Managing Eco-Space Of Terrorism In Nigeria 

Terrorism simply refers to use of coercion, threat or to utilise violence to spread fear so as to attain political and sometime ideological goals.
Primarily, it involves criminal activities, use of war, manipulating the subconscious to influence policies or change political arrangement.
Culprits of terrorism often hide under the guise of religion to unleash mayhem as well as adopt kidnapping, assassination and outright killing of unbelievers to subdue them to commit the authorities to accepting their candidates in political parties.
There are also cases where late settlers use violence and war, to grab land to expand their territories or hold on to power in the political hemisphere.
Perpetrators, sponsors and supporters may use gorilla war tactics where there is no direct physical battlefield or war front.
This makes it absolutely difficult for security to use conventional tactics to combat it.
Thus, where terrorists use soft targets to harm innocent citizen where perpetrators mix with civilians and making it difficult to identify them.
Examples abound in the South-American state of Cuba by Fidel Castro, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, Africa and Nigeria in particular.
There were stories of Boko Haram’s removal of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, kidnap of Chibok School Girls, herdsmen and farmer clashes and today outright land-grabbing.
In Nigeria today, what started as a small crime of Boko Haram has grown into a holocaust and genocide.
From Northeast to Northwest, North Central, South West, East and South-South, terrorism has become a national phenomenon.
Only recently, the invasion and killing in Plateau and Benue States are still very fresh in Nigeria.
In Plateau State alone, about one hundred persons were killed in the State; prompting Governor Caleb Mutfwan to declare a restriction of movement of cattle and ban on the use of bicycle and tricycles within the hours of seven O’clock in the evening to six in the morning, among others.
Governor Caleb Mutfwan also added, “we are also reactivating community based response system while urging traditional leaders and youth associations to reactivate local vigilante.
In Benue State, Governor Hyacint Allia disclosed that more than 70 persons have been killed.
While investigation is still ongoing survivors of the mayhem disclosed that the suspected killers spoke Fulani related languages.
Benue State seems to be definite on the origin of the killer invaders. In fact, governor Hyacint Allia stated in a media chat, foreigners are among the herders that invade Benue to kill; adding that they hide in the bush and unleash mayhem.
Former Senate president, David Mark, said the attack was not ordinary but an organised and premeditated.
It is a matter of concern that no culprit has been met with consequences. No culprit has been brought to justice in a nation where this magnitude of killing has taken place. One may ask what can the State governor do when the security apparatus are on the exclusive list?
Even though the State governors collect huge amount of security votes monthly, and vigilante groups in form of Neigbourhood Watch are not permitted to work with guns. In this case, how can community effort function effectively?
Time has come to examine the entire eco-space within which the narrative of terrorism works.
It is, therefore pertinent for Nigerians, from north to south, to be definite and categorical in tackling the menace of terrorism in Nigeria.
To this end, the National Assembly must initiate a bill to decentralise security as communities cannot challenge or stand terrorists with bow and arrow.
Cattle rearing is a multi-million naira venture undertaken by prominent Nigerians who must register their businesses and addresses of their ranches.
A live cow cost about a million naira and therefore it may be unwise to allow voracious cattle to feed on crops of a humble farmer.
Similarly, the ECOWAS protocol on open grazing must be reviewed, as it is outdated, to disallow cattle wander from land to land in the name of open grazing.
Politicians and political office holders must declare their assets to indicate whether they have cattle and if so, their ranches.
This is because there is animal husbandry in developed economies operated as business and not as terrorists. Why should the case in Nigeria be different? Fighting terrorism should not be seen as a battle for soldiers alone.
States must fulfil their promises to terrorists granted amnesty and also tame the excesses of the so-called repentant culprits who renege on their vows to curb internal crises.
The narrative that the murderers are foreigners does not hold water.
Nigerians are tired with several meetings with service chiefs without any positive outcome.
Once again, the call for state policing has become more relevant and use of non-kinetics measures, should be granted renewal impetus. The challenge of out-of-school children must be tackled to avoid being used as ready market for recruitment of youths and child-terrorists.
The Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu should not shift blame by  tasking State governors to look inward. Why is he commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Accountability, justice and honesty remain key to addressing and managing the eco-space of terrorism in Nigeria.The time to act is now.

Baridorn Sika
Sika is socio-political analyst.