Against the backdrop of the Christmas Day Bombing of the St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla and other acts of terrorism in the country, the Senate last week frowned at the fragile security situation in the country and called for urgent action to stem the tide of lawlessness in the land. The various measures advocated by the upper legislative chamber may help in dousing the tension in the country, if effectively applied, as? Chibuzo Ukaibe, reports.
The horror of last Christmas and the apparent inefficiency of the country’s security agencies in the face of a pernicious sect-Boko Haram- was revisited in the senate last Wednesday. The upper chamber also dissected the state of emergency proclaimed by the President in 15 local government areas, which cut across the four states of Borno, Plateau, Niger and Yobe.
But just as the issue of tackling the sect dominated discussions, the January 1, 2012 sudden hike of the pump price of petrol by the federal Government, appeared to be taking the shine off the security challenge, which has been the bane of the administration for a long time now.
While the administration is yet to move into action against the lethal sect, the group has continued to strike with fearlessness, leaving the people with tears, blood and sorrow. It has by its nefarious activities left scars in many places, among them, the UN Office, the Police Headquarters, Abuja, Damaturu, Potiskum, Adamawa and Maiduguri. Apparently taking advantage of the ease with which it has killed and maimed without any response from the security agents, the sect recently ordered Christians and Southerners to move out of the North or risk being massacred. It was a threat carried too far and the government decided to fight back one way or the other.?
President Goodluck Jonathan dared the sect when he, relying on the provisions of Section 305(2) and (6b) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, declared a state of emergency in 15 LGAs that cut across four states, a move that has been both loathed and hailed by Nigerians.
However, the mood of the senate as captured in the proceedings while discussing the state of emergency proclamation (as forwarded to them for approval by the president) as well as the general insecurity of the nation, was instructive.
While the debate on the emergency proclamation (which was subsequently approved) seemed to have an overwhelming support in the Senate, they were however split on the state of insecurity across the country, which is posing a serious challenge to the administration. A common thread in the summation of the Senators portrayed the fears that if the relevant stakeholders do not take urgent actions against the prevalent threat in the land, which were similar to the events that led to the 1966 civil war, Nigeria might be courting serious trouble.
In a heated debate bordering on the failure or helplessness of the security agencies, the dangerous signal of ethnic killings and the inability of previous and the current proclamation of state of emergency to deal with the spate of attacks as it were, senators took turns to express their anger and disappointment over the nefarious activities of the sect. The debates also touched off on community policing.
The Senate did not stop there.? It ordered the security chiefs to appear before it for the umpteenth time to explain what they were doing to nip the sect in the bud. That was not all. The lawmakers also called for the overhaul of the security agencies and the payment of adequate compensation to the victims of the Madalla blast, which killed no fewer than 43 and wounded scores of other innocent Nigerians.
The real feeling of the senators was brought to bear on the speech rendered by the Senate President, David Mark, who insisted that the sect was being sponsored by some persons and urged the government to go after them no matter how highly-placed they may be.
Mark warned that no nation could survive two civil wars and urged Nigerians to not to allow history to repeat itself in the country.
He said, “Those who are doing it are just miscreants, misguided Nigerians who are being sponsored. I know that when it comes to the issue of Boko Haram, people have been very scared of sticking out their necks in making comments. But today we have broken that jinx and because we have been able to speak out, I hope that other well meaning Nigerians, highly placed Nigerians will join us in condemning in its totality the existence and the operations of Boko Haram in this country.
“Whatever it is, it does not portray Nigerians as we are. Nigerians are peace loving people; we love ourselves and we love our neighbours. This idea is absolutely foreign to us; it does not represent us and we hope that it will stop.
“We have terrorism and insurgency in our hands and if we don’t handle them properly they will get out of control. We must do everything humanly possible starting with communities, local governments and state level and to the federal level to make sure that we tackle this and nip it in the bud now before it gets out of control.”
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu while reading a motion earlier on the general insecurity in the country which was co-sponsored by 70 others, condemned the new wave of attacks by the Boko Haram sect in the country, saying that it could lead to serious problem for the country.
Ekweremadu began piously but tacitly in marshalling his point.? “Aware that the Madalla attack was not only a direct onslaught on a place of worship which should otherwise be held sacred, but a clear and grave assault on Nigerians of south East origin who obviously constitute both the majority of worshippers at the said church and most sadly, the overwhelming majority of both the dead and the wounded as the list of casualties published in national dailies such as the Sun and the Nation newspapers of Friday, December 30th, 2011 show;
“Aware that the singular Christmas day bombing attack on St. Theresa’s catholic church, Madalla and other places of worship are capable of plunging the nation into ethno-religious crises and further aggravate the present security challenges in the nation;
“Further aware that the Christmas day bombing which, in some states, literally consumed entire families and left many orphaned or widowed, has brought untold hardship on victims? and their relatives.”
The tone was just right, as it paved the way for a flurry of responses from members who had been emboldened by the last speaker. From then here on the debate became very heated. Miffed by the recurrent failure of the nation to protect its citizens, particularly the Igbo, Sen. Uche Chukwumerije (Abia North, PDP), noted that the upsurge of insecurity in the land, was a serious danger to national unity. He argued that the country was playing into the hands of imperialist plotters who had predicted that the country would split in 2015.
He said that Nigeria was lucky to have survived a civil war unlike other countries. “Where do we go from here?” he asked. But he said the Igbo had paid more than any other group in terms of being killed and maimed at the slightest provocation. “The Igbo’s have borne the brunt of these attacks over the years.
“A union has no basis for existence if it cannot protect its citizens. The Igbo race is very prepared to work with anyone to protect the cause of Nigeria. Please let us agree here that enough is enough. The Igbo are tired of being sacrificial lambs of national unity. We can decide that if Nigeria cannot protect us we are going to the United Nations to beg for protection that we are an endangered race,” he said
But Sen. Awaisu Kuta (Niger East, PDP), praised the president on the declaration of a state of emergency in some parts of the country. “The action of Mr. President is a timely intervention on the security situation in the country.
We have had series of bomb attacks in Suleja. In the last 6 months there have been 5 bomb blasts in Suleja. Let us all endorse the proclamation in the interest of peace of this nation. He noted that there were areas in Suleja where bombs are being assembled in but that the security agencies were not following up. “The only point I don’t support is the presence of so many military men on the streets of Suleja.? If the police are properly trained they can handle such incidents not minding whether there is blast or not.”
On his part Sen. Victor Lar (Plateau central, PDP) who represents one of the LGAs where the emergency rule operates,? said the violence in Plateau North was not Boko Haram-related but sectarian and peculiar.
“Boko Haram has never exploded any bomb in Plateau State because they have always owned up in any place they bomb. The security condition in Plateau is not Boko Haram-related. They are sectarian violence.” The situation on the plateau is different. State of emergency is not to punish the people,” he said, asking for more funds to run the council as a result of the emergency rule.
Sen. Heineken Lokpobri (Bayelsa West PDP) was excited at the imposition of the state of emergency in parts of the country:? He said, “The act of killing of any body at all under any name is morally reprehensible and legally indefensible. I call them criminal acts of criminality because no religion supports violence. My worry is whether intelligence has failed or whether our security cannot cope any more. If security cannot deal with the issue let us own up and seek for help. If this is not well handled there could be total breakdown of law and order. If they need more funds let us give them. The security votes in the 2012 budget could even be increased if that would help. We have to support so that the government would be able to carry out its constitutional function of protecting the citizens.”
Sen. Barnabas Gemade (Benue North East, PDP), added his voice to the praises being poured on the president not minding whether the state of emergency would work or not. He said, “When the bombing commenced, Nigerians were worried about what the executive was doing to allay the fears of those living in the areas. Now that he (Mr. President) has brought it ( state of emergency request), it behoves on the Senate to promptly approve it. The best way of combating terrorism is through intelligence gatherings. Security is falling short and we have seen the battle being lost because the police seem to have failed to stamp it out. I support the call that the federal government should seek for help if it becomes necessary. Bombs are being made but we have not been able to locate where even when our terrains are not so cumbersome or difficult. Let’s know where the bombs are being made not for soldiers peeping into cars to see if the face of its occupants looks like bomb makers.”
Sen. Victor Ndoma Egba (Cross River Central, PDP)? also supported the motion. He state, “Those pushing the country to the precipice are criminals and miscreants; they are not religious. Let us rise to the situation. Not only cars but motor bikes, lets declare a moratorium on the use of motorcycle in the affected areas and see what effect it would have on the situation.”
However, Sen. George Akume (Benue North West, ACN) disagreed with the others who believe that the mere declaration of state of emergency in the affected LGAs by the president was going to change anything. Short of calling the action a waste of time, the lawmaker said emergency rule was not a new weapon to tackle insecurity in Nigeria and may not do much in the current dispensation. “Proclamation of state of emergency is not new. Tafawa Balewa did it in the South West. Obasanjo did it, which led to the removal of Chief Joshua Dariye as governor for six months.
Sen. Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central, PDP) called for proper investigations into the activities of the sect so as to unravel why and how they attack. “In times like these, what we need to dig out is not the effect but the cause of this crisis which are actually human in nature.? We must find the culprits. This is the moment of truth. The Igbo’s have been more Nigerian than others. I don’t know why any time there is a problem the first people attacked are the Igbo. We have to deal with this dastard act.”
Sen. Olubunmi Adetunmbi (Ekiti North, ACN) and is Ogun West counterpart, Akin Odunsi said the issue was a very serious one and needed urgent attention from the government so as not to plunge the nation into avoidable disaster. They called for the arrest of the masterminds of the attacks so as to serve as a deterrent to potential bombers.?
Lending their voices to the debate, Sen. Zainab Kure (Niger South, PDP), Sen. Nenadi Usman (Kaduna South, PDP), Sen. Nkechi Nwaogu: (Abia Central, PDP) called for action to protect innocent lives in the country.
Sen. Chris Anyanwu (Imo East, APGA) regretted that the nation was at the crossroads and that necessary action should be adopted to deal with those who want to make the nation ungovernable. Most other speakers,? among them, Sola Adeyeye, Osun, Central, AC N, Sen. Magoro Mohammed (Kebbi South, PDP) and Solomon Olarewaju Ganiyu (Lagos, West, ACN), supported the call for more intelligence work on the sect and a serious punishment for those fingered as the patrons of the group.
They noted that no group should be allowed to dismember the nation and inflict injury on the people under any guise.? In particular, Magoro called for the arrest and prosecution of Ali Modu Sheriff for being linked with the sect.
Although the debates touched off on a myriad of issues, including the danger signals it sends on ethnic killings, the inhumane nature of man, the fundamental failure of the security agencies to live up to expectation, a political analyst, Ayuba Ahmed, says the legislators can actually do more. He blamed the seeming disconnect between the senators and their constituencies for the rise in criminality in the country.
“Legislators are supposed to serve as interface between the people and security agencies as far as understanding the terrain goes. They should be able to provide insight into the kind of people they have there. But the executive must rise and tackle insecurity headlong in the interest of this great nation,” he advised.