NIGERIA IS BLEEDING

Malik Samuel, Researcher, ISS Regional Office for West Africa, the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin.

Tinubu’s appointments to head the security agencies will show how much importance he attaches to the issue.

The president must also consider long-term solutions that go beyond military intervention. He should devote equal attention to the governance and socio-economic issues that provide fertile ground for recruitment into violent extremism and criminal gangs.

With the best land force in Africa and the second best military in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria has the capacity to provide leadership in the region. What is lacking is the political determination to translate that capacity into tangible results.

Tinubu should consider an intelligence-driven sector that nips security threats in the bud before they manifest. To achieve this, the Nigerian security sector must be transformed from its current largely predatory nature to one that is civilian-centric and focused on building trusting relations with civilians. If Nigeria’s people trust security officials, they will be willing to help, especially when it comes to intelligence gathering.

As Commander-in-Chief, the president must be seen to be in charge of the situation. He can do this by being decisive, holding appointees to account and linking their tenure to meeting deliverables. He should heed the litany of complaints and public outcries calling for previous security chiefs to be sacked – and Buhari’s refusal to budge. Buhari in fact continued to defend them in the face of worsening insecurity.

Some of the early appointments a Nigerian president usually makes are heads of the security agencies, ranging from the national security adviser to the chief of defence staff. These are the people who will drive his vision on security, so getting these appointments right will show how much importance he attaches to the issue.

At that time, the insurgents controlled 27 local government areas across North East Nigeria, causing one of the world’s biggest but most under-reported humanitarian crises.

Boko Haram presents the hardest security test for Tinubu. Now in its 14th year, the insurgency has defied solutions, which to date have been mostly military. Buhari was the third president unable to end the crisis, despite promising to do so during his campaigns. He claimed to have defeated the group after becoming president, but Boko Haram’s violent attacks have continued, including outside its core areas of the North East.

In some cases, communities are forced to pay bandits in order to be allowed to farm. The damage this causes to livelihoods has increased malnutrition among children in the region. Banditry is already spilling over into Niger, a country that is also facing the Boko Haram challenge.

Similarly, in North Central Nigeria, the farmer-herder crisis remains a major concern. At the same time, communal clashes and separatist agitation threaten peace in the south, notably the South East and South South zones.

Tinubu undoubtedly has his work cut out for him, but the incoming president also has an opportunity to show Nigerians that he can rein in insecurity.

As Commander-in-Chief, the president must be seen to be in charge of the situation. He can do this by being decisive, holding appointees to account and linking their tenure to meeting deliverables. He should heed the litany of complaints and public outcries calling for previous security chiefs to be sacked – and Buhari’s refusal to budge. Buhari in fact continued to defend them in the face of worsening insecurity.