Nigeria At 52: Tackling The Security Challenge

By most accounts, the current security challenges facing the
country make this period one of the most critical periods which Nigeria has
passed through as a sovereign nation.

Observers maintain that the period is somewhat akin to the
30-month old Nigerian civil war, adding, however, that the marked point of
departure is that the war was a conventional war, with known and identifiable
enemies.

In the recent armed struggle in the Niger Delta area, the
dramatis personae were known and this made it possible for the Federal
Government to introduce the Amnesty Programme for Niger Delta militants and
other programmes to boost the area’s development.

The leaders of the Niger Delta militants made known their
demands and entered into dialogue with the government and the discourse
resulted in the apparent peace in the region.

For Boko Haram insurgency, however, the situation is
entirely different. Though opinions are divided on whether to dialogue with
them or not, the main question is: “How does one dialogue with a masked
group?’’

Moreover, analysts say that the country’s security agencies,
especially the army, have to devise innovative means of confronting the Boko
Haram challenge.

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika,
alluded to this fact when he spoke at the 2012 Army Day Celebration.

The army chief stressed that the current security situation
necessitated a paradigm shift from the conventional warfare role of the army to
counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency roles, among others.

“The changes in our force structure, necessitated by spate
of security threats in the country, call for greater emphasis on functional and
mission-oriented training in order to improve Nigerian Army’s operational
efficiency,’’ he said.

Ihejirika also likened the current security situation in the
country to the Nigerian civil war, which threatened the existence of the
country.

He, nonetheless, gave the assurance that in spite of the
security challenges facing Nigeria, the country would not disintegrate.

Ihejirika noted that the army had always been in the
forefront of efforts to keep Nigeria as one country since independence in 1960.

“The army is still ready to pay the supreme sacrifice to
keep the country as one united entity.

“So, we should forget about any talk of Nigeria breaking up;
the army will never agree to that,’’ he stressed.

President Goodluck Jonathan also conceded that the country
had been facing serious security challenges, particularly in the last one year.

The president, who also spoke at the Army Day Celebration,
challenged the army high command to re-engineer and re-train the soldiers so as
to reposition them to effectively tackle the emerging security challenges
facing the nation.

He vowed that the Federal Government would use all available
resources at its disposal to provide adequate security for the citizens.

Jonathan, who lauded the current interface existing among
the security agencies, stressed that a national anti-terrorism policy was now
in place.

All the same, opinion leaders and security experts hold
divergent opinions on the kind of approach that should be adopted to handle the
Boko Haram insurgency, the main security problem currently confronting the
nation.

A retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji
Hamma Misau,  suggested that security
agencies should make efforts to get across to the sect’s leaders.

The retired police officer, however, advised security
operatives to desist from unduly harassing members of the public.

“If they treat the public in a civil manner, some of them
will be willing to feed the security operatives with important intelligence
data which can give a lead on how to reach the Boko Haram leaders for dialogue.

“Members of the Boko Haram sect are part of us; they live
among us. Therefore, it is important to reach them and dialogue with them so as
to know their grievances and address them,’’ he said.

Nevertheless,  a
former Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie, blamed the
security agencies for their inability to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency and
other security challenges facing the country efficiently.

Coomassie claimed that the Boko Haram insurgency could be
addressed via “restricted dialogue’’ with the members of the sect, once the
government was able to ascertain its leadership.

The current security situation in the country was also
exhaustively discussed at the 8th All Nigerian Editors Conference, recently
held in Uyo.

Various speakers and contributors at the conference, whose
theme was “The Nigerian Editor and National Security’’, underscored the need
for editors not to publish things that could jeopardise national security.

The President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors,  Mr Gbenga Adefaye, bemoaned a situation in
which the country’s media had become targets of terrorist attacks.

He, however, appealed to media practitioners to look beyond
their traditional information gathering and dissemination roles.

“Today, the main topic of national discourse is security,
even President Goodluck Jonathan publicly admitted that the security concern
has been a major distraction in his efforts to fulfil his campaign promise of
job creation,’’ he said.

Sharing similar sentiments, the Minister of Information, Mr
Labaran Maku urged the media to rise above religious and ethnic sentiments in
their reportage.

The minister appealed to editors to put the interest of the
nation above any selfish considerations.

Senate President, David Mark, who was the guest of honour,
also advised editors to play down issues which had the tendency of jeopardising
national stability.

He opined that if journalists were mindful of sensitive
national issues, their reportage would not constitute threats to national
security.

Mark appealed to editors to always refer to the Freedom of
Information Act whenever they were in doubt about certain issues so as to know
which one constituted a threat to national security.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu
Tambuwal noted that the conference’s theme aptly reflected the editors’ concern
over the security challenges facing the country.

The speaker, who was represented by his deputy, Hon Emeka
Ihedioha, advised editors not to place the media owners’ interests above
national security issues.

The National Security Adviser, Alhaji Sambo Dasuki, however,
called for a total redefinition of the role of the media to make them more
responsive to issues affecting national security, without necessarily
jeopardising their commercial interests.

He urged journalists to strike a balance between national
security issues and the need to make profits.

“While I understand that the purpose of the media is to sell
their publications, it is also important to strike a balance when it comes to
reporting national security concerns,’’ he said.

Dasuki appealed to the media to refrain from heightening the
level of fear and insecurity in the country through sensational reportage.

The Director-General, State Security Service (SSS), Mr Ita
Ekpeyong, appealed to journalists not to encourage acts of terrorism in the
country via their reportage.

In his paper entitled: “Architecture of Terror”, Ekpeyong noted that most terrorists needed publicity for their nefarious activities, stressing that the media should refrain from giving undue publicity to acts of terror so as to promote national security.

“Since terrorists need sympathy, media reportage should not
aim at encouraging their despicable acts. The press should not give prominence
to issues which ought to be buried.

“National interest must be taken into consideration whenever
the Press is reporting terrorism,’’ he stressed.

In spite of the current security challenges facing Nigeria,
many observers believe that the country has a lot to celebrate as it marks its
52nd independence anniversary.

“They argue that, for a country that survived a civil war as
a fledgling nation, no security challenge can be insurmountable.”

They, however, urge all the citizens to assist the security
agencies in efforts to contain the activities of some anti-social groups which
are currently posing threats to the country’s security.

Ukoh, writes for News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Obike Ukoh