By: Ifeanyi Izeze
Is this mansitting at the Presidential Villa the same General Mohammadu
Buhari we know?How can he be acting so differently in speech, actions and
deeds from the manvoted for in the 2015 presidential election because of
what was perceived ashis impeccable integrity and a no-nonsense
disposition to issues of corruptionand security?
How come theBuhari we knew suddenly went deaf and dumb to the extent that
he no longerhears nor sees any evil even when such disgraceful and heinous
acts are beingperpetrated right under his nose by those he single-handedly
appointed intopositions of trust? The Buhari we thought will put a good
system foundation inplace is now so weak and incapacitated allowing his
regime to be completelyhijacked and turned into a house of commotion.
Sentiments apart, some thingsare just not adding up at all.
Does anyonecontend that security as an infrastructure has completely
collapsed in thecountry? Spate of heinous crimes (Fulani herdsmen mayhem
from the north tosouth, unbridled kidnappings even in Abuja, renewed Boko
Haram nuisance withboldness) being perpetrated with impunity across the
country do not show agovernment that is in charge, nor a country that is
at peace with itself. Whatare they governing if people even the poor
amongst us cannot freely move aroundfor fear of being shot dead or
kidnapped? In a nation where almost all theinfrastructures in every sector
of its daily existence have completelycollapsed, what remains for such a
country to labelled a failed state?
The president scoredhimself very high in his first year of office for
doing very well on addressingthe spate of insecurity across the country
especially the Northeast where wewere told that Boko Haram has been
defeated and downgraded. Is it not clear fromwhat we are seeing now that
the president only instilled false sense ofsecurity not actual security if
you consider that kidnappings are now retail,herdsmen attacks are random
and uncontrolled from north to south, and regularambush of military and
civilians in the northeast have now acquired theeuphemism “soft targets?”
Now the Americanand British authourities are warning their nationals of
possible terror attacksin Abuja, the nation’s capital. The United States’
mission in Nigeria is soundingan alarm of a possible terror attack in
Abuja, and warning its citizensresiding or those who have businesses in
the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),to be watchful and exercise security
caution. The mission said, in an emergencymessage on Monday 4th December
2017, that the information availableto it point in the direction of Boko
Haram as the possible attackers addingthat their likely targets would be
hotels frequently visited by Westerners.
This is part of thetragedy of the Buhari’s divided house: Ordinarily,
critical intelligence suchas the ones available to the American and
British authourities would have beengiven (shared) to one or all top
echelon of our security agencies including theNational Security Adviser
(NSA), the Director General of National IntelligenceAgency (NIA), Director
General of the DSS, or even the Police InspectorGeneral.
Pathetically,all those assigned the responsibility of managing the
security infrasture inthe country are spending more time fighting and
trying to pull down each other.The Police Inspector General on whose
domain civil and internal security fallsis busy fighting and doing all
kinds of unprintable things including draggingSenator Misau to court for
saying the police receives payments for officersdeployed to guard
politicians, oil and other business, and wealthy individualsas if the
Senator’s allegations were false.
Buhari’sDirector General of the DSS has become more of a politician than a
securitymanager that should be concerned with intelligence gathering to
address the worseningsecurity situations in the country. If he is not
publicly fighting the Chief ofStaff to the President, he is after the
Acting EFCC Chairman. So what time doeshe have to focus on gathering
intelligence to secure lives and properties acrossthe country?
The AGF and theNSA are also there fighting on all fronts too. What kind of
government is thisthat instead of working together as a team, everybody is
fighting everybody?Yet the man that appointed all of them seem not to care
at all or is it thatthe people he single-handedly appointed are now bigger
than him?
If the DSS bossgets/generates intelligence on likely attacks by
terrorists/herdsmen, is hegoing to share it with the police high command
that his agency is in supremacy andpolitical tussle with? The NSA that
should have been serving as the centralpoint is also not left out of the
dirty cabal politics around the president.
Security is oneof Buhari’s three-point agenda. Nigerians should stop being
sentimental. If weare returning to the place where America and Britain are
once again warningtheir nationals of dangers in Abuja, the verdict means
that the administrationhas failed in the very agenda that gave it clear
edge over the formeradministration. Is it not also glaring that the
president is equally not doingwell on the remaining two points in his
agenda: fight against corruption andeconomy?
Whether anybodywants to hear this or not, nepotism, a virulent form of
corruption, is ruiningthis administration. When a ruler surrounds himself
with his relatives andfriends, the result is failure. They take things for
granted because of thecloseness to the ruler. When they err, the ruler
finds it difficult todiscipline them because of their close relationship.
Some people may argue thatyour own people will protect you as a ruler. But
the problem of disciplinedefeats whatever protection they may offer you.
How can groupsof killer squads hold meetings, plan attacks on
communities/settlements, andactually go on to successfully implement it
without any of our securityagencies picking even vague intelligence of
such plans before it happens? It isincomprehensible! Clearly, it is either
top managers of some of our securityagencies are part of the problem or
that we have completely lost it as a nationof serious –minded people.
What actually isthe day to day function in specific terms of the
Department of State Security(DSS)? Is it only to hound down political
opponents of those misruling thiscountry? Is the DSS not supposed to be
interfacing with the Police on exchangeof intelligence? Infact do they
actually gather intelligence on issuespertaining to the security of lives
and property of the ordinary Nigeriansapart from hanging around the
President and governors?
The DSS initself, in my opinion, seems to be defectively structured. The
organization issupposed to be the Nigerian equivalent of the American FBI
and the British MI5.How come that the Nigerian DSS functions only within
and around State House,Abuja; around state governors and their government
houses? Let’s not even talkof the Police as those ones seemingly have a
near- zero capacity of beingproactive in intelligence gathering.
Clearly, it iseither top managers of some of our security agencies are
part of the problem orthat we have completely lost it as a nation of
serious –minded people.
(IFEANYI IZEZE writes from Abuja and can be reachedon: iizeze@yahoo.com;
234-8033043009)