North-East Governors Forum is Long Overdue

North-East Governors Forum is Long Overdue

By Afakriya A. Gadzama

Many people were pleased when state governors from the North
East paid a special visit to the President and the security chiefs
over the plight of the traumatized people of the region.

The meeting with the President was significant because it helped
break the undesirable practice of not properly communicating
problems to those who can help.

As some of us have repeatedly observed, the country has suffered
from the culture of shying away from telling those in position of
leadership the truth, an attitude that has compounded the misery of
the people of the North East. Those with access to the corridors of
power have consistently failed to tell the President the truth
about the insurgency situation and the nagging problem of
Internally Displaced Persons in the North East.

Such people have betrayed the President’s trust. This was
evident in the attitude of those who were entrusted with managing
the humanitarian situation in the region and other parts of the
country until recently. The bold decision of the North East
Governors to seek audience with the President over the situation in
the North East is therefore very commendable.

The North East is one of the most backward geopolitical zones in
the country where most of the people wallow in abject poverty. The
Boko Haram insurgency unfortunately compounded the plight of the
people of the region.

There are also huge development challenges in most of the States
that those in the position of authority have failed to address or
draw attention to. As a result, people in the zone lack the most
basic dividends of democracy while transparency and accountability
in governance are brazenly abused.

These are crucial issues that any genuinely concerned person
cannot ignore. As previously noted, the President Muhammadu Buhari
Government has promoted restoration of sanity in governance in some
of the states. Even then, not much has been done to positively
impact the lives of the people in many of the states.

The region has instead been in a state of motion without
progress. Credit must however be given to members of the National
Assembly and prominent citizens from the region for the relentless
push for the establishment of the North East Development Commission
(NEDC). Our prayer is that the Commission will not go the way of
the Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC).

The recent meeting of Governors from the region with Mr.
President and the service chiefs as eloquently explained by their
Chairman, Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum briefly
captured some of the most pressing problems. There are however some
equally daunting challenges that were not highlighted.

All stakeholders, especially the federal and state governments
and the security forces are expected to address the problems facing
the people in the region squarely. The major concerns of the people
of the region are absence of security and good governance.

The prevailing situation in the region requires urgent action
because the poverty level remains a veritable threat to national
security and development. Everything should be done to address the
conditions that gave rise to the Boko Haram insurgency and improve
security, good governance and commitment to ameliorate the very
disturbing conditions of living of people in the region. Those in
the position of trust should in addition promote unity among the
people.

State governments in the North East have no option than to
cooperate with the federal government, the military and other
security forces because pockets of insurgents still exist in many
communities in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states. No one in my view
should be deluded to think that the insurgents have been totally
wiped out. The state of insecurity in areas on the shores of Lake
Chad and intermittent attacks on some communities in Southern Borno
also deserve special attention. The ongoing clearance operations by
security forces should be complemented vigorously.

The gallant security forces require massive support and
concerted steps to gradually restore civil authority in the
impacted communities which have been extensively depopulated.
Security operatives are currently the only the occupants of many
towns and villages. Something definitely needs to be done to
restore the confidence of people to return to their
communities.

To reverse the current state of affairs, the security forces
especially the military must take steps to arrest the sagging
morale of troops and deal with tendencies that have subverted their
credibility and image. The security forces must also realize that
no war against insurgency and other forms of uprising has ever been
won without the support of the citizenry.

The public must therefore be sensitized to be conscious of the
fact that the insurgents and saboteurs are in their midst, and it
is their responsibility to flush them out. What the pauperized and
down trodden people in the North East now require most is
reasonable level of security to enable them fend for
themselves.

The gravity of the situation is underscored by the level of
hunger and want in communities. The solution is definitely not in
giving them palliatives because, much as this is required, there is
no certainty on its timely availability.

The security forces should prioritize a change of strategy that
will entail pursuing and taking out the insurgents and it is
reassuring that the President recently disclosed that advanced
capabilities and assets for the security forces are being awaited.
We sincerely hope the strategic requirements of the intelligence
organizations have also been factored into these arrangements.

Revisiting security deployments in the entire North East is also
very necessary. It has been observed that the region is too vast to
be effectively policed by the current strength and deployments of
the security forces.

There is nowhere in the country that the challenge of ungoverned
spaces is as pronounced as in the North East, except perhaps in the
North West and the North Central. The Federal Government, in my
candid view, must be commended for the ongoing steps to equip the
security forces. Security organizations that have already
commissioned new outposts and rehabilitated those destroyed by the
insurgents deserve commendation. I must advise that the most
strategic assets required to deal with insurgency, armed bandits
and rampaging herdsmen are drone capabilities, helicopter gunships
and a more robust Command and Control Centre.

In addition, the strength of nearly all the security forces
should be significantly increased in the region along with
revamping intelligence gathering structures and assets to achieve
the desired result. It is gratifying to note that these
deficiencies are currently the priority of the State Security
Service under the pragmatic leadership of Alhaji Yusuf Bichi. These
efforts should be emulated by other security and para-military
organizations for desired impact.

An informed threat analysis of the current security situation in
the North East particularly in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States will
reveal that proliferation of dangerous weapons and use of illegal
firearms rank high. Necessary steps should be taken to mop up
illegal firearms in circulation not only in the North East but in
the whole country. The recent directive by the Inspector General of
Police to State Commissioners of Police should accordingly be
supported by all security agencies.

The problems of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) from Adamawa,
Borno and Yobe States as a result of insurgency and ethno-communal
clashes, notably in Adamawa and Taraba States, are also potent
threats to security in the sub-region. As previously observed,
catering for the needs of the Internally Displaced Persons is a
huge challenge to state governments in the region which are
apparently over-burdened with the challenges of resettling and
rehabilitating them.

I must nevertheless commend the efforts of Borno State Governor,
Prof. Babagana Zulum to put the misery of the insurgency behind us
although the enormity of the security, humanitarian and development
challenges are too enormous for the state governments. Assistance
from the Federal Government is therefore desirable as the states in
the zone are among those with the weakest revenue base and
financial capacity.

Lest I forget, Governor Zulumn must be commended for
re-inventing leadership and governance in Borno State.

Immediate robust federal government intervention in
rehabilitating infrastructure destroyed by the insurgents across
the geopolitical zone is necessary.

People in the North East have been wondering why destroyed
infrastructure has not attracted the desired attention. Deplorable
state of roads is currently among the most challenging situations
facing the people. Rehabilitation of security posts and related
critical infrastructure, especially rebuilding the bridges
destroyed by insurgents is also high in the demands of the
people.

Contracts for rebuilding the bridges between Adamawa and Borno
States have reportedly been awarded but the problem is that some of
the contractors are allegedly least qualified and fronting for some
powerful interests. The bridges are important to the people in the
two states as symbols of federal presence vital to kick starting
socio-economic activity.

Federal presence in these states is comparatively low and
demands for increased federal presence should therefore be of
concern to everyone especially the North East Governors Forum and
the North East Development Commission (NEDC).

Finally, it is not advisable for states in the North East to set
up sub regional security outfits as being canvassed currently in
parts of the country. They should instead explore the possibility
of strengthening the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and adopting
aspects of community policing to boost security arrangements
already on ground.

The Forum of North East Governors is welcome to complement the
efforts of the Federal and State Governments in restoring normalcy
to the region. It must however be stressed again that the interests
of the traumatized people of the region should be their main
concern.

Afakriya A. Gadzama OFR, mni

Former DGSS and Chairman

Governing Board of National

Institute of Security Studies