Predictably, the
suggestion that the federal government may declare a state of emergency
in states that have witnessed serious security breaches in recent times
is threatening to divert attention from making concrete efforts tackling
them. The Nigerian Governors' Forum issued a statement yesterday
advising against any attempt to impose emergency measures in Borno,
Yobe, and Nasarawa states.
Borno and Yobe states have been in the throes of a festering insurgency that has devastated social life in the North East region and all but grounded economic activities. Last week, members of a little known cult group in Nasarawa state ambushed and killed scores of security agents in a brazen affront to constituted authority.
In the southern parts of the country, kidnapping of people for ransom has become a way of life. Just two days ago, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Godsday Orubebe, appealed to youths in the region to stop the reign of terror that the practice of kidnapping has developed into so that development projects, stalled since 2009, because of the rampant kidnapping of expatriate workers, can restart.
So, instead of dissipitating energy arguing over the issue, it is time some form of declaration is made to address the problem.
Such declaration should not necessarily mean that the federal government would connive impose direct rule in the identified states, replacing elected governors and houses of assembly, even if temporarily, with sole administrators. It has happened before, in Plateau State.
A state of security emergency would be in the same line a health sector emergency, or an emergency in any disaster, in which the threat is identified and efforts concentrated to to deal with it.
All the elements to warrant the declaration of a state of security emergency in the country are evident.
A state of security emergency would allow the government to devote as much resources as necessary to deal with a problem that is threatening the very foundation of the state. It has evolved and is now finding expression in many ways, including in the polity.
In truth, if the current trend continues unabated or is unchecked, the tendency for offshoots springing up from every community in the country for the flimsiest of reason, is further strengthened.
Yesterday, President Goodluck Jonathan met for the second day with the nation's security chiefs. The fact that no statement was issued afterwards illustrates the grimness of the situation, and the difficulty in reaching a consensus on how to proceed.
But it would be important that in the face of a common problem, political differences must be put aside and common ground found in how to tackle it. The federal government, and the governments of the states where the security challenges are particularly serious, should cooperate to find a lasting solution to the problem.
Already, a federal government panel on amnesty for the insurgent group Boko Haram is currently at work. Yet the violence in the areas where the insurgent group is thought to be most active has shown no sign of slowing. Various military operations are ongoing at the same time to check such attacks and minimize infrastructure damage and casualties.
Imposing a state of emergency that would entail the abrigdement of democratic order in those states on purely political grounds would be a catastrophic escalation of the current instability in the polilty, and may in the end not address the underlying causes of the security issues.
Source: Daily Trust
Borno and Yobe states have been in the throes of a festering insurgency that has devastated social life in the North East region and all but grounded economic activities. Last week, members of a little known cult group in Nasarawa state ambushed and killed scores of security agents in a brazen affront to constituted authority.
In the southern parts of the country, kidnapping of people for ransom has become a way of life. Just two days ago, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr Godsday Orubebe, appealed to youths in the region to stop the reign of terror that the practice of kidnapping has developed into so that development projects, stalled since 2009, because of the rampant kidnapping of expatriate workers, can restart.
So, instead of dissipitating energy arguing over the issue, it is time some form of declaration is made to address the problem.
Such declaration should not necessarily mean that the federal government would connive impose direct rule in the identified states, replacing elected governors and houses of assembly, even if temporarily, with sole administrators. It has happened before, in Plateau State.
A state of security emergency would be in the same line a health sector emergency, or an emergency in any disaster, in which the threat is identified and efforts concentrated to to deal with it.
All the elements to warrant the declaration of a state of security emergency in the country are evident.
A state of security emergency would allow the government to devote as much resources as necessary to deal with a problem that is threatening the very foundation of the state. It has evolved and is now finding expression in many ways, including in the polity.
In truth, if the current trend continues unabated or is unchecked, the tendency for offshoots springing up from every community in the country for the flimsiest of reason, is further strengthened.
Yesterday, President Goodluck Jonathan met for the second day with the nation's security chiefs. The fact that no statement was issued afterwards illustrates the grimness of the situation, and the difficulty in reaching a consensus on how to proceed.
But it would be important that in the face of a common problem, political differences must be put aside and common ground found in how to tackle it. The federal government, and the governments of the states where the security challenges are particularly serious, should cooperate to find a lasting solution to the problem.
Already, a federal government panel on amnesty for the insurgent group Boko Haram is currently at work. Yet the violence in the areas where the insurgent group is thought to be most active has shown no sign of slowing. Various military operations are ongoing at the same time to check such attacks and minimize infrastructure damage and casualties.
Imposing a state of emergency that would entail the abrigdement of democratic order in those states on purely political grounds would be a catastrophic escalation of the current instability in the polilty, and may in the end not address the underlying causes of the security issues.
Source: Daily Trust
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