Skip to main content

Don’t Fret — Miyetti Allah, Ohanaeze And Afenifere Can Help Tackle Insecurity, By Fredrick Nwabufo

Security is everybody’s business. It is a flawed assumption that issues of security must remain strictly within the orbit of agencies with the lawed responsibility. Even security agencies cannot function without citizens’ alliance and community help. Simply, they cannot operate in vacancy of citizens’ collaboration and the support of stakeholders and other institutions – both formal and informal.

The most fundamental ingredient to addressing crime is intelligence. And intelligence does not jump out from the coloured screen of a computer; it comes from people – of all shades and appliances. It is the reason I believe our traditional institutions and socio-cultural organisations can be veritable accomplices in the fight against insurgency and banditry. We are yet to really extract commitment from and forge a partnership with these institutions. Yes, we are yet to give them due recognition as accessories to peace and stability in the country. These institutions are the closest to the people. They know their own; they understand and speak the language, and they know the terrain.

Socio-cultural organisations should not only be cymbals for sounding alarms and making demands. They can be the partners of the security agencies in securing the country. In fact, they hold a bigger share in the security enterprise because they represent their people, and as such any challenge affects them directly.

On Friday, Bello Matawalle, governor of Zamfara, said Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), the Fulani socio-cultural group, helped secure the release of abducted the Kankara schoolboys who have spent nearly seven days in grisly captivity. According to him, no ransom was paid. In his words: ‘’Ask anybody, we don’t pay bandits a dime. What we do is to extend olive branch to them because they also want to live in peace.’’

Fredrick Nwabufo


Aminu Masari, governor of Katsina, corroborated Matawalle’s claim.  He said: “Those involved in the negotiation include my adviser, some top military and police operatives. Members of Miyetti Allah; (they) were all involved in the negotiation.”

The alleged involvement of Miyetti Allah in the negotiation for the release of the schoolboys actuated a furore on social media. Some asked why Miyetti Allah would be involved in the parleying while others wondered when the socio-cultural organisation became a security agency and state actor.

The suspicion of Nigerians who have commented on this issue is understandable, but the misgiving is more of emotion than reason. I must say, Nigerians have a right to be cynical about the purported involvement of Miyetti Allah in this matter, considering the past actions, posturing and statements of the group. But was Miyetti Allah’s intervention needed? Yes. Though the group is not a state actor, it is a stakeholder in Nigeria, particularly in the north just like Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo and Afenifere. If we all agree that most of the bandits terrorising the country are of the Fulani stock, does it not make sense that an organisation representing the entire group intervenes in moments of crisis by its own, and most importantly prevail on them to give up their arms?

Perhaps, the reason for the hurly-burly of emotions on social media is that Miyetti Allah, before the Kankara schoolboys abduction, had not condemned the actions of these stray hounds or intervened wholesomely in similar cases of banditry and kidnapping elsewhere. If they had, I am not aware. This is where I think Miyetti Allah comes short. The group should seize this moment to condemn the perpetrators of banditry and intervene actively and consistently in cases of banditry and kidnapping by providing intelligence to security agencies and speaking with its youths to re-channel their energies away from the kidnapping industry.

As I wrote in ‘No need for panic, working with Miyetti Allah in south-east is a security strategy’ in June 2019, we must give no room for conspiracy theories – of domination, invasion or conquest. These are the by-products of distrust and fear. And instead of running wild with emotions, let us give space for rational thinking and disciplined conversations.

Miyetti Allah, Ohanaeze and Afenifere can play crucial roles in rolling back the boulder of banditry and kidnapping. Banditry is not a northern problem, it is a Nigerian snag. It involves everyone. To deal with this challenge we must not isolate any stakeholder or group. Security is everybody’s business.

Fredrick Nwabufo is a writer and journalist

Twitter @FredrickNwabufo

Opinion

AddThis

Original Author

Fredrick Nwabufo

Disable advertisements

from 24HRSNEWS
via 24HRSNEWS



from EDUPEDIA247https://ift.tt/2WtAOFE
via EDUPEDIA

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nigerian Academy Of Science Inducts First Female President

The Nigerian Academy of Science has inducted a professor of Parasitology/Epidemiology, Ekanem Ikpi Braide, as its 19th President on Thursday. In a statement issued by Oladoyin Odubanjo, the Executive Secretary of the Academy, Braide is the Academy’s first female President in 44 years of existence. It read, “Braide was a member of the national committee that achieved the laudable feat of guinea worm eradication in Nigeria. “She has a rich professional experience as a researcher and an administrator. In July 2010, Professor Braide was honoured by the President of Nigeria with the award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for her contribution to disease control in Nigeria. “She was nominated by the Honourable Minister of Health to serve in the Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Health Sector Response (MEACoC-HSR). “Professor Braide served as Vice-Chancellor, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) Calabar, Nigeria (2004 to 2009) and as P

NLNG Signs Letter Of Intent On Delayed Gas Expansion Project

The Nigerian Natural Liquefied Gas LTD has signed a letter of intent for the engineering, procurement and construction of its long held up Train Seven project. In a statement released by the company on Wednesday, it said that the $10bn project will be executed by a consortium of Italian firm Saipem, Japan’s Chiyoda and South Korea’s Daewoo. The statement reads, “The project will form part of the investment of over $10bn including the upstream scope of the LNG value chain, thereby boosting the much needed Foreign Direct Investment profile of Nigeria.” Managing Director of NLNG, Tony Atta, said in 2018 that the Final Investment Decision would be made in the fourth quarter of that year. This did not however, materialize. According to the release, the project will have a four to five-year execution time after the signing of the FID. The project is expected to add an extra 8 million tons per annum of gas to the 22 mtpa currently exported by the company. Oil News AddThis : 

Former Maritime Agency Boss, Buba Galadima, Accuses AMCON Of Witch-hunt After Property Takeover

  A former Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Agency, Buba Galadima, has accused the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria of witch-hunt after the agency took possession of his business and assets on Tuesday in Abuja. Galadima, an ardent critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, claimed that he did not borrow money or have unpaid debt with Unity Bank, which lodged a complaint against him and occasioned AMCON’s move on Tuesday. The properties taken over include House No. 15, Addis Ababa Crescent, Wuse Zone 4, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and House No. 4, Bangui Street, Wuse 2, also in Abuja.  Reacting to the situation, Galadima said, “This is an attempt to disgrace and break me down. This is injustice and an attempt to humiliate me. "But I am unbreakable and they can never silence me. They sacked me and over 50 people that sleep in the apartment. "We don’t know where to go. We will remain on the streets. We will remain on the streets until God provi