NIGERIA IS UNDER SIEGE? It Is No Longer At Ease

NIGERIA IS UNDER SIEGE? It Is No Longer At Ease

By: Oriaifoh Godwins

The Bible says; ” when men slept, the enemies came to plant weeds…..” it is on this premise that I want to call on Nigerians, particularly everyone that have the ability to think deep, to the impending attack on our peaceful existence as a people.

Recently, the unprovoked attacks on communities in Benue state, in Taraba and Plateau states, has resurfaced, as Bayelsa, Enugu and Ondo state has also been included in the states targeted by the marauders as  Edo state is not spared from tasting this bitter pills of incessant and questionable attacks. Our peaceful way of life is being disrupted by the so called Fulani terrorists, bandits, Jihadists, etc. yes, they came under various names, but the truth remains that they have one mission: unleash fears on the people, pursue them out of their ancestral homes and occupy same. they did  it in Jos and they did it in Southern Kaduna; Ilorin, the capital of Kwara state fell to them long time ago. 

A couple of years ago, they were in Benin to install their Emir, thankfully, the people vehemently fought against it. Today, they are occupying our forests and from there, they want to advance to our towns and cities… and we are sleeping? 

Every well-meaning person should be reminded that, “if you want peace, then prepare for war”.

 

It is very difficult for any deep thinker to believe that these recent attacks on our peaceful way of life, where farmers can no longer visit their farms, where our highways are no longer safe, where we now sleep with one eye open, is not politically motivated, to make the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu unpopular, hence make the people to rise against the administration, after all, they did it to President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, penultimate to the presidential election  that brought Buhari to power, and when Buhari the presumed ‘Messiah’ eventually came to power, Nigerians witnessed the worst. 

I want to call on every right thinking Nigerian to think out of the box, as it is no longer at ease in the country.

Back to Edo state…

Let me first of all, commend our Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo who from the onset, has a clear vision of his destination, and also the roadmap to arrive at the destination. 

I want readers to take note of the fact that, in my earlier opinion, I didn’t call on the Government of Nigeria to rise to the task of insecurity in the country. This is deliberate, because, beyond every reasonable and unreasonable doubts, some elements within the government are responsible for the crisis and they are profiting from it. So, the government knows what to do, if they want to do it, to make life safer for the ordinary Nigerian. After all, Late Sanni Abacha was quoted as saying; "if a crisis should persist for more than 24hours, the Government has a hand in it". 

The whole world knows how gallant and professional the Nigerian Military is, so, why are they not securing the territorial integrity of the country that they swore to secure? If Nigeria Army have been incapacitated in flushing these hoodlums out of the country, if they are incapacitated in securing lives and properties, what they did in faraway Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo, and several other countries, then the continuous existence of these terrorists under whatever guise or name is questionable.

For me, just like many Nigerians, I have completely lost hope in the Nigerian Army to solve the problem of insecurity in this country. 

General Theophilus Danjuma a retired military officer, was recently quoted as asking people to defend themselves. 

The so called Fulani herdsmen, hunters, bandits or whatever names they are called attempted to invade Ghana, but the Ghana military force showed them the way out of that country, how much more the Nigerian military.

In Edo state, Governor Monday Okpebholo declared war on kidnappers and their accomplices, he has declared war on cultists, all in a bid to make Edo state a safe place for all to live in, yet, some so called Traditional Rulers in the state are being implicated, caught in the act and named as accomplices to kidnappers? This is a big shame to the communities that are governed by such infamous rulers. So if you are from any of such communities, shame on you.

Recently, in Igueben LGA, one Mr. Ehijie Moses, a hunter who ran into some kidnappers in the forest and attempted to attack them to free their hostages was killed by the kidnappers.

Again, Uzea people are crying out for help as a woman was raped and killed in her farm.

Though Edo state government is trying to solve the problem of insecurity in the state, the truth remains that the efforts of the government are not enough, more needs to be done as it is no longer at ease in Nigeria and in Edo state.