreciable progress in providing an enhanced standard of living, Nigerians are living under the fear of banditry, brigandage, rape, kidnapping and terrorism.
Insecurity is posing a direct threat and imminent danger to living in Nigeria. It is capable of de-robing the country in the comity of nations and passing it off as uncivilised and barbaric.
It is even sad that these criminal pseudo-herders go about their nefarious activities in broad daylight and many times in military uniform. They carry sophisticated weapons, the likes of which are only available to state actors.
There seems to be no doubt that the security apparatus of the country is both overstretched and rustic.
The philosophy of policing the State, protecting life and property and ensuring the existence of an atmosphere that is conducive to life and living in Nigeria is lost on the security personnel. We are scared and worried about the outrageous audacity and effrontery of these criminal elements in carrying out their activities without any challenge by security operatives.
In situations where money exchanges hands, the police are adequately equipped to trace every paper money issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Intelligence gathering concerning money paid as ransom should lead, finally, to these criminals since they would eventually make transactions with the proceeds of their illicit and criminal activities.
Nigeria will be great again. But this requires our conscientious and collaborative efforts in identifying wrongs, impunity and maladministration and standing vehemently against such…
