ASO ROCK WATCH: On Buhari’s next move against Boko Haram. Two other talking points

To say that Boko Haram has become an albatross hanging on Nigeria’s neck could be a worn out cliche. Through their unrelenting pursuit of a terrorist agenda, the country has continued to bleed uncontrollably.

Sadly, it seems that the occupants of Aso Rock, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, have come to their wits end in the quest for fresh game plans that would outsmart the insurgency waged by Boko Haram in North-east Nigeria.

Beyond the headache posed by insecurity, the Aso Rock Villa retained its glamour and remained a beehive of activities, doubling down with other striking events last week.

Moving in circles

On November 30, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the Nigerian Army to root out Boko Haram terrorists from all their hideouts in the North-eastern part of the country.

Buhari’s order was contained in a statement by his Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.
“Nothing is more important than ensuring the security of lives and property of the people. Everything is secondary when security is at stake. As we mourn the loss of our sons in Zabarmari, the Armed Forces have been given the marching order to take the fight to the insurgents, not on a one-off, but on a continuous basis until we root out the terrorists,” the President’s statement reads in part.

The Buhari charge now sounds all too familiar, with what looks like template dropped on the laps of Nigerians each time the blood-thirsty terrorists unleash their venom on innocent citizens. The November 28 massacre of no fewer than 43 rice farmers in Zabarmari, in the Jere Local Government Area of Borno State, provided no exception.

On several other occasions, Buhari and his handlers have embarked on the familiar road of reassuring Nigerians that all was well, even as the realities provided a a different picture. It was either the Boko Haram terrorists had been ‘technically defeated’ or ‘degraded’. while the blood hounds prowled the space killing people, destroying properties, abducting and forcing women to become their sex slaves.

So, the charge this time is akin to moving in circles.

In February 2020, while condemning the insurgents’ attack in Garkida, Adamawa State, Buhari promised to carry out an aggressive campaign to root Boko Haram once and for all. On February 12, 2020, during his one-day visit to Borno State, he pledged more proactive measures to end the insurgency. On April 9, 2020, when the governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, visited him at the Aso Rock Villa, over the sorry state of the fight against insurgents, he pledged to expedite efforts in eliminating them.

Inside Buhari’s failed charges to end the insurgency lies the obvious collapse of the country’s security architecture. It raises critical questions on why he has closed his ears to the calls for sack of his battle-weary Service Chiefs and the need to query the huge spendings on the military which have yielded scanty results.

It won’t be out of place to remind Mr President that he is the Commander-in-Chief, and that his best must be good enough to stop Nigeria from being turned into a killing field.

Two other talking points

Osinbajo’s counsel

The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, on December 1, stated that Nigeria needed to keep reviewing her “conventional means” of tackling security challenges.

According to his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, Osinbajo shared his thoughts while fielding questions from journalists in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

Asked about the killing of rice farmers in Borno State, he was quoted to have said: “It’s important to understand also that we will probably need to keep reviewing the conventional means of dealing with some of these issues, these security challenges, especially the randomness…

“We have to do a lot more local intelligence and some of the community policing efforts we are planning on, so that information is supplied faster, especially at the local level and then a reaction will then be possible.”

Read also: ASO ROCK WATCH: As Buhari gropes around insecurity challenges. Two other talking points

Osinbajo was right on the universal notion that one cannot continue to do something in a particular way and expect a radical result.

What would be of concern to keen watchers of the political space is how much of his ideas have been shared in private with Mr President or synthesized by the military high command. And, whether these ideas were welcomed and considered excellent for execution.

Until Nigerians begin to see practical steps taken to effect the kind of policing system Osinbajo is harping about, many will doubt the sincerity of his postulations, given that a fundamental restructuring of the country has been proposed as the basis for meaningful progress.

Incidentally, the Nigerian state is foot dragging on the matter of restructuring and this does not help strengthen Osinbajo treatise on community policing and other related issues.

Tackling employment

On December 3, President Muhammadu Buhari reaffirmed his commitment to creating more jobs.

Speaking at a presidential parley with the articipants of Senior Executive Course 42 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, he said: “Let me reiterate that our administration is committed to diligently pursuing investments in people, especially in our youths as well as most vulnerable and poorest members of society.”

True, the unemployment records do not look good.

Sitting at 27.1% of Nigerians, mostly youths, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, youth unemployment is, indeed, one of the major headaches of the Buhari-led administration.

This makes the talk of employment generation imperative. While a handful of initiatives, such as the Social Investment Programme and Special Public Works programme, are being implemented by government to get youths employed, the need for a more sustainable arrangement clearly remains the best option.

The Aso Rock response, though well intended, has, however, received some bashing from critics who believe that the schemes have been riddled with politics.

As many experts contend, the ultimate escape lies in the nation pursuing the path of a knowledge-based economy, backed by a robust investment in the education sector. Let it also be said that without enhancing its productive capacity, the Nigerian economy would remain in the doldrums and unemployment a ticking time bomb.

By John Chukwu…

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now