ONE day, one trouble, wahala no dey finish is a saying that has gained currency in the last few years as Nigerians battle the headwinds buffeting them daily as they pursued happiness. I had wanted to vent my spleen on those in charge of providing electricity in this country, starting from the Minister of Power, down to those technicians that deal with electricity mains, transformers, feeder pillars, and other distribution equipment.
This is because there seems to be no electricity in the country, with Ikeja Electric and IBEDC looking like some of the worst service providers in the power sector since independence. I do not think the situation was this bad when we had NEPA/PHCN.
It is trite to say that millions of Nigerians celebrated Christmas in darkness, especially those that do not have generators; but it was shocking to be hit with the news of carnage in Plateau State, especially in the season of Yuletide, which is generally accepted as a season of goodwill during which people made merry, celebrating the birth of the Messiah.
As of yesterday, body counts were still rising; 148 were reported killed in Bokkos, 19 in Mangu, and 27 in Barkin Ladi, all local government areas in Plateau State. Not only were people killed, their houses were also burnt down in an orgy of arson that resulted in no less than 1,290 houses razed.
My worry about this is simple. How did the security agencies manage NOT to know that something this bad was going to happen? This is because it is evident from the scale of arson and the sheer number of people killed that this was a premeditated, planned job, initiated by somebody who recruited more hands, generated equipment, arms, motor vehicles, incendiaries and other weapons they needed to carry out the attacks. How did it happen that as they were preparing to launch these attacks, nobody, repeat, NOBODY, in any of our security agencies “caught a whiff” of their preparations? In other words, what happened to intelligence?
The Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar III, vented his frustration about the situation. A trained securityman who left the Army for the sultanate, he expressed his anger over the Plateau massacre at an event in Bauchi. What he said showed we’re on the same page on this matter. His words:
“What are the roles of the government who are supposed to protect our lives and properties? They are not proactive? What happened to our intelligence gathering mechanism? Can anybody tell me that nobody knows that those attacks were coming up? Whether it is in Sokoto, in Birnin-Kebbi or Kaduna, have we lost our sense of gathering information to avert any of such heinous crimes? Why can’t you be proactive, why can’t you stop such attacks before they happen?” he queried.
That for me, is the crux of the matter.
Reacting to the bloodbath on the Plateau, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun ordered an investigation into the massacre, and also ordered the immediate deployment of additional manpower and resources to Plateau State.
A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi said IGP Egbetokun also informed that “recognising the need for a thorough investigation, the IGP has directed the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department, FCID, and his counterpart in the Department of Force Intelligence to constitute a high-powered investigative team.
“This team is tasked with unraveling the circumstances surrounding the incident and bringing those responsible to justice.
“The Police and other security agencies are deploying both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches to tackle the lingering crisis which look recurrent in the state.
“The IGP further admonishes warring groups, residents and the entire state to embrace peace, shun violence and unwarranted killings of innocent souls.”
From where I am sitting, this is the equivalent of trying to shut the barn doors after the horses have escaped. I am convinced that the national security architecture currently in use is a reactive one that waits for crimes to be committed, then responds by going after the criminals. Wrong.
The modus should shift into the proactive mode: Do as much as possible to ensure that the crime is not committed at all. Deploying more assets to Plateau will not bring back those killed, neither will it rebuild the houses burnt down. The United States of America, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks that brought down the World Trade Centre towers in New York reworked her national security apparatus.
The main feature was the creation of a new government agency — the Department of Homeland Security. Other agencies like the FBI, CIA, Customs, Immigration, and others had roles to play in strengthening the American homeland. We can and should emulate the American response.
The political leadership has a lot of work to do regarding insecurity, which as we are seeing is causing famine in the country. All these starched agbadas flying all over the country should fold into some chairs to get serious work done. Rome is on fire, but Nero is fiddling!!!
By Adekunle Adekoya
