In recent years, Niger State has been in the news for the wrong reasons, with banditry and terrorism dominating the headlines. Day after day, children were orphaned, women turned into widows, men into widowers, people forced to abandon their ancestral homes in search of a safe havens, and millions of naira paid as ransom to bandits/terrorists. Anarchy was let loose upon the people. There seemed to be no respite in sight.
However, the story has been changing, especially in the last four months as gradual peace returns many parts of the state, with the activities of bandits and terrorists reduced significantly. The people can now sleep with their two eyes closed, as the Niger State Commissioner for Internal Security, Emmanuel Umar, John Adams, said in this interview with JOHN ADAMS in Minna.
What is the current security situation right now in Niger State in terms of banditry and terrorism?
Well, there has been relative peace right now in the state. There have been great improvements, especially areas where the activities of these criminals have been quite disturbing. I must say that this could be attributed to a number of factors.
One, we must thank God for answering our prayers concerning these criminal elements. God has been so merciful to us as a state. Most importantly, we must commend the state governor for his resilient and tireless efforts towards addressing the security challenges and restoring peace in the state. He has demonstrated that not only by talking but taking real actions when the need arises. He has never shied away from that responsibility by putting every effort into it, including engaging the Federal Government for assistance in the area of deployment of the military and other security agencies to the troubled parts of the state. Again, how serious and committed the governor is to the security challenges in the state informed the creation of the Ministry for Internal Security, which, by God’s grace, I am the pioneer commissioner for the ministry today. The ministry has enjoyed full and adequate attention to address the challenges at hand. Above all, there has been great cooperation and synergy among all the security agencies in the state towards winning the war against these bandits and terrorists that have changed the lifestyles of our people. Prior to this time, there were suspicions, lack of cooperation and complete lack of synergy, which was a major problem, but when I came on board, we quickly addressed that, and, today, the military, the police, the Civil Defence, the DSS and even the unconventional security outfits, like the local vigilantes, are all working together to achieve a common result.
Despite this relative peace, we still learnt there are one or two isolated incidents of attacks going on in these communities. What are the feelers you are getting from the people?
Let me give you a rundown of the security situation in Niger State. We categorise Niger into some root factors; we have the green aspect where you have minimal threats; we have the yellow aspect where you have some threats because of the activities of these criminals from the neighbouring states that shared borders with Niger State, and the red aspect, which we classified as high security risk areas. So, although we cannot control what happens in these neighbouring states, we still feel the effects; they come from there to attack our people. We don’t have control of what happens in Kaduna, Kebbi, Katsina and FCT; but what we have been able to achieve right now is to push the battle to them, trying to build a fence around our communities under threat. Again, the weather has helped us because of the rainy season now. Most of the riverine communities have become no-go-areas for these criminals. But, again, this is a plus for us and a minus for us, because, if we want to conduct operations or raid a hideout after intelligent reports, we find it difficult due to the difficult terrain. Above all, the most important thing is that peace is gradually returning to the affected communities, and we thank God.
How do you intend to sustain these achievements and what measures has the government put in place?
Well, the measures are already there. I cannot disclose the strategies put in place for security reasons, but I can assure you and the people that the government will sustain these achievements. There will be no room for them anymore; the security agents are on top of the situation. We, as a government, will continue to do our best. Thank God we have a governor who has placed serious priority on security, because, without security, there cannot be any meaningful development. We are equally appealing to the communities to support the government efforts in this war against these criminals. Thank God, the people are also coming out to say, “Look we can no longer fold our hands to see some criminals terrorising our peace and corporate existence”, so they are equally taking the battle to these bandits in synergy with our security agents.
Most importantly, we now have robust communication and synergy with our neighbouring states, and this will equally help us. We must collectively deal with these criminals, regardless of where they operate, whether in Niger, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi or FCT. A criminal is a criminal, and they must be treated according to the law of the land.
How about the Internally Displaced People (IDP) as a result of bandits’ activities? Have they all gone back to their homes or communities?
Yes, the majority of them, let’s say over 90 per cent of them have gone back, except those who feel their new home is a good place for them. In fact, a large number of them have gone back to their communities and have settled down. But again, when someone is displaced from his community, you don’t dictate to him or her where to stay, because he or she has the right to stay anywhere. So those that have decided not to go back to their communities are very few, because they feel safe and secure where they are.
What has it cost the government in the last five to six years to tackle these security challenges?
I don’t want to talk about naira and kobo, but, honestly, it is mind-blowing. Enormous resources have gone into the security challenges in the state to be able to achieve the peace we have right now. I see huge sums of money that should have been used to develop some real sectors, like education, roads, health, agriculture and the rest, being spent on only security. The amount so far expended by this government is quite disturbing; no government can achieve any development with this amount of money spent only on security.
However, I must admit that there is no amount of money that you will spend to protect lives and property that is a waste. That is the essence of governance; it is the primary responsibility of a government, and this government has not failed in that aspect. We are grateful that we have a governor who understands that, and sees things from that perspective.
How will you describe the last five or six years of security challenges in the state?
Quite bad, very horrible and unfortunate. People were killed, many kidnapped, animals rustled, property destroyed, people forced to change their lifestyles, farmers forced to abandon their farms, schools shut down, nightlife suspended, the state economy reduced to nothing. The meagre resources of the state all channelled to security, and governance made difficult. In fact, I don’t know how to describe what the government and the people have gone through in the last five to six years, but the prayer is that may God never allow us as a government and as a people to witness such experience again.
As a security expert, what do you think is responsible for this banditry and terrorismin the country?
To be honest with you, I think the problem is the entire national security concept. We must redefine our security concept if we must put an end to this menace. Right now, the security concept is geared towards protecting the state, I mean the government, and nobody is concerned about what is happening in the state, that is, the people. We looked at security from that aspect of preserving a nation as a territory, but we are not concerned about how to protect those who are inside this territory—that has been the concept.
But with the incidents of the 9/11 attack and other terrorists attacks across the globe, that security concept of only protecting the state is beginning to change.
Before now, nobody was talking about human security; nobody was talking about food security; nobody was talking about cyber security, but, now, we are beginning to realise that we are making a mistake. Nations of the world have realised that there is the need to give attention to internal security.
Security and development must go together; no nation can develop without security. That is why it is absolutely necessary for us as a nation to redefine our security concept. We must, first of all, look at security from the human perspective; security should be about the citizens first, not about the state (government). If not, we cannot get over these challenges.
Let me give an example, I am a commissioner today, and it is possible for me to ask for, maybe, ten policemen to guide my house. I might be given. Also, a governor may get, maybe, 100 policemen to guide him, and, of course, there is nothing wrong in that, because he is the governor and the head of the state. However, when a community lacks that number of security men, automatically, the people become exposed to danger and become vulnerable. That is one aspect.
The second aspect is that we must look at our judicial system. Any wrong doing that goes unpunished or when a criminal knows that when he or she commits crime, he or she might go unpunished, the person will not leave that crime, and others will join, because they know they will not be punished. So, when the judicial system is faulty, it affects the security system. Again, when the citizens’ aspirations and expectations are not met, they will tend to work against the state (government) just to sabotage the government.
What we are having today across the country and the global communities creating the major cause of Insecurity is the offshoot of what I have just said. In the past, wars were fought between state versus state, but, today, it is non-state actors that are internally destroying the state.