In Obasanjo’s years, one headline news that had a salutary and appreciative effect somewhat on his presidency was his ability to maintain order and secure the lives and properties of Nigerians. Aside from pockets of skirmishes occasioned by confrontation among warring communities, Nigeria was largely peaceful and secure when he presided over its affairs. The large-scale abductions, brutal attacks, violence and wanton killings that have become a permanent feature of Nigeria today were unheard of during his administration. Many of the marauding armed non-state actors that are unleashing terror on Nigerians today were absent when he was at the helm of affairs.
The relative peace and security that the nation enjoyed then has since paved the way for perennial insecurity, which is occasioned by the mindless killing of unarmed and hapless Nigerians. While virtually every part of the country is grappling with one form of insecurity or the other, the Middle Belt State of Benue, Plateau and Taraba have been worst hit by the deepening security crisis. In Benue State, over 500 people were killed in 2023. In the first quarter of 2024, 239 were killed, 60 injured and 65 kidnapped in 67 attacks throughout the State. Last Sunday, over 42 people were killed in a renewed herder attack.
The story is the same in Plateau State, where suspected armed herders carry out coordinated, brutal attacks and indiscriminate killings of locals, who are mostly Christians. According to Amnesty International, “In Plateau State, from December 2023 to February 2024, at least 1,336 people were killed. Of those killed, 533 were women, 263 were children, and 540 were men. Over 29,554 people were displaced, out of which 13,093 were children while 16,461 were women.” In April this year, over 100 people were killed in attacks in different parts of the State. Some of these attacks happened close to military installations.
The response of the government to these incessant attacks has left so much to be desired. Aside from half-hearted and bland statements condemning these killings, the government has not taken any concrete steps in going after those perpetrating these nefarious and diabolical acts. It has not demonstrated a genuine commitment to protecting the people. Troubling reports of how locals, who formed vigilante outfits to defend themselves and fend off the invaders, were disarmed and left vulnerable have also come to public knowledge.
One is left to wonder why the security agencies, especially the military, are not treating the security challenges in the Middle Belt with the same seriousness and commitment with which they are addressing the security crisis in other parts of the country. Labelling the attacks and killings in the troubled Middle Belt States to communal crisis is not only disturbingly false and dishonest but also wicked. Such a label serves to downplay the severity and magnitude of the problem in that part of the country as the arable land, the scenic and beautiful landscape of the middle belt is now flowing with the blood of the indigenous people.
The bone-chilling impunity and utter lack of compunction with which the attacks and killings are perpetrated have led some to opine that the perpetrators enjoy some level of protection from certain elements in the Nigerian State. These onslaughts also have a devastating effect on the nation’s economy. The high food inflation that Nigerians are not unconnected to the killings and displacement of farmers in the country, especially the Middle Belt, which is the food basket of the nation and accounts for the production of over 50% of agricultural produce in the country.
The primary responsibility of any country is to ensure the security of lives and properties and also guarantee basic human rights, such as the right to life. It is from the government’s ability to guarantee this inalienable right and discharge its responsibility wholeheartedly that it derives its legitimacy from.
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