Bright Jacob
Almost two years ago, president Bola Tinubu stood before Nigerians during his inauguration as President and promised to defend the nation from terror and all forms of criminality that threaten the peace and stability of the country.
The Commander-in-Chief also said that security would be the top priority of his administration because, according to him, neither prosperity nor justice can prevail amidst insecurity and violence.
Moreover, Tinubu pointed out to Nigerians that for him to effectively tackle the menace of insecurity, his administration would reform both the country’s security doctrine and its architecture.
The President then added, “We shall invest more in our security personnel, and this means more than an increase in the number (of security personnel). We shall provide better training, equipment, pay and firepower.”
The president’s critics have, however, been rubbishing his effort to rid the country of “terror and criminality.”
Those who are castigating the president have taken it upon themselves to register their disdain and frustration with his handling of security-related issues in the past few months, insisting also that the president is just spinning his wheels.
The president’s detractors have also been calling the attention of Nigerians to the cold-blooded massacre that was unleashed by unknown assailants on the people of Bokkos in Plateau State, North Central Nigeria.
Hapless victims, including men, women and children, were slaughtered on March 28 and April 2 by bloodthirsty gunmen in the dead of night, and the country is still numb with disbelief by the horrors that were perpetrated against those innocent souls.
About five communities were affected in the attacks even as lives were snuffed out of more than fifty people. Thousands more were also displaced, yet the authorities say they are still finding it difficult to pin the deadly assault on any of the nefarious non-state actors on the Plateau.
Bokkos has a history of ethno-religious conflicts that usually pitch the Bokkos, who are mainly Christian farmers, against cattle herders, who are Muslims, and observers say that pointing out the guilty parties should not be rocket science.
The Governor of Plateau State, Caleb Mutfwang, who came on national television to speak on the matter, did not help matters himself as he too claimed to be ignorant of who the killers are.
Mutfwang said what happened in Bokkos was genocide and an attempt at land grabbing, but analysts are lost for words that he does not know who should be held responsible for the senseless butchering.
On his part, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, went to the area to commiserate with the people. He talked tough there, saying with finality that “enough is enough”.
But many Nigerians are not impressed with Ribadu’s bravado. This set of Nigerians are alarmed that Tinubu’s once-impressive security scorecard has oscillated down.
The president’s supporters are however urging Nigerians, including Tinubu’s opponents, to cut him some slack.
Those who are for the President have been making it clear that following Tinubu’s inauguration on May 29, 2023, there had been a “shortfall” in terrorist activities.
They also argue that incidents like the Bokkos killings, as horrific as they may be, are isolated incidents.
Many Nigerians will recall that a self-proclaimed Tinubu supporter, Reno Omokri, said that deaths unleashed by bandits, terrorists, armed cattle herders, kidnappers and the rest, have significantly reduced since Tinubu took over power.
Omokri also said that the 2024 Global Terrorism Index showed that Nigeria, under Tinubu, had improved by five basis points, moving (straddling) from the third most insecure country, under erstwhile President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, to eight.
The social media influencer said on X, “According to the Global Terrorism Index, Nigeria was the third most insecure country in the world. Today, we have improved, and according to the 2024 Global Terrorism Index published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, Nigeria is now the eighth most terrorised nation. We have improved by five places.”
The success, according to Omokri, is attributed to Tinubu’s recalibration of the nation’s security architecture through the leadership of Ribadu.
Omokri also celebrated the extermination of some notorious bandit leaders – a group that ran roughshod in the North during Buhari’s stewardship and operated then with reckless abandon.
“The seven deadliest bandits in Nigeria have been killed under the dispensation of Mallam Ribadu as NSA, including Ali Kachala, Boderi Isyaku, Sani Dangote, Modi, and Nagala,” he said.
Omokri also noted that despite the progress being made by security agencies and the military, there were still occasional attacks on “soft targets” by enemies of the state.
The attack on Bokkos, and many others like it, is an example of the soft target Omokri talked about.
Terrorists and criminal elements have been mostly decimated in the North West and North East and will use the people in a sleepy town like Bokkos to flex their muscles. This is what the current administration has been advised to look into.
A current affairs analyst, Maxwell Igwe, said, “The Bokkos incident, and others like it, is very unfortunate. It is another proof that we don’t value lives in this part of the world.
“That being said, I agree with those who are saying that Tinubu has done well for himself and his administration in the area of security.
“That is why I agree that the current administration should not allow anyone to use Bokkos to rattle it politically.
“Election is approaching and everyone is now in a state of excitement. The government should open its eyes so that its scorecard on security will not go low.”
“As the political temperature in the country is increasing because of the 2027 general elections, the president can save himself plenty of campaign money if he sorts out the economy and insecurity”
Igwe added, “And I agree with what the Chief of Army Staff, Olufemi Oluyede, said about using a non-kinetic approach to solve some of the crises in this country.
“Sometimes, it is not only guns and bombs that will solve problems. There are times when you will require a political solution to a crisis.
“The government should keep its ear to the ground. All avenues for permanent peace should be explored.
“We are a mass graves country. Our people must not die like chicken again.”
Another analyst, Alex Nwadike, said that up till now, he does not know what the country’s security doctrine and architecture are.
He said the information about security doctrine and architecture should not be only what the service chiefs are privy to.
“I still don’t know what our security doctrine and architecture, which the president said he would upgrade when he came in as president in 2023, are.
“If the military and security agencies already have them in place, then they are working well. We had experienced relative peace for many months.
“So, if not all Nigerians, I think that some select set of people should also know what they are so that they can make corrections and advise the government where necessary.
“About the president’s security scorecard, I think it is still good, even though it is not excellent.
“We can’t escape the truth that lives were lost in Uromi, Edo State and Bokkos, but look at the speed with which the government reacted to those incidents.
“Arrests have been made and more will follow,” he said.
Nwadike also said that as the political temperature in the country is increasing because of the 2027 general elections, the president can save himself plenty of campaign money if he sorts out the economy and insecurity.
