That Nigeria is plagued with multiple security challenges is beyond any shade of doubt, notably the resilient Boko Haram Islamist insurgency in the North-east, long-running banditry in the north west, increasing violence between herders and farming communities spreading from the central belt southward, kidnapping in the south west and separatist Biafra agitation in the Igbo South-east.
This has pitched religious associations against themselves, promoted rancorous relationship between the dwellers in the regions, created suspicious mentality among ethnic groups and laid the foundation of armament race between the emerging geopolitical zones security outfits fashioned along ethnic line.
On February 3, 2020, the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Supo Ayokunle, during a prayer walk organised by the organisation for Nigeria had said that the killing of Adamawa State CAN Chairman, Rev. Lawan Andimi, the incarceration of Leah Shuaribu and other Christian fellow massacred in the recent time further justify the notion that Boko Haram is set up to eliminate Christians in Nigeria.
In reaction to this, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) through its Director of Administration, Alhaji Yusuf Nwoha, on February 5, condemned CAN’s statement and advised that “rather than playing to the gallery as ethnic irredentists and religious bigots would do, Nigerians should support government to eliminate insecurity”.
Statistically, President Buhari also berated the claim by CAN and stated that 90 per cent of the victims of Boko Haram are Muslims. While this might be true, the question bears asking- is there any Nigerian worth sacrificing on the altar of Boko Haram or any deadly group under the disguise of any name?
Since 2009, Boko Haram has killed over 25,000 people, displaced over 2 million, destroyed property worth millions of dollars, and created spite between the North and the Southern part of the country. These nefarious activities contributed to the collapse of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s government and the emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s government in 2015 with a view to putting an end to this mess on the shores of Nigeria.
However, the recent acceleration in the rate of killings, kidnapping, and general crimes of different manifestations across the country shows that the devil is still very much with us. No wonder different regional security outfits continue to receive resounding applause from the rules and the rulers.
Recently, the South-west governors lunched Western Region Security Network, code-named Operation Amotekun (Leopard), which was replicated by the Coalition of Northern Groups on February 5, 2020, with a code-named Operation Shege Ka Fasa which means “I dare you to attack or surrender” in Hausa. The remaining regions are warming up to lunch their own.
Though, these security outfits are good because they further bring the security measures closer to the people but at the same time, they can be inimical to the peace, progress and unity of the country if they are not properly guided because they can be used by some irredentist individuals, warlords and sectarian militias to inflict violence on another ethnic group.
For instance, the code named given to the so called Northern Security outfit, ‘Shege Ka Fasa’, lunched on 5th February, by the Coalition of Northern Group (CNG) barely less than a month after the inauguration of Amotekun seems to suggest that the formation goes beyond security reason. In fact, it shows how unguided proliferation of security outfits in disguise of regional protection can lead to anarchy in the country.
Starting from the name of the security outfit, Shege Ka Fasa, which means “I dare you to attack or surrender”, it is crystal clear that it is an unguided response to the operation Ametokun in the south west and not a response to the growing insecurity in the North.
Abdullazeez Suleiman, the spokesman of the group partially stated this on February 5, when he said: “In the prevailing circumstances, the only option is to resort to voluntary self-defence mechanisms in line with initiatives taken by other regions that are even least affected in comparison to what is obtained in the North.”
Apart from this, the gestation period of the group also calls for a concern. Before, the formation of operation Ametokun, there were series of meetings with the governors of the six States in the region, the traditional leaders, civil society groups among others. These were largely missing in the formation of the operation Shege Ka Fasa’.
In the case of operation Shege Ka Fasa, most of the stakeholders were not informed. Even those that were informed were informed through the back door. That was the reason the Sultan of Sokoto and Alhaji Balarabe Musa condemned the outfit publicly on and February 7 and 8, respectively.
However, both the operation of Amotekun and Shege Ka Fasa would have not being a public discuss if the issue of insecurity had not become a national anthem in the country. And that is the reason the government has to intensify its effort in fighting insecurity because where there is growing insecurity as it is in Nigeria, automatically self-help will become an option thereby leading to Hobbesian state where ‘life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short’.
Oluwasanmi writes from Ibafo, Ogun state via [email protected]
