Tinubu’s State of Emergency: Drawbacks and Concerns -By Abdulkadir Salaudeen

Bandits, kidnappers, and terrorists (agents of Satan) are common enemies to all Nigerians, who are either victims or vulnerable to being kidnapped and becoming victims. Though they threatened to kidnap President Tinubu, one can easily discard the threat as an empty threat and a joke. Tinubu is not vulnerable, and one cannot reasonably imagine that the President of Nigeria — the (gi)ant of Africa — will be kidnapped, just like that, by bandits.

Even Trump, who polices countries where Christians are ‘genocided,’ can only verbally threaten to kidnap our dear President Tinubu. He cannot make his threat real. If you think I’m naive to have underestimated the power of the almighty Trump, I respect your opinion.

But does the Nigerian government see these agents of Satan as enemies? I’m not sure. I’m also not sure if any Nigerian who doesn’t belong to the ruling class is sure. The fact that the Nigerian government has chosen to be non-kinetic in combating these bandits is disturbing. How do you appease devious people? Then, how do you appease devils? These people are both devious and devils. I agree a government might be forced to make peace if bandits had overpowered it and if the government had capitulated to bandits. The Nigerian government hasn’t openly admitted to capitulating to bandits.

Rather, the government, through the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has stated that “the security agencies have a way of contacting these people. They (bandits) know the consequences of not complying with government demands. They know they could be pummelled.”

Really? Onanuga’s body language shows the government is capable of dealing with the bandits. Explaining how the Eruku worshippers were released, Onanuga stated, “After the incident, the DSS and military were involved in the rescue effort. They contacted the bandits to release the captives unharmed.”

However, despite Onanuga’s bragging about the government’s strength, the government refuses to come out clean. What really happened? Rescued or released? How were the kidnapped Eruku worshippers and school girls rescued? Were they really rescued? If they were rescued, why wasn’t there any exchange of gunfire?

A curious female lawmaker, who I think is confused like me, asked, “We’ve seen the children, but where are the kidnappers?” Could it be that the government uses juju? Or could it be that the prayers offered by our Christian and Muslim clerics who are on the government payroll did the miracle?

If the kidnapped victims were released, it wasn’t for free, of course. How much ransom did the government pay? Knowing what was paid is not even the issue. The point is, did the government pay or not? If the government paid, what did it pay? Ransom or tribute? If it was ransom, isn’t that telling these criminals that banditry is lucrative? In other words, is the government not investing massively in the banditry economy?

After the rescue of the Eruku and Maga victims (or is it release?), is the government taking records of the series of attacks and kidnappings that follow? Listing them would require another article, not this column.

If tribute is what was paid, the government should let Nigerians know who they should be loyal to. Should our loyalty be to the federal government or to some bunch of bandits in their headquarters (forests)? Farmers, in some areas, already pay tax to bandits, and it’s understandable which authority those unfortunate farmers are loyal to.

The Kebbi State Governor believed he was in charge. He still couldn’t come to terms with how those school girls were kidnapped. There was intelligence on a likely attack, and the military was immediately mobilized to protect the students. The military left, and about 45 minutes later, bandits kidnapped the students. A baffled Governor Nasir Idris asked, “Who authorized the military withdrawal? How did security personnel pull out at such a critical time? That’s our concern. We have asked the military to investigate and identify who gave that order.” The answers to the above questions, which Governor Idris is desperate to know, may never be known.

We’re already in a state of anomie. But President Tinubu, in an attempt to reassert his authority, declared a state of emergency — a nationwide security emergency. He directed security agencies to recruit 20,000 new police officers and deploy them to vulnerable communities.

This is a commendable effort. But isn’t this putting the cart before the horse? The government should equip the existing police officers first. Isn’t it suicidal to deploy new recruits to vulnerable communities without proper equipment? Also, the government should implement effective screening mechanisms to prevent criminals from infiltrating the security forces.

Just recently, a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Idris Wase, revealed that suspected Boko Haram members and other criminals were found on the recruitment lists of the Nigerian Army and police.

The President also urged the National Assembly to begin the process of establishing state police forces, citing the need for localized security structures to respond quickly to threats. If this is true, the President should demonstrate his commitment to state police by taking concrete actions. He should submit an executive bill to the National Assembly for usual rubber-stamping.

However, it’s worth noting that this insecurity is becoming increasingly indiscriminate. It’s taking on a democratic character, with lawmakers and influential individuals becoming vulnerable. This has led to an unusual, but welcome, development. Some lawmakers dare to disagree with President Tinubu’s approach to addressing the escalating attacks. They’re opposed to negotiating with bandits. The lawmakers now know that bullets kill and that Nigerians’ lives must be protected. They expressed concern for their safety following the President’s directive to withdraw police officers from VIPs.

Let’s hear from Wase again: “The withdrawal order that has been given, I think, if we are not careful, there will be more now, because I watched a video where one of the kidnappers or bandits was boasting that they are going to get the head of Mr. President. They are going after politicians, and these people are all unrepentant.”

Another lawmaker, Senator Aliyu Wamakko: “I am afraid I have to disagree with the idea of withdrawing police aides to VIPs…That is going to constitute another danger, because the VIPs are going to be the next target, and the government will come back and revert the policy.

For those who think President Tinubu has pocketed (bought off) our lawmakers, who can only say yes; think again. Our lawmakers have now begun to crane their necks out of Tinubu’s pocket to say no. This is a life-or-death situation. One must be wise and vigilant. But it will be good if the lawmakers are left without police guards so that they can feel insecure like every common Nigerian and give lawmaking the seriousness and attention it deserves.

Ultimately, Tinubu’s state of emergency may not yield results until the underlying issues are addressed. Those enabling terrorism, including top officials, bankers, and military personnel, should be held accountable. Since the government has chosen to extend a handshake to these criminals in its non-kinetic approach instead of draining the blood out of them, what’s the need to recruit more police and military officers? Obviously not to fight bandits. I hope the new officers won’t start fighting innocent Nigerians. May Nigeria witness peace again.

Abdulkadir Salaudeen

salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com