A State of Emergency, By Simbo Olorunfemi

It is difficult to believe that the frightening increase in the number of terrorist activities, as we have witnessed in the last one week is a mere coincidence. Coupled with the series of activities lined up for the week, which firmly put the spotlight on Nigeria, one has to wonder if what it looks like is what it really is.

While there is no verifiable data yet in support of the suspicion that these  attacks are being orchestrated by elements with objectives beyond what it suggests on the surface, the nature abs and timeline of the attacks, especially the Nigerian abduction, which one might conclude was timed to coincide with the absence of the President in mind, is a pointer that the Intelligence community might want to look at.

Whatever the case – coincidence or orchestration, that we are faced with an enormous security challenge is not in doubt.

The major challenge, as I have at different times canvassed, is the large swathe of ungoverned spaces out there. Our rural areas are largely unpoliced, a sitting duck for criminal elements, be they terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, or whatever else they are called.

The battle is rural, I have argued. We have a large expanse of land, open spaces, forests and hidden spaces where evil men can hide to plan and retreat into after launching attack. We have porous borders through which people can enter and exit, after committing crime.

Too many soft targets for evil minds to hit and retreat from before our overstretched and overwhelmed security forces, often outnumbered, are able to reach them, which is what many have canvassed that we urgently need an increase in the number of boots on ground.

Rather than keep doing things the same way, there is a need to rethink the problem and reimagine solutions away from the narrow kinetic approach we have heavily relied upon over these years.

I have wrestled with the idea of State Police, knowing the downsides of having two different command structures in our volatile political space in which politicians regard the police protection team deployed to them more like their own militia which they can deploy at will, even beyond lawful and legitimate bounds.

But now, with the state of emergency in which we have found ourselves, we must act immediately and find a way to mitigate possible problems that the creation of state police might bring.

I will suggest that the President immediately convoke a special meeting that will bring together all members of the National Assembly, State Governors, Speakers and Majority Leaders of all State Houses of Assembly.

That meeting should deliver a plan and clear timeline to deliver an amendment of the Constitution to accommodate the creation of State Police immediately. The Legislature at national and state levels should commit to a speedy process and passage of the amendment.

This is more of a medium-plan measure though, as it will take time to legislate, and post-legislation, set up the necessary institutions at the state level, buy equipment and ammunition, recruit and train personnel. The upside though is that some of the states already have in place their own neighbourhood corps (Amotekun, etc.) with some form of structure on ground, which will make the transition easier.

The State Police should continue to co-exist with the para-military structure on ground, ensuring there is presence in every ward in every community. Forest Rangers should keep watch over farms and forests.

In drawing up immediate measures, a bottom-up approach is necessary, with States feeding on inputs from the local governments and further down the chain, all coalescing into a national security strategy to deal with the current challenges and provide security cover for a myriad of soft targets all around.

Long term measures should focus on how to bring development to the rural areas through a roadmap targeting Agriculture and infrastructure, as we once had with DFRRI.

It is a state of emergency. Rather than keep doing things the same way, there is a need to rethink the problem and reimagine solutions away from the narrow kinetic approach we have heavily relied upon over these years