Nigeria: Terrorism Report Index

The ranking of Nigeria on the Global Terrorism Index Report by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) as the third country with the highest level of terrorism in 2019, after Iran and Afghanistan, is not only disturbing but worrisome. This, however, did not come as a surprise to keen security and political watchers in the country due to the worsening security situation in the country in recent times. Hardly any day passes without reports of one criminal attack or the other in various parts of Nigeria.
Incidentally, Nigeria came third out of the 82 countries that were ranked on the Global Terrorism Index while Afghanistan topped the chart, followed by Iran which came second.
More worrisome is the fact that the worsening security situation in the country has continued to take its toll on Nigerians as several lives are lost on a daily basis and property worth millions of naira go down the drain in the process. Just a week ago, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Adamawa State, Rev Lawan Andimi, who had been in the custody of the dreaded Boko Haram was beheaded even after N50 million ransom was offered to the insurgents.
Similarly, no fewer than four persons were said to have died during a suicide attack on a mosque in Gwoza in Borno State last week.
And just recently, the main opposition political party in the country, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), called on the National Assembly to summon President Muhammadu Buhari over the worsening security situation vis-à-vis the alarming Global Terrorism Index Report.
The PDP described the report as distressing, particularly as its indices show that insecurity and deaths from acts of terrorism and banditry increased in the country in spite of promises by the present administration. The party further noted that “the IEP rating has further confirmed its position that the security of lives and property in our nation has gone beyond what the Buhari administration’s security architecture, as presently composed, can guarantee”, stressing that the issue of security has gone beyond partisan and sectional sentiments as well as propaganda, and now requires a concerted effort by all stakeholders to compel a review of security structure and method by the President.
It was against this backdrop that some members of the National Assembly during plenary recently called for the resignation of President Buhari.
It is unfortunate that despite colossal loss in manpower and huge financial commitment to the fight against insurgency and terrorism, the country did not fare any better in the global terrorism report index.
That some countries in Africa like Libya which are at war fared better than Nigeria in the ranking is quite unfortunate and unacceptable by well-meaning Nigerians and allies of the Nigerian State.
The Tide is quite disturbed by this development and believes that the time to arrest the current descent of the country to this abysmal level is now. We are seriously worried that no practical steps are taken by the Buhari administration to check the security drift.
What the current Global Terrorism Index Report implies is that the acclaimed success recorded by the present administration is a mere fluke. The Federal Government has persistently and consistently told Nigerians that it has decimated Boko Haram and insurgency in the country. But on the contrary, there is nothing on ground to show that the fight against insurgency in the country is abating. Every day, the lives of Nigerians are wasted by the insurgents and bandits. From Plateau and Benue States to Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Zamfara and Adamawa States, the story is the same.
This sad development also goes to prove the point that tax payers’ money, often deployed by the government to fight Boko Haram, has gone down the drain.
The way things are currently going further shows that the claim that terrorists have infiltrated into the Army and other security agencies in the country might be a reality. If it is not so, what has actually gone wrong? Is it a case of the blade having gone blunt or a case of the barber not knowing his job?
We seriously align with the PDP in calling for the review and rejigging of the current security architecture of the country. There is need to change the Security Chiefs in the country. This should cut across the board. We strongly believe that the current Security Chiefs must have run out of ideas on how to bring the criminals ravaging the country to their knees.
We need a breath of fresh air. Fresh blood may be what the security apparati need now to reinvigorate the fight against insurgency in the country.
Most importantly, Nigeria needs more assistance from the international community more than ever before for the fight against insurgency to be more efficient and result-oriented.
No doubt, the current Global Terrorism Index Report portends a clear and grave danger for the country and everything must be done by the All Progressives Congress-led (APC) Federal Government to check the security slide. The time for action is now.