SHETTIMA, MAKINDE AND THE STORMY SIDE OF LIFE
By Citizen Bolaji O. Akinyemi
There is a sunny side of life.
There is also a stormy side.
The sunny side is where leaders make speeches, cut ribbons, commission projects, celebrate anniversaries and exchange political courtesies.
The stormy side is where mothers cannot sleep because their children are in captivity.
The stormy side is where school principals become hostages.
The stormy side is where families negotiate with kidnappers while governments negotiate with public opinion.
Nigeria today stands dangerously close to that storm.
And if we are honest with ourselves, we did not arrive here overnight.
The road to Ogbomosho did not begin in Ogbomosho.
It began years ago.
It began when Nigeria first encountered a national tragedy that should have fundamentally altered our understanding of security.
FROM CHIBOK TO OGBOMOSHO
On April 14, 2014, 276 schoolgirls were abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State by Boko Haram. The incident generated global outrage and gave birth to the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. World leaders, including then U.S. President Barack Obama, lent their voices to the cause.
The Chibok abduction became more than a security failure.
It became a political event.
It became a national wound.
It became a symbol.
And it undoubtedly became one of the defining burdens of the administration of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
Many analysts would later argue that no single security incident damaged public confidence in that administration more than Chibok.
Yet history has a way of warning those who refuse to learn from it.
The tragedy we politicised yesterday often returns tomorrow as a national emergency.
THE JOURNEY OF INSECURITY
Between Chibok and today, the nation has witnessed a frightening progression.
Chibok, Borno State
April 14, 2014
276 schoolgirls abducted.
Kankara, Katsina State
December 11, 2020
344 schoolboys abducted from Government Science Secondary School.
Kagara, Niger State
February 17, 2021
At least 42 persons, including students and staff, abducted from a boarding school.
Jangebe, Zamfara State
February 26, 2021
279 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Science Secondary School.
Owo, Ondo State
June 5, 2022
Worshippers were attacked during Sunday Mass at St. Francis Catholic Church. Dozens were killed in one of the most shocking attacks in the South-West.
The pattern is impossible to ignore.
What began as an insurgency largely confined to the North-East gradually spread through forests, highways, farming communities, schools, places of worship and residential communities.
The insecurity travelled.
The violence travelled.
The fear travelled.
The question before us is whether our response travelled with the same urgency.
WHERE WERE WE?
When Chibok happened, Nigeria was divided.
Many viewed the tragedy primarily through political lenses.
Many saw opportunities for partisan advantage.
Many spoke more about who should be blamed than what should be done.
Today, insecurity has become an equal-opportunity threat.
Terror does not ask for voter cards.
Kidnappers do not verify party membership.
Bullets do not recognise political affiliation.
The storm has spread far beyond the boundaries where many once imagined it would remain.
THE DISTRACTION OF POLITICS
The public anger over the recent Ogbomosho tragedy is understandable.
Parents are hurting.
Citizens are frightened.
Communities are anxious.
Under such circumstances, emotions will naturally run high.
That is why allegations and counter-allegations should be approached with caution.
Former Governor Ayo Fayose is entitled to his views.
However, allegations of serious substance should be supported by facts and evidence.
Speculation may generate headlines.
It rarely generates solutions.
At a moment when hostages remain in captivity, the nation requires clarity more than controversy.
The focus should not be on political theatre.
The focus should be on the victims.
The focus should be on rescue.
The focus should be on prevention.
The focus should be on accountability.
THE BABY IN DIAPERS
As citizens, our concern is not political point-scoring.
Our concern is the child in captivity.
Our concern is the frightened family waiting for news.
Our concern is the school principal reportedly reduced by trauma and deprivation to a shadow of herself.
Our concern is the next potential victim.
Will we continue exchanging words until another innocent citizen loses his or her life?
God forbid.
But prayers alone cannot replace responsibility.
Citizens must demand action.
THE REALITY OF GOVERNOR MAKINDE
Many have criticised Governor Seyi Makinde.
Yet there is a reality we must confront.
A governor does not command the Armed Forces.
A governor does not command the military.
A governor does not command the intelligence architecture of the federation.
The frustration directed at him may be emotionally understandable, but structurally the challenge is larger than any governor.
It is like blaming an unarmed night guard because heavily armed robbers carrying assault rifles successfully invaded a compound.
The question is not whether the night guard tried.
The question is whether the security architecture above him functioned effectively.
WHERE THE BUCK STOPS
Ultimately, every constitutional democracy must identify where responsibility ends.
In Nigeria’s security architecture, the final responsibility rests with the Commander-in-Chief.
That office is currently occupied by Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This is not about blame.
It is about constitutional accountability.
The President commands the Armed Forces.
The President directs national security policy.
The President possesses the constitutional authority to mobilise the resources of the federation against threats to national security.
When insecurity reaches this level, citizens have every right to demand answers.
Citizens have every right to demand results.
Citizens have every right to insist that protecting lives remains the first duty of government.
The buck stops there.
BEFORE THE STORM REACHES US ALL
The danger before Nigeria is not merely the kidnapping in Ogbomosho.
The danger is becoming accustomed to it.
The danger is normalising abnormality.
The danger is adjusting our expectations downward until every new tragedy becomes just another news headline.
We are sitting dangerously close to the precipice.
The warning signs are everywhere.
The nation must act before the storm becomes a hurricane.
The nation must act before citizens lose confidence completely.
The nation must act before fear becomes our national identity.
And those entrusted with the constitutional responsibility for security must act with urgency.
Not tomorrow.
Not after another tragedy.
Now.
Because every day of delay increases the possibility that another family will experience the stormy side of life.@seyimakinde @shett
