By Clem Oluwole
Welcome to Rann – a settlement located in the epicentre of Boko Haram. Rann is a border town with Cameroon, flung some 160 kilometres away from Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.
Recently, the inhabitants of the town came under the siege of the rampaging Boko Haram terrorists. But the folks of Rann did not do the expected… run! Rather than turn tails in fright, they confronted the heavily armed marauders and defended their fatherland with admirable audacity. The Rann army made up of Civilian JTF or homegrown vigilantes was not armed with sophisticated weapons. No fighter jets; no drones. All they had were dane guns, double barrel rifles (suitable for bushmeat hunting) poisoned arrows, spears, machetes and all manner of charms. They did not hide inside bulletproof vests. But they immersed themselves in charms that could render bullets impenetrable to their bodies. Above all, they asked God for victory over the evil men. And God answered their supplication!
On the fateful day, the terrorists stormed the location which had been cordoned off and fortified with charms that afflicted them with blindness. They fell into the numerous booby traps set for them and could not fire a shot. Consequently, the Rann warriors overran the invaders, slaughtering over 200. They seized their weapons which included an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) as well as motorcycles and Hilux vehicles. The Rann debacle has been corroborated by a military source in Maiduguri. It takes unconventional approach to fight the unconventional war waged by the insurgents. That is what our Rann brothers have demonstrated for the whole world to see. Those who find the Rann’s self-help story hard to swallow should take a trip to the area and see things for themselves.
The Rann example once again brings to the fore the vexed issue of homegrown police at the state and local government levels. I have been advocating this arrangement since the Boko Haram insurgency began to spin out of the control of the central government.
Recall what I wrote on Friday, February 28, this year in this column:
“The renewed upsurge of the activities of the insurgents once again calls for the establishment of state police…
“The existence of state police will complement the operations of the federal security agencies. This is not the time to play politics with these critical issues that border on the safety of lives and property of our citizens. I am an unrepentant advocate of state police. The last time I stated my position on this matter in this space, I stressed that the issue should be tabled at the imminent National Conference. Those who oppose the idea in this precarious situation are naïve and unreasonable. Imagine the presence of homegrown police personnel, well-trained in counter-insurgency operation and better equipped, complementing the federal troops in and around Buni Yadi. Would it not have served as a deterrent to the vampires? We should even go a step further by setting up local government police as it is the case with the United States after which we patterned our system of government. We once operated a native authority police system in the northern part of this country. The US runs the federal, state and county police system. Nigeria with a population of 170m is too massive to be protected by one patina of police system that is even poorly funded.
“Security of lives and property is a sine qua non for social and economic development of any nation. Consider also the impact such innovation will make on the unemployment space and crime reduction when each of the 36 states recruits a minimum… of 20, 000 police personnel and the 774 local government councils each snaffles up no fewer than 5,000 able-bodied young men and women.”
The insurgents are still killing, maiming and abducting our girls without any let or hindrance on hourly basis even as the whole world is behind us. Look at the way the terrorists are prowling the towns and villages especially in the north-east axis unchallenged. Internal policing should be taken off the exclusive list, allowing states to run their own police system. Those who are opposed to the establishment of state and local government police including the Confab delegates on the grounds that state governors would misuse the outfit should wait until they find themselves at the mercy of these lunatics. The delegates should have a rethink. This is our last chance. We should stop pretending with the Civilian JTFs that operate in the axis. Let’s have a formal local police system without any further delay. Period!
The decision of the senate to have our troops better equipped and well motivated in their line of duty is also a welcome development. It is no longer debatable that our troops are running on analogue. Also reassuring is the resolution by the lawmakers that the service chiefs should be available to brief the National Assembly on the situation on ground monthly during the third stanza of the state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
Indeed, what we need to put down the insurgency is not the state of emergency extension but a well-motivated and well-equipped military. The recent mutiny in Maiduguri that nearly claimed the life of the General Officer Commanding the 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major Gen. Ahmadu Mohammed, is a bad augury as it is unprecedented and worrisome. It is a fall-out of the low morale and frustration that pervade the military. I dare advise the commander-in-chief to douse his beard with water in view of the fact that the beard of one of his GOCs got burnt for doing what his soldiers considered was wrong. Jonathan should do the right thing for his troops.