By Isaac Asabor
If there is anyway one can experience a favorite and pleasurable trip to any part of the country, it is unarguably by road; either by bus or car. There is something so alluring about the open road with the freedom and spontaneity that comes with it, particularly as the road snakes endlessly ahead, surrounded by stunning scenery, and it is the liberation to stop wherever one pleases while discovering hidden gems along the way that usually catches my fancy whenever I have the opportunity to travel by road.
Unfortunately, these days, traveling by road, is no longer as exciting as jumping into a bus or a car and zooming off. The reason for the foregoing cannot be farfetched as the need to be feverishly security conscious is by each passing day becoming indispensable due to massive occupation of adjoining bushes and forests along the highways by kidnappers.
At this juncture, it is expedient to share my experience by saying that when the leadership of the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) by virtue of my trade extended an invitation to me to cover the recent protest in Kaduna that I received flurry of warnings from friends, relations and colleagues that I should travel by air. Heeding their collective advice, I bought a flight ticket for Abuja, and then bought a train ticket for Kaduna. On getting to Kaduna, I was warned by one of the hotel’s employee not to “move anyhow as people are rampantly kidnapped within certain communities in the state. So, it was boring for the 3 days I spent in the city as there was no electricity, no flight coming into Kaduna and no train from Abuja or exiting from Kaduna to elsewhere. The foregoing eerie atmosphere was as a result of the strategies implemented by the organized labour to press home their demands from Dr. Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna State.
The situation has become so worrisome that the rich are no more solely targeted by kidnappers. SB Morgen, a Nigerian consulting firm, using data gathered from a variety of open sources, including the Council’s Nigeria Security Tracker, shows that, over time, the pool of potential victims has greatly expanded. Now, victims are often poor villagers and travelers, that are sometimes kidnapped indiscriminately; a departure from the targeted kidnapping of wealthy people. They struggle to pay ransoms quickly because of their relative poverty, and victims are much more likely to be killed. The report also presents a valuable attempt to quantify the costs of kidnapping and to map its spread. Between 2011 and 2020, it concludes that over $18 million had been paid in ransom. The amount of ransom accelerated in the latter portion of that period: between 2016 and 2020, around $11 million was paid out. It shows that kidnapping has spread from the oil patch to the entire country and that that the army is now stationed in almost every Nigerian state, essentially to keep order.
In the not too distant past, Nigeria was an adorable tourist destination to the admiration of many. There was every assurance that you could literally step anywhere without the threat of attacks, violence or assault. We live and breathed true Nigerian values, social protection and overall reassurance.
However, the question on the lips of many peace-loving Nigerians today is, “What is happening to our Country?”
The question is unarguably apt as people now wake up every now and then to hear news of how all passengers in a bus heading to a given destination were kidnapped and held to ransom by kidnappers and elsewhere bandits wiping away dozens of lives in a whole village, particularly in the northern parts of the country, and to a lesser extent in other parts of the country, raising the anxiety of people above tolerance level. Just recently, I learnt with extreme sadness and sorrow, how violent protesters in Niger State, blocked the Abuja-Kaduna Highway in the vicinity of Gauraka, Tarfa Local Government Area (LGA) to protest against insecurity after assailants kidnapped up to 15 people in the area earlier May 24.
The foregoing is not the only incident we have heard in recent times. Nigeria is unarguably in a destabilized as long as the issue of security of the lives of the people is concerned and something has to give and very fast. Our security apparatus seems out of sorts and we are gradually heading to a place of uncontrolled, untrammeled and unrestrained lawlessness that could plunge our beloved country into a state of emergency. How did we get here? When I interact with people from all walks of life, there is a general feeling of despair and deep fear. People are living as if under a curfew. This is eroding the confidence in security, enviable religious and cultural values. We cannot continue like this in the 21st century.
There is no denying the fact that Nigeria is no more progressive, stable, peaceful and thriving as a country. It is no more a place where our children will live in serenity, businesses will thrive without fear of instability and a safe haven in the sub-region.
Against the foregoing backdrop, there is the need for the government to launch a broad based, fully equipped and trained community patrol security service across the country; especially in the ‘hot spot’ areas. Training should not be limited to technical skills but must include human skills with the primary objective to improve the safety experience of the people. Barricades must be mounted in targeted areas and extra effort must be made to ensure it does not deteriorate traffic flow.
In a similar vein, there is the need for the government; across the three tiers to employ smarter and optimal utilization of our resources by deploying government vehicles for the patrol teams, and drive security awareness campaigns using all forms of communication channels to spread security and safety habits as well engage in the promotion of dialogue between the community police and the people to ensure proper feedback mechanism.
In terms of deploying communication strategy as a solution, there is equally the need to set up a toll-free number that works. If the number works, it raises people’s trust, and they will use it; therefore, responsiveness and reliability are crucial.
In the medium term, state governments, and even local governments should gradually install cameras and lights along highways adjoin by bush and forest for prevention and to support investigation of incidents.
Another area efforts should be exerted on is on the provision of insurance policies to the police to cover accidents, injuries and deaths on the job. These can be funded in collaboration with the private sector. In a similar vein, the government should set up a security service review team comprising of members from the police, army, immigration, navy, media and local government to monitor implementation of recommendations and security assessment.
