A group of lecturers from northern Nigerian universities have described Nigeria as a country on the brink, adding that President Goodluck Jonathan remained insensitive even as security has collapsed abysmally in the country.
The academics, who are members of the Arewa Research & Development Project (ARDP), made their dire declaration in a statement issued after their meeting in Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna State.
Their statement, sent to our New York office by Abdullahi Ashafa, a professor of history, stated, “Nigeria is on the brinks and the federal government under the stewardship of President Goodluck Jonathan is undoubtedly incapable of halting the drift into anarchy but seems to be assisting in pushing the country in the direction it is going. Recent happenings in the polity should be frightening to any sensible person and the Arewa Research & Development Project (ARDP), as a concerned stakeholder in the Nigeria project, is alarmed at the way things are unfolding in the run-up to the 2015 general elections.”
The group added that “the level of insecurity in the country today has no parallel, if truth be told. ‘Insurgents’ are having a field day, running roughshod on citizens and taking over towns and villages in the northeast with the security operatives looking on hopelessly and the commander-in-chief wringing his hands while his lieutenants hurl insults on anyone who dares complain. On the other hand, ‘counter-insurgency’ has become a lucrative business. Today we have several local governments under the control of Boko Haram with no discernable effort from the government to wrest control of these local governments from the control of the insurgents. This [has led] to the creation of refugees in and out of the country, running into millions.”
The group said they were worried that, while the “military are complaining about lack of adequate manpower,” the army “provided 200 men and material to [former Governor] Ali Modu Sherriff to enable him [to] go to Maiduguri on a visit.” According to their statement, “The ‘insurgents’ are increasingly emboldened by the nonchalant attitude of the government and the bewilderment of the public by the mysterious support the ‘insurgents’ seem to be getting from only God knows who.
“It is disturbing how government functionaries are becoming more and more imperious to citizens, beginning in small ways. We are all witnesses to how a governor invaded a court with thugs and proceeded to slap a judge and nothing was done to him because he is an ally of the president; we have seen how seven people out of twenty-six ‘formed’ a legislative quorum and impeached a Speaker; we have seen how the Inspector General of Police suddenly assumed the role of the Judiciary by interpreting the constitution; we have seen how security operatives who couldn’t repel the incessant attacks on our territories found the courage to attempt to block the Speaker of the House of Representatives and his colleagues from accessing their offices. We are glad to note that the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) has disassociated itself from this show of shame. The Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) has lost the confidence of Nigerians because of its perceived complicity with the government and the ruling party in subverting the will of the people.”
The group argued that the military remains ill equipped. “As earlier pointed out, our security agencies have been failing as can be clearly seen where a once proud and feared Nigerian army are running in the face of an advancing rag-tag, ‘ill-equipped’ army that is supposedly not more than five years old.”
The academics urged the country’s “security hierarchy to admit its ineptitude and failure to stem the tide of insecurity and resign dishonourably,” adding that failure to do that would solidify the perception that Nigeria’s military “is complicit in the insecurity bedevilling the north.”
“We are also not unmindful that the unprecedented level of corruption may not be unconnected with the system failures we are experiencing as a nation. This may not be unconnected with the promotion of nepotism as government policy. Appointments and promotion in the civil service [are] based on cronyism, which promotes ineptitude above merit and competence in an effort to continue the theft of government commonweal.
“The challenges are unprecedented, so also the incompetence and complicity of our leaders. The federal government under Jonathan has not only failed the country but has itself become the greatest danger to the country at this critical moment in our life as a country. The ARDP is greatly concerned that our inept leadership appears to be oblivious of these dangers and may unwittingly throw the country into greater crisis, God forbid,” said the group
The group urged “Nigerians, especially the people of the north, to ensure that in the coming elections they prioritize competence over monetary inducement in the selection of leaders to run our affairs. This way, we may be able to elect leaders who are statesmen with the interest of looking forward to another generation and not politicians whose sole interest is the next election.” They also recommended that Nigerians ensure that “they seize their rights to make their votes count from the increasingly compromised INEC. They must make sure that they have collected their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) from the commission which will enable [them] to vote and [to] make the protection of these votes a priority by whatever means possible. It is only by so doing and insisting that their votes count that they could ensure change is effected.”
According to the academics, “as the dangers unfold, citizens must realise that the federal government is increasingly unable and unwilling to protect its citizens so the people must begin to prepare to PROTECT THEMSELVES.”