Introduction
The Constitution of the Federal Republic 1999 (as amended) is the grundnorm in the geographical expression called Nigeria. The makers of this Constitution in the making purposed in the preamble; “To provide a Constitution for the purpose of promoting good government and welfare of all persons in our country on the principles of freedom, equality and justice…”
Whereas questions have been raised about the legitimacy of the extant Constitution, the author hereby clarifies that the question of legitimacy or otherwise does not fall within the scope of this essay.
From the above preamble, it can be deduced that the underlying purpose of governance is the promotion of the welfare of “all persons” (read all citizens) in Nigeria.
To give fillip to this objective, the Constitution provides in S. 14(2) (b) that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”
The foregoing principles are enhanced in Chapter Two (2) of the Constitution which state that the foregoing shall inter-alia be the “fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy.” These objectives are the directives which are expected to be pursued in the effort of the nation to realize the national ideals.
In contemporary society, democratic ideal pertains to the existence in a political space of principles of public accountability such as “protection of the citizenry” and “respect for the rule of law”.
This essay intends to highlight that sadly, what is prevalent in contemporary Nigeria, particularly under the President Muhammadu Buhari led government appears to be an uncanny disregard or disdain for the observance of the constitutional objectives as it pertains to the security and welfare of the citizenry.
The Aim of Liberal Democracy
According to Jeremy Bentham, the chief aim of liberal democracy is the protection of the people against the oppression and degradation by functionaries whom they employed for the purpose of their defense.
Nigerian citizens have in recent times become recurring victims of unsavory attacks from armed men (bandits and terrorist). Whilst it may be correct to state that these attacks preceded the present political dispensation, the malevolent savagery and psychopathic murders unleashed on citizens by criminal elements in recent times is unprecedented.
Whereas the incendiary attacks sprouted from the North West region of Nigeria, it got escalated and is now pervasive in the six geo-political zones of the country in diverse dimensions.
The Boko Haram terrorist group of the North East have spread their tentacles as far to Niger State (in North Central Nigeria) leaving in its wake sorrows, tears and blood (apologies to Fela Kuti). Many of the citizens in these displaced territories have become internal displaced persons permanently living in makeshift camps.
Armed bandits operating in the North West capture communities and territories, killing mercilessly, raping women and kidnapping citizens including students. These murderous lot make brazen and irrational demands for ransoms which more often than not they get, thereby acquiring resources to replenish their armoury for future onslaughts.
The ongoing war of attrition between herders and farmers over irreconcilable claims over rights to land/grazing routes is another plague in Nigeria particularly Benue State in the middle belt. The government and security agencies seem oblivious to the security issues surrounding these claims therefore engendering the crisis that continues to occasion loss of valuable lives.
The reign of terror allegedly inflicted by herders is now taking root in the South West part of the country particularly Ogun and Oyo States and in the South East. These manifest in the form of wanton kidnapping and murder.
There are also attacks on government facilities in South East and parts of South South which are largely unchecked and claiming lives particular those of security officials.
An emerging phenomenon to the scale up the state of insecurity in Nigeria particularly Lagos State is brazen traffic robbery. An online newspaper Premium Times had on its April 18, 2021 edition the screaming headline “In Lagos, traffic robbers run amok in broad day light”.
The paper reported that apart from the unpleasant nature of the traffic, many commuters in Nigerian’s commercial capital are living in fear following an upsurge in the operation of traffic robbers. The paper’s findings revealed that these robberies are not limited to night but also occur in broad daylight.
Response (or lack of it) by Security Agencies
The executive powers of the Nigerian Federation including the maintenance of the Constitution and all laws is vested in the President – section 5 of the Constitution (as amended). The job of the President is to serve the people of Nigerian either directly or as envisaged in the Constitution.
It is the responsibility of this government to effect for “the Change” they professed (not passing the bulk all the time like Mr Lai Mohammed is wont to do). The bulk stops on the President’s table.
Section 2(a) of the Nigerian Police Force (Establishment) Act 2020 stipulates the specific objective of the Police Act is to inter-alia provide for a police force that is more responsive to the needs of the general public and has entrenched in its operations the values of fairness, justice and equality
The effectuation of the foregoing objective or those encapsulated in the Constitution by security agencies is hardly reflected in the narrations of ordinary Nigerian victims of crimes. Rather, what victims’ relay are diverse forms of traumatic experiences or abysmal tales of dereliction of duty by security agencies. A few examples of reported personal experience of citizens will suffice.
The Akwa Ibom job interview/murder saga (broadcast on TVC on April 29, 2021) is a sorry reflection of the response of Nigeria Police to report of ongoing crime. The lady that triggered the alarm bells narrated her ordeal in the effort to get the police to respond to the situation after Iniobong “Hiny” Umoren the 26 year old victim could no longer be reached on her mobile number. Apart from directing the lady to wait out a 24hrs period, the police demanded that she hired the vehicle that took the police to the crime scene. By the time the police got to the house of the purported employer, more than 24 hours after the report, Hiny had had been murdered and buried in a shallow grave.
Similarly, The Premium Times edition of April 2, 2021 reported that hundreds of traders took to the streets of Ibadan to protest against what they called invasion of their shops at Bodija market by men of the Customs Service whom they alleged broke into shops at midnight around 1:00am to seize bags of rice. There were also allegations of large sums of money carted away from these shops.
Amazingly, the Oyo/Osun Customs Area Command’s Public Relation Officers Kayode Wey, confirmed the raid at such an ungodly hour. According to him, the said officers raided the Bodija Market, “but did not know what happened during the operation.”
The trauma of abduction narrated by one Fisayo Soyombo (multiple award winning investigative journalist) and friend of a kidnap victim was palpable. In the May 1, 2021 edition of the Hard Copy TV programme (on Channels TV,) Fisayo stated the response of the police to the kidnap situation ended with only meetings. There was no cogent security help. The victim’s family was left with no option but to hire a private detective from the South South whom they flew to Ekiti to the relatives of the victim. The private victim helped to track the location of the kidnappers. The information on location (and changes of location) was shared with the police yet no one from the police was willing to go with them to rescue the victim. Eventually ransom had to be paid to secure the release of the victim.
In the mist of the parlous state of insecurity, banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, etc. and inability to effectively put the menace in check, the people are daily confronted with annoying scenes of fully armed police men on our roads purportedly checking vehicles particulars. Apart from the fact that it has been stated times without number that the checking of vehicles particular does not fall with their scope of duty, trigger happy men of the police are eager to unleash venom on hapless and defenseless citizens at the slight hint of resistance to nefarious demands.
In an article published in December 21, 2019 of the Vanguard newspaper, Dr Ugoji Egbujo reported a count of about 100 police check points between Lagos and Calabar. According to Egbujo “the police know the multiplicity of check points speak of the brazenness of corruption and conspicuous ineptitude in the force. We know crimes are rife in our roads. But crimes are not checked by policemen extorting motorists.”
The author raised a pertinent question – “… it would be informative to know how many criminals were detected at checkpoints in 2019. And how many slipped through…”
A worrying feature of the foregoing dimensions of insecurity is the sometimes ineffective and other times obvious to lack of response from the Nigerian government to nip these malaise in the bud. Thus these cankerworms be it, terrorism, kidnapping, abduction, farmers/herders clash and traffic robbery continue to foster.
While it may be conceded that the foregoing narration is not a wholesale overview of the state of security in Nigeria, it is fair to say it is a reflection of the microcosm of the macrocosm.
Conclusion
One cannot help the feeling that the security apparatus of the Nigerian State is in the main an “appearance for the gallery”. The expectation that the security agencies will perform their core responsibility of protection of the citizens is fast waning. The government seems to be found wanting in this regard.
Politicians need to appreciate that the people are their bosses. Their job is to make the streets safer. Their job is to protect the people. As things stand, it is not out of place to state that the present government has failed woefully in the actualization of the constitutionally stipulated objectives/directive principles of state policy in the area of security based on the foregoing analysis. The citizens of Nigeria are hemmed between a rock and a hard place as far security is concerned. It is as if there is an unholy alliance between security agencies particularly the police and criminal elements to abuse and abase the citizens by subjecting them to a continuous state of insecure mental siege. There is an urgent need to re-construct the security architecture in this country as the present structure appears to be beyond redemption.
Nice Article