Sani Usman is a retired brigadier-general and security expert. In this interview, he speaks on the recent killings by bandits in Katsina State, arrest of key terrorist leaders by the Federal Government and what should be done to address insecurity in Nigeria, ANAYO EZUGWU writes
What is it that we’re not quite getting right in order to really begin to see appreciable gains in the fight against terrorism; not just one day, good news; second day, terrible news?
Really, the recent happening, particularly what happened in Unguwan Mantau, Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State is quite worrisome and quite unfortunate.
People worshipping were descended upon by a group of bandits, who killed quite a number of them. So, you begin to wonder why, what brought all these things. I appreciate the concern by all in the sense that it was a kind of inhuman treatment and you cannot even put your fingers on it.
It is also worrisome because it’s more or less like a local thing, so to speak. On whether we are not getting it right or not; I think when you are dealing with a security problem of this nature, it behoves on the leadership to ensure that it is a collective responsibility. There are a lot of drivers and there are a lot of enablers, so blame game and all the rest is not the solution to the problem.
Let’s face the reality in the sense that the issue of security education, the issue of giving people a sense of belonging, because these people that are perpetrating these atrocities are not spirits. They live within the communities. Take, for instance, what happened in Katsina State, there were reports that they saw some of them massing, you know, gathering logistics but nobody reported it the way it is supposed to be.
Then, of course, you have this problem of informants, not on the positive part of it, but on the negative. They have understood the modus operandi of the security agencies because they don’t move in isolation, they move in convoy. The next thing is a phone call that they have gone this way and they have gone that way.
And, of course, even if you bring one million of them, given the vast nature of the areas affected, it will be very difficult to police everywhere. So, the thing is that it’s a collective responsibility because these people live in the communities and there is a lucrative economy surrounding these security challenges that are happening. We know that the local government system is not working.
People need to live in peace, so that there will be development. But this cannot be done unless we sit down and talk to ourselves, combining the kinetic and non kinetic approach to these security challenges
People are not alive to their responsibilities, to be there when the people say that they can coordinate them in such a way that there will be community resilience. So, there are quite a number of things and I can see that people were just calling on the Federal Government but at the local level, what is it that needs to be done? You know, there are the district level, the local government level, the state level and then you talk about the Federal Government.
These are the issues but I appreciate the effort of the security forces, but unfortunately, the information was not gotten on time, so to speak hence the casualties we have sustained. But I think the most important thing is to get our acts together to see how the leadership at the local level will harmonize the resilience of the people, so that they can take responsibility on some of these issues.
The Katsina State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Dr. Nasir Mu’azu, described the incident as a reprisal attack. How can we support these communities and stop them from relying on self-help?
I quite understand your point but the truth is that we have to be realistic about this issue. I have made reference to the fact that given the vastness of the terrain and the number of the security personnel that we have, it is very difficult to superintend this vast of land.
Therefore, there must be some complementary efforts on the part of the communities on the part of the society, on the part of the other two tiers of government, not necessarily just the Federal Government.
The good thing is that the person that you have just talked about, I was discussing with him, and kudos to him and the other security agencies for the fact that they all spent the night with those communities.
Unlike the other people that were even elected, they were not there to be with the people. It is these people who are staking their lives. I know what transpired between him and the local community as well as other commanders, particularly the military.
So, this is the issue. Given what the internal security commissioner has done and other state government functionaries and the military have done, if there is a synergy of effort, people at the local level are complementing them, the issue of self-help will not come into play.
But, of course, there is the issue of community resilience among these local people, and remember, there is even class struggle. I am from that area and attack took place less than 20 kilometers from my hometown. It’s an area that I’m familiar with. I have been going there since I was young because I have friend, so we virtually know ourselves.
Why is it that there is a change in lifestyle and value system and the society looks the other side?
Again, it’s a collective responsibility, just like I told you, both the government and the people themselves need to encourage the community because right now, as it is, even in my hometown, the number of internally displaced persons is unprecedented. In fact, people no longer keep cows.
Within the last 48 hours or thereabout and just less than two kilometres from my hometown, five people were abducted, a woman was killed, and they carted away their valuables, including cows and sheep. People rely on these animals to make ends meet, but now they are rustling them and they have nothing.
They can’t go to farm; they cannot even go to the market. They cannot own any asset whatsoever. So, I think we need to arrest the situation by telling ourselves the truth. Who are those involved and talking to them, so that they see reason because killings will not solve the problems.
On the self-help you are talking about; I have parents, I have children, I have wife and I have a community. So, I cannot just sit down and somebody will come and pick me just like a chicken. I have the right to defend myself but there is a limit to which the community resilience will take you. That’s where the state apparatus comes to play.
How many people do we even have in captivity in Katsina State?
I think it’s only the state government that can give you that number because the abductions have been a daily occurrence. There were reported cases in Kosada, Matazu, Deyi, and of course Unguwan Mantau and in fact, even where I came from and so many other places. So, it’s more or less a daily occurrence that you hardly keep up with the figure. But the most important thing is, how do we stop these kidnappings and killing and destruction of our property.
What I’m saying here is that there should be a holistic approach because each and every one of us has a role to play, especially the elites. The commissioner said sometime ago that 80 per cent of the security challenges, to a large extent, are exacerbated by activities of informants but what drives these people to be informants.
In most instances, it may surprise you to know that there was an informant or logistics supplier that was selling a bottle of Coca-Cola to the bandit at the rate of N3,000. And they were selling petrol at N5,000 a litre. So, it’s a lucrative business but how do they come about it, and how do we stop it? People should understand that it is not about the money; lives are being lost. You don’t have to acquire or accumulate this much. A lesson has been shown to all of us just recently.
A former president died and he was buried. What did he go to the grave with, except the shroud that he was covered with. So, whatever you accumulate, you will not go to anywhere with it. Look at this issue of banditry. They will collect ransom to the tune of millions of naira. Where is the money? To the best of my knowledge, no investment has ever been done, either in education, healthcare, or even religious.
So, we need to talk to people for them to understand that it is not about material benefit. People need to live in peace, so that there will be development.
There is more than enough for each and every one of us. But this cannot be done unless we sit down and talk to ourselves, combining the kinetic and non-kinetic approach to these security challenges.
Of course, there is no excuses whatsoever for you to go and kidnap someone and there is no excuse whatsoever for you to go and rape and enslave people. If you don’t know, the people are compelled to enter agreement with these bandits not to attack them but it shouldn’t be so. The government ought to be alive to its responsibility, supporting the security forces in terms of logistics, arms and ammunition. And most importantly, there should be collaboration between Nigeria, Chad and Niger Republic.
Of course, the recent arrest of the leadership of Ansaru was as a result of the synergy of effort and intelligence. Intelligence is the use of technology and human intelligence. So, basically, those are the starting point. Cultivate the local sources, so that they will understand that it is a point of duty to make sure that they don’t give information to these criminal elements.
They should rather give it to the security agencies or to the government. It’s a point of duty to also protect these people that give information and also act on that information.
And more importantly, there are so many responsibilities on the part of the various components of Nigerian society. On the part of the government, on the part of the people themselves and most importantly, issue of training, issue of equipment.
It is not just issue of training because there are administrative bureaucracies. There are training institutions that are yet to be funded accordingly. I am quite familiar about training institutions that are training people for international collaboration like the Armed Forces Command and Staff College.
