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| KOLAWOLE |
How did we get here? There are various explanations. One of the most
plausible was provided by Professor Wole Soyinka some 13 years ago when
large-scale violence broke out in unprecedented scale – with the advent
of democratic rule in the country. He said grievances bottled up under
military rule were suddenly finding expression with the newfound freedom
under civil rule. I tend to agree with him. The military had forced us
to behave, to live together without complaints, to pocket our pain and
bury our bile. Any dissent was crushed with maximum force. So things
were simply bottled up most of the time. Conflicts and tensions remained
latent but potent. The exit of the military – and the subsequent
decentralisation of political power – provided the elixir, as it were.
Indeed, it has to be noted that the Maitatsine uprising happened under a
civilian government in 1980, barely a year after the military handed
over power. Boko Haram insurgency is also happening in a civil
dispensation. Actually, in the infant years of this democracy, we began
to experience a systematic and sustained burst of violence. Oodua
People’s Congress (OPC) started unleashing violence on the police in
what they said was an attempt to liberate the Yoruba “race” from
Nigeria. Interethnic clashes between OPC and Hausa communities hit the
South-west, with immediate reprisals in Kano. The Movement for the
Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) also began
operations to liberate the Igbo “race” from Nigeria.
Along the line, we started hearing of Egbesu Boys (I suspect they were
the ones that metamorphosed into Niger Delta militants) and Bakassi
Boys. These groups were most probably propped up by politicians as
militias to secure their hold on petrodollar-fuelled power. The Sharia’h
riots also broke out in the North as the state governments introduced
Islamic rule. It was said then that the violence was targeted at
truncating democracy and inviting the military to take back power. It
was being whispered that the North, having lost hold on power, was out
to frustrate President Olusegun Obasanjo. Interestingly, the same
opinion is prevalent in some parts of the South and the Middle Belt,
where it is believed this spate of violence is orchestrated to undermine
President Goodluck Jonathan.
I do not wish to dwell on that sentiment today. Rather, I want us to
discuss what I think is undermining the ability of the state to prevent
or curtail the cocktail of violence in the land. The primary reason we
have a government is to prevent anarchy. Insecurity is the biggest
component of anarchy. The average Nigerian wants to be sure his or her
life and property are secure under the watchful eyes of the state. But
the spate of killings suggests otherwise. If it is only ordinary
Nigerians that are being killed, we can accuse the state of neglect. But
the security agents and government property too are not safe. So if the
agents of the state cannot protect themselves, how can they protect us?
Why is the state appearing to be so weak and powerless? You may not
agree with me, but it boils down to the same issue we have been
discussing for ages – corruption. Somehow, we have come to see
corruption mainly in terms of looting of public treasury. But we also
have to look at it from how it ultimately weakens state institutions and
opens us up to violence. It has made Nigeria vulnerable to kidnappings,
insurgency, organised violent crimes and even, you may not believe
this, road accidents. To start with, only God knows how much we have
spent on “security vote” in this country in the last 14 years – and yet
we are not secure.
Look at it this way: security budgets are meant to improve the capacity
of the government to maintain law and order as well as protect our
territorial integrity. If these budgets were judiciously expended on
strengthening the security agencies, they would not be this vulnerable.
We would have well-motivated and well-equipped security agencies today.
Every village and every council in Nigeria would come under competent
security coverage. When insurgency is budding in some border towns or
forest, the security system will pick it up. When arms are being moved
into the country illegally, the system will pick it up. When tension is
brewing between communities, the system will pick it up.
So when the generals and the NSAs and the IGs and the CGs become
billionaires overnight at our expense, this is result: an insecure state
where citizens and security agents are killed at will. Arms are shipped
in without trace as customs and police officers that should monitor
have compromised. Illegal immigrants move into the country freely,
having “settled” the border officials. The soldiers are making money
colluding with oil thieves to break the pipelines. Kidnapping, which was
made popular by Niger Delta militants, became very profitable as state
officials conspired to milk the treasury through dubious ransom
payments.
What about road accidents that are killing people in their dozens all
over the country? Fake tyres, certified by government agencies, enter
into our country; rickety vehicles are certified roadworthy by state
institutions; hopeless drivers secure driving licences from state
institutions; bad roads are certified “rehabilitated” by state
institutions; budgets for provision and maintenance of street lights are
embezzled. Fellow Nigerians, we are in trouble. We are in a state of
emergency. I’m sorry to say, but we are going to be in this state for a
long time because the root diseases remain untouched. We are not even
treating the symptoms, much less trying to cure the ailments and the
infirmities.
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