Several Nigerians have expressed concern about the incessant killings and kidnappings across the country.
While security operatives continue to make efforts to curb the menace, gunmen and bandits are not also relenting with their tactics, POLITICS NIGERIA has learned. The unbridled violence has led to ethnic colouration in some southern states where angry youths are demanding the eviction of Fulani herdsmen.
Reports on various violent attacks across Nigeria last week revealed that no fewer than 77 people have been killed and 29 abducted. Many police facilities are also being attacked by hoodlums and gunmen in the south-east and south-south.
Some citizens who expressed their displeasure on social media particularly on Twitter, urged the federal government to find a lasting solution to the problem. A social commentator, Ikechukwu Anyaegbudike, said killings and repeated abduction of citizens are constantly drawing Nigeria backward as a nation.
“It is quite sad that that insecurity has taken a huge toll on Nigeria and other parts of Africa. Killing, banditry, kidnapping and other satanic devices have bedevilled the peace of the nation. And the problem is, we have refused to look at those little things that make us who we are.”
“The schools and communities are not even safe anymore. Hence, we can’t explore grassroot talents. Investors, scouts, and other developmental agencies have shifted their base to Accra, Ghana as an alternative to Nigeria. You can drive many hours from Accra to Kumasi, and you are not paranoid. It is crazy how we Nigerians got to this low point as a nation,” he lamented.
A student of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) with the Twitter handle @TheZeeBlizz said “the state of insecurity in Nigeria is alarming, as if sleeping with one eye closed is not enough, una still dey kidnap us. Which way naaaa!!.”
A monarch, Oluwo of Iwo, Abdulrasheed Akanbi, recently suggested death penalty for bandits and other gunmen arrested for threatening the security of Nigeria. Also, Governors under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have demanded a devolution of power to states as a solution to the menace.
The governors, who met in Ibadan, Oyo State last week Monday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to “summon an immediate meeting of the Nigerian Police Council, which comprises of Mr President and all State Governors and other critical stakeholders to evolve and implement strategies to combat the present threats to our union, especially with respect to policing.”
“The meeting agreed that the Police Force still remains the appropriate institution to secure our democracy and should not be subjected to personal attacks. The welfare, training, equipment, and funding of all security agencies should be given priority.”
The 17 governors Southern Nigeria, also called on the federal government to “convoke a national dialogue as a matter of urgency.”
They called on President Buhari to “address Nigerians on the challenges of insecurity.”
In early May, former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, said recalling retired military officers may be the solution to the prevailing security challenges of the country. Mr Abubakar, who contested for president under the umbrella of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2019, said this in a statement on the “deteriorating security situation”.
“The security situation in Nigeria is deteriorating rapidly and ordinary Nigerians are living in fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Nowhere seems to be safe. Farms, markets, schools, homes, mosques, churches, and urban areas are all affected…”
“… Now is the time for decisive leadership and I call on the Federal Government to consider recalling all ex-servicemen and women, who are willing to return to service, and take the fight to the insurgents until they are rolled back and defeated,” he noted.
As part of efforts to arrest insecurity, Mr Buhari in April asked the U.S. to support Africa’s efforts in tackling growing insecurity in the region. He said Washington should consider relocating the headquarters of the U.S. Africa Command to the continent from Stuttgart, Germany, to better support the fight against rising insecurity.
The request was made in the first virtual meeting with Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken.
“The security challenges in Nigeria remain of great concern to us,” Buhari said. “Insecurity in the nation has been made worse by existing complex negative pressures in the Sahel, Central and West Africa, as well as the Lake Chad region.”
