Terrorism, forever a man-imposed sword of Damocles on an innocent citizenry, sure had a humble beginning. It became a festering cancerous sore because we wanted it so. For some reason, certain citizens of influence and proper standing, from Sokoto to Calabar, Lagos to Maiduguri, have not spoken up about the perennial insecurity in the country. Those who have done so only skirted around the issue or spoke in hush tones while many have kept a lamentably safe distance, for fear of being tagged anti-establishment or pro-establishment. That remains their eternal burden, and like an old ragged cross, they carry it everywhere they go.
The issue of insecurity and Killings in Plateau is as old as the state itself. If it’s not intertribal conflict, it will be clashes between farmers and herders or mindless massacre of hapless residents by militias. On Tuesday, over 30 persons were killed in a deadly attack on Yelwan Zangam, a community inhabited by the Anaguta ethnic group in the outskirt of Jos, the state capital. Subsequently, the despondent and grieving youth in the state mopped up the remains of the massacred, took them to the government house, and dumped them there. It’s their way of sending messages to a lacklustre and woeful state government. Before the horrendous killing of these innocent citizens, no fewer than 30 worshippers en route ondo from Bauchi were killed in Jos a couple of weeks back.
Now, the imperturbable members of the Plateau state house of assembly believe it is the right time to be caught on the side of the people. What a shame that it took the killing of 30 innocent persons for the obsequious lawmakers to appear to be genuinely concerned. Discerning Nigerians, they are in their millions now, can see through the facade of an alienating deadline of two weeks, to end the Killings and upheaval in the beleaguered northern state.
For one thing, the lawmakers spoke like a kingmaker — which they are if they know their true worth and know their legislative responsibility in a democratic setup — and with a mocking tone of finality. On the other hand, the embattled governor of the state, Simon Lalong, uncannily played into the hands of the Lawmakers.
The governor is the chief security officer of the state, but he does not control the security architectures. However, the federal government, which controls the security architecture of the country, has not been forthcoming in addressing security challenges in the country. Conversely, the feelers we are getting is that the actions and inactions have further emboldened non-state actors and aggravated the deepening security crisis in the country.
The presidency has waited, by choice, for extraordinary opportunities to seize common occasions, in dealing with banditry and insurgency that has soaked us up to our knees and left the country on the precipice of collapse. Only weak men wait for opportunities, strong men create them. The hackneyed argument of a chauvinistic Buhari presidency must give way to a resolute commander-in-chief. While the state lawmakers are breathing down the neck of Lalong, their federal counterparts should also be mounting pressure on the Buhari government, whose wherewithal and resources are also constitutionally empowered, to halt the killings.
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