By Augustine Ehikioya
Analysing latest security situation in Nigeria, a Security Expert, Mr Patrick Agbambu, said that the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) is doing enough to secure the country.
He however noted that some states, local governments, community leaders and other key stakeholders at the grassroot are not doing enough to tackle insecurity.
Agbambu, who is the President/CEO of Security Watch Africa Initiative (SWAI) Network, also threw his weight behind declaration of State of Emergency on Security in the country.
He aired his views during a Breakfast Show on TVC News in Abuja against the backdrop of the recent kidnapping and security issues in Kebbi and Kwara States.
He said “We are not doing enough. We have talked so much, but we are not doing enough. We have been clamoring for enough intelligence to be able to fight insecurity in Nigeria.
“Timely intelligence and actionable intelligence is very, very important in everything. It’s always better to prevent any crime before it happens.
“Because once it happens, it becomes more difficult and more expensive. Communities are not doing enough. I will say generally that the whole country has not done enough in the issue of insecurity,” Agbambu stated.
Stressing that he will support declaration of State of Emergency on Security, he said that he would not support a situation where Nigerians continue to die on a daily basis.
“I think I will also join you in saying that, because we can’t be losing lives every day, and younger Nigerians, older Nigerians dying for acts that could have been prevented, and that is the reality,” he said.
According to him, the issue of security does not stop on the table of the Federal Government, adding that all the three tiers of governments have a role to play.
Mr. Agbambu also expressed concern that some state governors are not interested in the security of the people.
In such a State, according to him, the people are even encouraged to cooperate with criminals and easier for the criminals to defend them as couldn’t even feel governance in the communities.
“So government has not done enough. With the crop of Governors we have, if you like give them the whole money we have in this country, they will still be having one excuse or the other. There are few that actually knows that security is paramount, and they are doing their best, but a lot still needs to be done.
“At the Governors’ Forum, I have not seen where they have taken a collective action to fight insecurity. Because the danger here is that when you fight insecurity in one part of the country, without the other part, then these criminals migrate to those areas.
“There was a time, it was only the North East, but today we have the North Central, North West,” he stated.
When asked where Nigeria was actually missing the fight against insecurity as it continued in Nigeria for decades, he attributed it to lack of love for the country.
“Some people are saying it’s not happening to me, it’s happening to the other people and all that. So, they think they are not involved, and that is a major problem we have.
“We have some citizens who make money out of the other citizens suffering. As we speak, there are merchants of war, merchants of crime, that are benefiting from the situation we are talking about.
“All boils down to the issue of lack of love of the country. You know, the security forces cannot do more than they are doing. I must tell you the truth. And the citizens have a lot to do. Go to a lot of countries, they have so much insecurity, you know, more than even we have in Nigeria. But what is the situation with them? They collectively agree that this is a national issue and we must solve it.
“And that is one of the problem that we are having and where we are missing it.”
The Security Expert continued “Our problem is not in the talking. Our problem is actions are not being taken and consistently. It has continued in this form.
“Everybody wants to blame the federal government, the President. What of those directly in charge, particularly at the local and the state, the sub nationals,” he queried.
He said something should be done to force leaders at the local and state levels to carry out their responsibilities.
He said “We are concentrating so much attention on the federal government. We must divert our pressures, our attention to those local and the state level of governance, so that they can do the needful. So that is the solution.”
Speaking specifically on the Kebbi students abduction, the Security Expert said that the easiest thing to have been done was to evacuate the students since the State already got intelligence on the coming of the abductors.
“Since you have a direct intelligence that that school was to be attacked, you should have evacuated these children to a safer place in the first instance.
“Then, you can deploy a covert security in the vicinity of that school so that in case anybody comes, they can be able to track them and all that.
“But this was not done, and not after they have been taken, we’re now talking about how to recover these girls.
“It becomes a bit difficult, because these bandits are going to use these girls as human shield. Whatever you are going to do now, the lives of these girls are at stake. So you have to be very, very tactful and and very strategic before actions are taken.
“It’s not about knowing the location where they are. It’s about being able to get these girls back alive.
“So really, I think that the way forward is, first of all, actioning on intelligence that we gathered. And it’s not cowardice to say let me evacuate these children first.
But it shows being forthright and being direct to issues that are at hand.
“So the issues is that there was a mistake that was made by the state government and those that advise that just deployment and keep them there. I thought that the best to have been done was to take away these girls and try to fortify other schools,” Agbambu added.
He said that the significance of the Kwara State incident was that criminals are running rampage in the country.
The issue happening in a church in Kwara State, he said, has nothing to do with Christian genocide.
“We shouldn’t allow it to continue,” he stated.
