Terrorists and armed herdsmen have increased their numbers in Nigeria and across the Sahel regions — atop of West Africa — on Buhari’s watch.
As we approach the first 100 days of the presidency of Joseph Biden and vice presidency of Kamala Harris, it is so clear that a new level of dignity and constructive focus on the job has emerged.
He has since moved away from the conflict and confrontation, divisive tactics and mannerisms of his predecessor, the most unusual but colorful Donald J Trump. Especially the handling of the expansion of the vaccination of Americans against the coronavirus pandemic.
More persons have been vaccinated and more lives have been saved through a programmatic and disciplined approach to medical and healthcare needs of the people. And, they have prioritized and demonstrated necessary commitment to wearing of masks in order to reduce morbidity of the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, was born November 20, 1942, and had served in the U.S Senate 1973 to 2009.
Let me also underline that the former Sen. Kamala Harris remains a credible and influential voice in the choice of cabinet appointees and certain key officials of government. Accordingly, therefore, she is the highest-ranking woman in the history of the United States. She’s the first Black American and first person of South Asian descent to be elected to the position.
For the African-American community, they clearly have an ally. Biden has started well through key appointments of Blacks including Nigerian-Americans.
First, for the African continent, the restart button of mutual respect, consideration and constructive dialogue on many fronts has been set. It is certainly a remarkable difference from the condescension, denigration and disregard of Africa and its people by former President Trump.
Second, the merchants of mayhem and death and banditry, and AK-47 bearing Fulani herdsmen were perhaps mindful as were their sponsors reportedly in powerful and high places in Nigeria that Mr. Trump might not have hesitated to unleash fire and brimstone on them!
May be it is not an accident that there has been an escalation of radical jihadist attacks which boldly and violently challenge and brazenly question the sovereignty and location of power in the Federal republic of Nigeria!
Third, even the most passionate defenders of President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired army General, now are among those suffering the bloody impact of Buhari’s disastrous and serial failures in the fight against the medieval troops and thugs of terrorism.
Some how, these terrorists and armed herdsmen have increased their numbers in Nigeria and across the Sahel regions — atop of West Africa — on Buhari’s watch.
Again, Nigeria has become what I classified a long time ago as the “federal republic of insecurity”!
These blood-thirsty brigands were a lot more cautious and restrained, knowing that Trump was very Practical in his disdain for the wanton violence, venal methods and religio-ideological destruction unleashed by the same groups, by those people.
Hopefully soon, President Biden will elevate to “high alert” the U.S national security focus on the increasing descent of almost every section of Nigeria's often and recently cited six main regions of the country into a theater of carnage and killings; kidnappings and assorted depravities. Especially, as we all witness daily, Nigeria's acceleration into a playground for regional anarchists, foreigners, commercial bandits, religious fanatics and political goons of some supremacist arrogations and associated neo-feudalism who, now openly announce and advertise claims to Nigeria as their own inheritance and booty!
It is very critical and important to make the point that whereby and when Nigerians and indeed the citizens of any country believe that they can no longer be protected by the government: it is a decline into a Hobbesian state, where life is short and brutish. You may recall that the 17th Century English philosopher Thomas Hobbes in his book, Leviathan, espoused the justification for what became known as the “social contract theory”. He argued that such a contract needed to be made among what another scholar classified as “suitably situated rational, free, and equal persons. He is infamous for having used the social contract method to arrive at the astonishing conclusion that we ought to submit to the authority of an absolute—undivided and unlimited—sovereign power."
The long and short of it is that we give up some of our liberties and freedoms to a more powerful body, for example in Nigeria, to the government with the understanding and contract that it will protect Nigerians from all enemies, foreign or domestic.
However as we all know, as in many things, whenever it concerns Nigeria and Nigerians the game changes! After all every Nigerian will testify to the fact the Leviathan — our all-powerful Government has shown it’s incapable of protecting life and property.
With the continuation of the exponential decline of public safety and communal safety, Nigerians are increasingly and understandably agitated. Consequently, they are left wondering and looking at each other and asking: who is in control;who is in charge here? Where is the president?
In a collective sense of undeserved helplessness, millions of people are asking: for goodness sake, what is going on in this Nigeria?
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*Dr. Chido Nwangwu, the author of the forthcoming 2021 book, MLK, Mandela & Achebe: Power, Leadership and Identity, serves as Founder & Publisher of the first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper on the internet, USAfricaonline.com, and established USAfrica in 1992 in Houston. He is recipient of several public policy and journalism excellence honors, civic engagement and community empowerment awards and has appeared as an analyst on CNN and SKYnews. He served as an adviser on Africa business to Houston’s former Mayor Lee Brown. @Chido247