In its sixty- two years of independence, Nigeria and its people have never had it so bad, such that many are now beginning to think that the amalgamation of northern and southern Nigeria by Lord Lugard in 1914, to form what we, today, call the Nigeria State, was a ‘huge’ mistake.
Nigeria is home to one in six sub Saharan Africans. At inception, Nigeria was considered by many to serve as a model democracy for people of African continent. The country was seen as the power house with an economy that is considered the largest in sub-Saharan African , that generates close to quarter of Gross Domestic Product, GDP, in Africa.
A country of over 200million people, Nigeria has seen better days despite the few teething problems experienced at the earlier stage, which many thought and hoped were easily surmountable, and would eventually pave way for a more prosperous nation in future.
Alas! A little more than six decades later, the problems have not gone away, but instead have become full blown and hydra-headed monster that appear to threaten the very existence of the Nigerian State.
Today, Nigeria has been imperiled and we have become a country under siege – a ghost of ourselves. True, corruption and looting of public funds by public officials have been with us since inception – that is not new. But what is disheartening is that years of unchecked corrupt activities and greed by public office holders have metamorphosed and given birth to more heinous crimes. It is not uncommon to hear of insecurity, banditry, kidnappings, terrorism and its likes in the country. These crimes have become very lucrative businesses for the teeming unemployed youths of Nigeria; and as such daily violence has become a routine for the over 200million Nigerians who live in perpetual fear amidst growing poverty. The violence, by the day, have become so intense and widespread that almost every part of the country is sliding towards ungovernability. The country, has resultantly, lost its reputation in the comity of nations and many refer to it, derogatorily, as a ‘banana republic.’
Nigeria currently is a country in a ‘coma,’ almost every area of our national life has collapsed. The economy is in shambles, the people have never felt more insecure in the history of the nation than they feel now, both the education and the health sectors are in comatose with incessant University teachers’ strikes and uncontrollable doctors exodus – better known as brain drains- happening respectively in both sectors. Only recently, an arm of the security force, the Police, threatened embarking on a strike action over poor pay package. People have completely lost faith in the present crop of leadership and have never been more disillusioned about the general state of affairs in the nation before than they are now.
Nigerians feel trapped in their own country. With the daily and frightening news of banditry, kidnappings and abductions on major roads – the expressway; attacks on schools, train stations, airports and even government owned military formations in some states are not spared, Nigerians feel more unsafe and uncertain about anything than ever before. The future for most is bleak. Unknown gunmen are on the prowl everywhere. Just as I was writing this news came the news that over 20 gunmen invaded the Dangote’s refinery on Victoria Island, but were stopped by the security personnel on duty. The spate of terrorists attack on the Nigerian nation and people have become too frequent.
Almost on a daily basis, we are besieged with insurgency in the north-east, gangs of kidnappers terrorizing the north-west, secessionist group, in addition to Police brutalization in the south-east. Even the south-west seen as relatively peaceful, experience skirmishes of ritual killings and have its fair share of abductions and banditry. No section of the country is spared these ugly incidences; even as hunger and disease ravage the people. What with surging gas prices, which has in its wake led to high cost of food prices, transportation etc; leading to a spiral inflation in consumer products.
Nobody and nowhere is safe in Nigeria, given the regular attacks on our national facilities, with no adequate intelligence services to avert these crimes. The criminals always have a field’s day whenever they attack. They go scot free without any security official apprehending anyone of them. The frequency of these attacks and the successes recorded by the terrorists and bandits, have raised speculations about the capacity of our security officials and the security architecture of the country to either prevent or fight these crimes. The civil defense whose job is specifically to protect national institutions and assets has proved grossly incapable of living up to their billing.
For the first time in decades, lives of the people count for nothing. Many avoidable deaths are recorded on a daily basis in all parts of the country through banditry, kidnappings, ritual killings, ethnic clashes, police brutalization and arsons to mention a few. The social media and newspapers are replete with such gory tales and pictures.
Yet, in all of these, the leading political class appear unperturbed. They act as if everything is normal, and at the very best, they put the blame on their predecessor. In his latest response, the minister of communication, Lai Mohammed, while praising President Buhari for a job well done, blamed the current woes to the sixteen years of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, rule. It is troubling to note that almost eight years after, we still get to be fed with the same old excuses.
Nigeria, without mincing words, is a country in peril and under siege. There is an urgent need for the leaders to review the security situation in the country. The security of the Nigerian people should be key. No country can hope to thrive under very poor security. As things are now, not even the rich or our political elites are safe. The answer to the Nigerian conundrum lies in very simple solution that might just help to put things right again. For this to happen, we need a crop of sincere and committed leaders. It is never late to start. Nigeria and its people are hurting greatly. All hands should be on deck to change the narrative.
Geraldine Onyenweaku