Diamond Group, in different public statements in the past, had suggested solutions to the intractable insecurity in the country.
The group is compelled, once again, to speak out in view of the alarming spike in insecurity in the country in recent time, which unfortunately, is pointing to pronounced state’s fragility, as non-state actors are apparently dictating the pace, to the chagrin, pains and tears of Nigerians.
The Group is alarmed at the rate of death being recorded daily, the arson and destruction of symbols of government and governance in some parts of the country.
While the Northeast is perennially under the sword of fake jihadists and insurgents, the Northwest is under the yoke of bandits. The Niger Delta is home to piracy and organised crime and quite much the rest of the country is battling with herders-farmers crisis of no mean proportion. And of course, the Southeast and Southwest have become more strident in their calls for secession.
What a trying period for Nigeria and Nigerians.
The Group is of the considered opinion that without a thorough diagnosis of the causes of this insecurity incubus, prescribing effective solution will be a mirage.
The immediate and remote causes of this unprecedent insecurity could be attributed to the following:
• Porous borders and difficult terrains
• Proliferation of arms and light weapons
• Poor governance, poverty and climate change
• Weak and patronage-based state institutions
• Anaemic security architecture and controversial peace agreement between some states and criminal groups, among other relevant factors
Diamond Group believes that dealing with this insecurity menace must necessarily take into consideration appropriate mechanisms to deal with the feeders enumerated above, and others not mentioned. And these measures should include
• Deploying technology such as drone surveillance to tackle the rampant banditry and kidnappings across the country
• Collaboration with neighbouring countries, including seeking foreign help if need be, to deal decisively with the worsening insecurity
• Providing employment and stimulating the economy through strategic human and infrastructural development
• Awakening and strengthening national identity and patriotism in the citizenry
• Importantly, with the upsurge in the armed critique of the state, it is high time the structure of the Nigerian state is reworked.
Diamond Group believes that despite the mammoth challenges facing the country, and the fact that it has been perpetually tottering on the brink, that it can still be salvaged, and all that is required is GREAT LEADERSHIP.
The Group calls on President Muhammadu Buhari to do the needful before it is too late.
Signed:
Toyyib Olaniyi Musa-Omoloja
Archdiamond, Diamond Group, Nigeria.
Study @ Achievers University
