The level of insecurity in Nigeria has become alarming. On daily basis, Nigerians are mowed down, either by the Boko Haram or the rampaging Fulani herdsmen, who strike in different parts of the country.

No part of the country, not even the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, is insulated from terrorist attacks. Security agents are also victims of the attacks as several of them have been slain in the course of duty.

Apart from the terror attacks by Boko Haram and the herdsmen, armed robbers, kidnappers and ritualists also hold people to ransom. Lives and properties of citizens are no longer safe as many no longer sleep with eyes closed.

Since security agents seem to have been overwhelmed by the different forms of attackers, a cross section of Nigerians now wonder if the Federal Government should seek foreign assistance in tackling the worsening situation.

Buhari Should Seek Foreign Assistance On Insecurity – Lecturer

Dr Benard Isi Aibangbe, a Benin-based polytechnic lecturer, said: “It is no longer a question of whether there is leadership failure in Nigeria. The question is: How do we get out of it to save the country from being another Somalia because it seems there is no end in sight.

“If seeking foreign assistance will bring the desired solution, we better go for it without further delay. The killing is no longer restricted to one particular geo-political zone as it used to be, but all over the country. The President and his Minister of Defence are telling us to be our brothers’ keepers by accommodating them.

“These are known criminals called headsmen who are going about slaughtering innocent Nigerians with reckless abandon and no arrests have been made, let alone prosecuting them. Yet, the President is going about campaigning for a second term.

“He should not wait to be told that he can only run a second term if there is a nation called Nigeria.

“Again, the President is always telling us that he is fighting corruption. Fighting corruption for whom? For a people being systematically wiped out by the herdsmen? He should be reminded that only the living can enjoy corruption free country.

“My advice is that if by seeking foreign assistance will bring the desired peace, let us go for it. But, before then, the security chiefs should be removed. The President should honourably step down after his four years because majority of Nigerians will not tolerate him for another four years. It seems old age has caught up with him.”

‘Insecurity In Nigeria Is Of Global Concern’

Etorobong Inyang, a public affairs commentator and journalist, has advised the Federal Government to open up on its obvious need for assistance in fighting terrorism and insecurity to the international world, as security challenges in the country has become a global concern.

“The determined efforts by terrorists, coupled with improved and sophisticated technology, which has escalated criminal activities across national and international borders, have made it imperative for the Federal Government to quit battling in silence if it truly desires to protect the citizens,” he stated.

Inyang said Nigeria being a member of the international community and signatory to various international treaties needs not operate in isolation in tackling the multidimensional security challenges it is currently facing.

While noting that Nigeria is already benefitting from international assistance from the UK, USA, and EU countries in areas of military hardware, intelligence sharing and manpower training, he stressed the need for the Federal Government to place its security challenges at the front burner of its programmes to press home the importance of such fight to other supporting partners.

He added: “Recently, the US government sold military aircraft to the Nigerian government and, even the French leader, Emmanuel Macron during his just-concluded visit to the country, also offered to assist Nigeria in fighting insecurity.

“Security issues should be beyond partisanship. It is about national interest and territory integrity. The Nigerian military still needs foreign assistance in the areas of personal training, intelligence sharing, counter terrorism response methods, and deployment of technology in forestalling insurgencies.”

It Is Shameful For Nigeria To Seek Foreign Assistance To Check Insecurity – Activist

Justice Uhuegbu is the President, Association for Good Governance and National Convener, Youth Arise Initiative. According to him, “It is a shame for us to continue hearing that some countries are donating money to Nigeria.

“Look at the security vote of governors, ministers, senators and the rest of them. Governance is supposed to be a part-time thing. Why can’t we take care of our internal security? Is Nigeria not a sovereign nation?

“Can America call another country to come and help it sort out insecurity in its land? Nigeria is said to be the giant of Africa. They are the ones that should be assisting neighbouring African countries. You see, greed and corruption have reduced us to the present pitiable state.”

Things Have Really Gone Out Of Hand – SDP Stalwart

  Senator Ebenezer Ikeyina, National Vice Chairman, Social Democratic Party (SDP), South East Zone, stated: “You cannot achieve much now with the situation on ground without involving foreigners. We really need international assistance because things have really gone out of hand. I cannot see this government being able to do anything meaningful.”

‘Nigerian Situation Deserves Foreign Intervention’

Dr Francis Shopekan, President/Founder, Fight Against Corruption Organisation (FACO) maintained that by the way things are now, “the government has no choice than to seek foreign assistance. I listened to an interview with a security expert and he said that some members of ISIS were driven away from a particular country and they moved to Libya, Yemen and when each country tightens its security borders, they will go elsewhere.

“The way things are right now, Nigeria really needs the intervention of foreign partners, countries to help us get a lasting solution to the killings in the country. Many families have lost loved ones in the last couple of years.

“Every day, you wake up and read the newspapers or listen to radio stations, you will hear of killings. Someone said that cows are more valuable than human beings in Nigeria. It was not so before.”

State Police Is The Answer – Pwajok

Hon. Edward Gyang Pwajok, member representing Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency of Plateau State in the House of Representatives. He said that only State Police would halt incessant killings in the country.

Pwajok, who spoke in Jos, said there was urgent need to amend the nation’s constitution to provide for State Police to prevent the wiping out of some ethnic nationalities in the country.

He said: “There is a need to amend the constitution to make provision for State Police. I am also calling for the total overhaul of the country’s security architecture, especially in the area of intelligence gathering, using traditional rulers, youths and women groups as focal persons.”

He described the attacks which engulfed parts of Plateau State on June 23, 2018 as a horror film and challenged security agencies to rise to their constitutional responsibilities of protecting human lives and properties.

Pwajok condemned the inaction of the security agencies, which led to the simultaneous attacks on 11 villages of Gashish District in Barkin Ladi for seven hours without any security intervention.

He decried the slow response of National Emergency Management  Agency (NEMA), which saw them taking a week before providing relief efforts to victims of the attack and called for a law mandating the agency to provide comprehensive assistance within 12 hours whenever such incidence occurred.

He lamented the continuous killings in Plateau State aimed at land grabbing and ethnic cleansing, which had led to the death of thousands, including Senator Gyang Datong, and Hon. Gyang Fulani and called for a forensic analysis on the bodies of those killed to ascertain the type of weapons used by the killers.

According to him, if the Nigerian state was incapacitated to providing justice to victims and bringing perpetrators of the heinous crime to book,  then there was need to involve the international community as there was need to stop bloodletting.

He appreciated the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo; Senator Bukola Saraki, the Senate President, and Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to commiserate with the people of Plateau State.

‘FG Should Seek U.S, Israeli Assistance’

Okonkwo Chris, an engineer, maintained that the issues of Nigeria’s security was being over-flogged, wondering what the Federal Government had been doing with all the monies being appropriated as security votes.

He said: “As it is today, I don’t trust any of the security agencies in Nigeria today. So, I am of the views that if possible, the Federal Government should seek assistance from Israeli or American government in tackling the worsening security situation in Nigeria today.

“But, my fears is that they may not be willing to come due to the level of insincerity on the part of the government as was revealed when the foreign soldiers visited Sambisa forest where they discovered a level of political intrigues that had bedeviled the on-going fight against Boko Haram. 

“Nigeria’s elder statesman, General T. Y. Danjuma (rtd), painted a pathetic picture of the insincerity of the Buhari administration in the fight against Boko Haram, Christians in the North.

“The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) re-echoed it, a senator from one of the South-Western states also spoke how the Federal Government’s style of fighting all forms of security threats is fueling doubts about the government among Nigerians. I tend to believe what they are all saying.

“President Buhari once told Nigerians that he directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to relocate to Benue State when suspected Fulani herdsmen were killing local farmers. What did the IGP do? Who employed the IGP?

Was his appointment based on merit, or just a reward for a job he did for the ruling party in Kano State or to fill some quota? May be, he got a position that is beyond his capacity to the detriments of Nigerians.

“Although Nigerians have been calling for on the President to change the Service Chiefs, nothing is being done about that. So, the whole thing continues to cast doubts on the sincerity of the Federal Government under President Buhari.

“The President visited Plateau State and was asking the people if he (Buhari) was the one carrying AK47 riffles to kill innocent civilians. But, the Miyetti Allah came up with rather suspicious questions on why there should be peace in Plateau State when over 300 of their cows were missing.

“A lot of things are going on that makes one wonder what exactly this government is doing. God created animals, including cows, for man’s consumption. But, the Fulani values cows more than humans that the cows are meant for. It is like joggling everything to suit the Fulani interest against those of over 200 other tribes in Nigeria today. You begin to ask: Where are we really heading to?

“I can go on and on to buttress my curiosity and that of majority of other Nigerians about this APC government at the federal level if it really meant well for Nigerians or serving the interest of some foreigners or groups.

“People die every minute in Nigeria today. The most painful thing is the Fulani herdsmen who want Nigerians to vacate their lands for them to keep their cows. It is not done anywhere in the world.

“I learnt that one of the media aides to the President, Femi Adesina, is telling Nigerians to relinquish their farmlands to avoid being killed and I was asking: Why and for what reason should Nigerians be compelled to run away from their homes and land for total strangers? I am sure he (Femi) has a land. So, he should donate the land to the Fulani herdsmen just because he wants to be seen as a loyal and committed aide.

“I want the Federal Government to do a kind of soul searching, know if it has been fair to the Nigerian masses in protecting their lives and properties. I no longer trust Nigerian security forces because of the things we see and hear they do, including what the expatriates discovered in Sambisa forest at the inception of this Boko Haram.

“They indicted some top Nigerian security forces for sabotaging the exercise. That is why I will lend my support if the Federal Government should bring in American or Israeli soldiers to help us out.”

credit: https://independent.ng/insecurity-need-to-seek-foreign-assistance/