- ‘Nnamdi Kanu’s matter should’ve been settled out of court’
Nigeria has been facing the menace of terrorism for nearly two decades. Yet the war which has gulped a huge chunk of resources appears unending and even threatening the nation’s corporate existence.
In this interview, Dr Joseph lfedimma, Director and Chief Instructor at the Africa Counterterrorism and Security Academy in England, shares with ONWUKA NZESHI some perspectives on the war and the options left for the country
How would you describe the current security situation in Nigeria?
In Nigeria today, we are confronted with a sad situation, where extremists and terrorists are having a field day, showcasing madness, slaughtering people at random, kidnapping school children and sacking communities.
This is man’s inhumanity to man, happening on daily basis. Within a space of seven days, there were reported cases of kidnapping of 500 or more people, including students, ambush of our soldiers in Borno, leading to the falling of an army general.
Nigerians have been overwhelmed by the rapid terror fire and critical crimes bewildering virtually everywhere in Nigeria. The whole world is being treated to different scenes of crime and violence that are giving significant meanings to irresponsibility and near helplessness of stare authorities.
What are the implications of these happenings on democracy in Nigeria?
Democracy is about the rule of law; if you remove rule of law from democracy, then there is no democracy. If our democracy is giving rooms for criminalities without consequences, then where is the rule of law?
This is not the time to indulge in blame games. It is also not the time to talk of the political party that one belongs, or the religion and tribe one belongs. It is the time to ask our leaders to provide hope for the living, otherwise, the tomorrow which we are waiting for will never come.
Yes, the hope of the living is in the hands of God, but since God cannot come down to deliver the hope in the form of good governance, security and welfare of the average citizen, President Bola Tinubu, who is the current driver of the vehicle called Nigeria, is automatically the “God-sent” representative who should give hope to Nigerians of today in order to see their tomorrow.
If you have an opportunity to meet with President Tinubu, what will you tell him to do at this time?
I will simply ask him to secure Nigeria, the people and our enormous resources and not allow terrorists to destroy the country. It is no longer news that Nigeria is a nation that God created and further bestowed with enormous human and natural resources. Unfortunately, the nation has been infested with all manner of critical crimes and criminalities, with insurgency, kidnapping for ransom and banditry topping the list.
In spite of the sacrifices of the armed forces, police and other security forces, who often times, have to pay the supreme price for the rest of us to stay alive, the current situation is becoming glaringly more worrisome and something needs to be done urgently.
The Nigerian government has been tackling terrorism and banditry for almost 15 years; what else do you want the government to do?
The prevailing insecurity is both frightening and threatening at the same time. Nigeria, especially the states in the northern region are experiencing raging and ravaging terror sophistications. While, there are absolutely no magical calculations to solve the existing problems of insecurity in Nigeria, there are strategies that could be deployed not just to manage the situation, but to wipe out terrorism and bring the war to an end.
As an expert in counterterrorism and critical crimes, where do think our government is not doing well and needs to improve?
Our armed forces and other security organizations are doing their very best, but the urgency of the moment requires a more determined and creative approach to ending this prolonged war.
Yes, the buck stops at the table of Mr. President but members of the National Assembly need to assist him by making useful laws that will guide him in prosecuting the war. We must be careful with where the country is heading right now because it is a ticking time bomb.
I will expect that the National Assembly will co-pilot the affairs of the country with President Tinubu by telling him the truth about the situation rather than pretending that all is well. The spate of kidnapping and terrorism in the country is very alarming. There is no sitting on the fence because your party is in power and you want to be politically correct to keep your privileged positions.
At this stage that Nigeria has gotten to, in terms of insecurity, terrorism cannot go extinct on its own. There are clearly scientifically proven methods to stamp it out
The presidency,, the National Assembly and the judiciary must act in total synergy to achieve a stable future for our country. The leaders of our country must place their thumbs on the pulse of their citizens in the midst of the terror wars and kidnappings in the country. I know what I’m talking about because my five or six years in the universities, were dedicated entirely to research about terrorists and terrorism.
I did a master’s degree in Criminal Justice, specialising in Response to Modern Terrorists’ Sophistries, then a PhD in Aviation, Maritime and Land Targeted Terrorism. Sometimes, I wish I could address President Tinubu and members of the National Assembly directly because at this stage that Nigeria has gotten to in terms of insecurity; terrorism cannot go extinct on its own. There are clearly scientifically proven methods to stamp it out.
Are you not worried that we are losing a lot of our soldiers, security operatives and people, in these endless wars?
Of course, I’m very worried about it. Recent military and civilian death tolls will show that, while the terrorists are killing Nigerians at geometric rate, our counterterror agencies are decimating them at an arithmetic rate, and death tolls decide who is winning the war.
The Killing of a general for the first time in a terrorism related war in Africa, dictates significantly, the direction of the ongoing terror wars, as losing a general in any war, regardless whether it is in Nigeria or abroad is a major victory to the enemies. We must apply a lot of cautions. We must, as a nation, start re-assessing the herculean tasks and difficulties in fighting these faceless enemies that cannot be distinguished from our local communities.
These are enemies who usually come out to fight, attack, maim and kill Nigerians and still quickly blend with the same crowd as they do not have any returnable addresses.
If a country is at war for almost 15 years and there seem to be no end in sight, something must be wrong. What do think is missing in Nigeria’s war against terrorism?
All wars are not the same. Counterterrorism is not like the conventional war. The Nigerian Armed Forces have been trying and should be encouraged to keep doing more in the defence of our country. However, they can’t win the war because they do not understand the rudiments of this kind of war.
This is not a war that should be left entirely to the armed forces. I think it is high time Mr. President recruited the services of counterterrorism experts and technocrats into his advisory team. The job of a seasoned researched counterterrorism adviser to the country at this stage cannot be over emphasized.
Security related matters are for professionals and technocrats. As a nation, we must be very careful because the current hour in Nigeria is difficult and daring. Most Nigerians are presently seeing those criminals as being in charge as evident in the various sabotage activities against the military.
The worst of it is that bandits and terrorists, who kill and kidnap Nigerians for ransom, always laugh to the banks to collect such ransoms. And, unfortunately, the government will later label them ‘repentant’ while families of victims of those crimes, who are left alone, would be carrying hatred of their leaders in their minds. This is a dangerous situation no doubt.
This is why the National Orientation Agency should mount a sensitization programme at this time to win back the support of the people. It is very necessary as there is no effective security without the masses. No matter how well trained, how well equipped, how well funded and motivated a nation’s army might be, they can do very little and will hardly win battles without the collective support of the masses.
You advocated the recruitment of counterterrorism experts into the President’s advisory team; what difference will that make?
It will make a whole lot of difference. Nigeria must move fast to separate military operations from counterterrorism administration, as these are two distinct specialties. There is no counterterrorism unified structure in Nigeria, except existing splinter units domiciled in the armed forces and security organisations, which negates the Third Force formation recommended by the UN Charter.
Terrorism thrives with the support of sovereign states, which secure and protect them with safe landings, provide them with classified intelligence and logistics. These terrorists get to know of our soldiers’ numerical strength, movements, arsenal and locations, even before they take off.
We must as a matter of urgency dig deep to ascertain our real dogs and do away with the unfriendly friends in our midst. There is an endless consternation and pandemonium in the whole country right now, as there is no peaceful region. The ripe time for Mr. President to consider establishing a Counterterrorism Agency or Commission is now.
What specific roles will this counterterrorism agency play in our security system?
The President needs the services of experts on counterterrorism to help him win this delicate war against terrorism. This is a special field and requires those specially trained to handle it. Ideally, there should be a Presidential Weekly Briefs Desk (PWB’s Desk) and this must be manned by a highly and widely researched expert in the specialty.
These presidential briefs will be outside military influence, such that it will be unbiasedly letting the President know of the true picture and position of the terror war.
Mr. President needs a researched expert to man this desk to crosscheck and balance what the military authorities are briefing him through the service chiefs and the Office of the National Security Adviser. The tempo of the current terrorism in Nigeria has exceeded those early nomenclatures and configurations.
It is a raging fire that will consume all of us unless we approach it the right way. It is too dangerous to be left to the armed forces alone. Counterterrorism experts usually combine their research, knowledge and expertise with their close links to global intelligence networks in delivering superior advisories on the war against terrorism. I think we need to explore this option now.
Many states, especially in Northern Nigeria appear to be compromised with their signing of peace deals and granting amnesty to terrorists and bandits. What’s your view on that?
Indeed, I’ve seen pictures of states’ functionaries with terrorists in parties and wedding ceremonies. In a few cases, you’ll find the government officials dancing with them during marriage ceremonies, local government chairmen addressing and negotiating with terrorists as well as terrorists audaciously taking pictures and posting on social media platforms. It is even on record that they have press crews too, who carry press cameras during their operations.
Counterterrorism is not a state or subnational matter; it falls completely under the Federal Government’s Exclusive Legislative List. So, affected state governors and local government bosses should be called to order immediately. These were part of the ugly impressions that led Nigeria into a nation of serious interest in America.
We watched this difficultto-believe news in the UK here in pain and ashamed of what our country has turned into despite several wonderful Nigerians’ credentials within and abroad, whose wide experiences could, without doubt, help in ending this show of shame.
There are speculations that the Nigerian authorities have been involved in the recruitment and reintegration of terrorists into the army and other government structures. Is this right?
It sounds strange and must be handled with absolute caution. Faith based terrorists will be difficult to be reformed. That is why in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria, you hardly talk about reintegration. A major segment of the military and security organisations have been both infiltrated and compromised, and the reintegration of these dangerous men and women was largely responsible.
When they talk about “repentant terrorists, or repented bandits” it is difficult to comprehend. Can a snake surrender its biting strength so easily, when it claims to have repented? Most terrorism is centered on revenge, and those ones cannot be reformed till they avenge the death of their loved ones. Terrorism that is faith related is always difficult to contain because of the aspiration of these terrorists to attain martyrdom.
Where should we go from here?
Security is a not a choice, it is a must and because it is a must, it has become shared responsibilities of all. That is why, as an aviation targeted terrorism expert, I refused to sit on the fence during the Niger Delta agitation. Hence, l shared a memo with the then National Security Adviser, General Owoye Azazi on the visible clues discovered in one of the numerous plane crashes in Nigeria.
It was a very disturbing report that shocked him and his team. Aviation targeted terrorism is the greatest nightmare, which Prime Minister Tony Blair said, he was ready to move monies from other sectors to fund, because midair hijack would be one’s greatest nightmare.
So, Nigeria needs to announce to the global community that Tinubu’s presidency is firmly and strongly fighting terrorism and critical crimes by going international with some of his strategies and policies, especially the very ones that align with the UN Charters on terrorism.
Recently, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment having been convicted for terrorism. What is your position on the matter?
Sentencing Nnamdi Kanu now isn’t the best. The matter should have been politically handled. Leaders, most times, show the force at their disposal in order not to use it. It is not a sign of weakness on the part of the leader, but again, it is an indirect way of using the non-kinetic approach.
This matter should have been settled out of court, especially now that Mr. President’s laudable projects in the South-East zone are rapidly reversing the hearts and minds of the people of the region positively towards him. This is because evidence needs no argument.
Tinubu’s projects are working for him and Ndigbo are seeing them. I said the same thing when there was intense tension in Northern Nigeria, when Hamza Al-Mustafa and Zakari Biu were simultaneously under incarceration. As a leader, you need to read the times and mood of the people before taking certain drastic decisions.
