After a riot of words, threats, hot air and retractions, the Western Nigeria Security Network code-named Operation Amotekun is here to stay. Shortly after the six South-West governors introduced the security outfit to the public on January 9, it was nearly prematurely derailed, having been confronted with strident opposition, particularly from the Federal Government and some blind centrifugal forces playing primordial politics with the security of lives and property. Now that the grey areas have been ironed out, there should be no looking back on the project.
At first, tensions had escalated; and encouraged by the adversarial declaration of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami that the outfit was illegal, a host of malicious groups took turns to castigate the six governors for the initiative. To defuse the tensions, a tripartite meeting involving the Federal Government, the six governors and the Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu provided a leeway: the South-West states should enact the relevant laws for Amotekun’soperations. That is the way forward.
Unfortunately, others have not disavowed their incendiary comments on this security arrangement. Balarabe Musa, a former governor of the old Kaduna State, and other leading voices from the North spared nothing in their condemnation of the idea. Illogically, they accused the South-West of devising the outfit as the basis to instigate the restructuring of Nigeria. Or, in the extreme, use Amotekun to hasten Nigeria’s disintegration. This is unfounded. Musa argued: “There is no basis for Amotekun at all and we have the history. We know what eventually led to the 1966 coup when the South-Western separatists and the northern dominance had a clash of interests.” These are wild claims, even provocative.
It is implausible to believe that the move by the South-West to secure itself against banditry and kidnapping being foisted from outside the region is a threat to the country’s security at large. On the contrary, it is beneficial to other parts of the country in that if the region is secure, the Federal Government, whose police and military personnel are currently overstretched, can devote more attention to the other troubled areas. There is no way this will speed up Nigeria’s disintegration. In this, the real fear of the divisive forces seems to be that a successful Operation Amotekun will expose the tenuous insistence of the Federal Government that the country is better off with the single, ineffective and unworkable policing architecture that has inflicted pain and bloodshed on the populace, while also encouraging banditry. In any case, the arrogant mindset that securing Nigeria’s corporate existence is an exclusive responsibility of a section of the country is an insult to the sensibilities of other ethnic nationalities.
In truth, Amotekun is a child of necessity, born after a wave of gruesome attacks across the region and at a time when nobody is safe again in Nigeria. In Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen, Nigeria currently harbours two of the deadliest terror groups in the world, says the Global Terrorism Index. Along with bandits in the North-West, their deep record of habitual killings recommends a structured, integrated, citizen-led approach to security.
The creation of Amotekun really conflated with the desire of the ordinary people in the region, giving it a groundswell of unparalleled spontaneous backing. This should not be taken for granted. Beyond the South-West, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, groups in the North-Central, a region badly hit by the marauding herders, have thrown their weight behind the outfit. This public support is significant in a country of disparate interests. Indeed, Amotekun initiative should be seen as a robust and innovative solution to disrupt lethal violence in the country. Ultimately, it should herald the full-blown devolution of policing here, as Nigeria is just a federal state on paper.
Seeing this anomaly that has unwittingly ceded the authority of the state to criminals, the 2014 National Conference recommended the devolution of policing powers. That is stating the obvious. Across the world, federal political systems do not operate a unitary policing system as is being short-sightedly done in Nigeria. To improve security, the United Kingdom, which is a unitary state, operates devolved policing. Practical examples from a myriad of polities can bail Nigeria out of its narcissism.
Described as a leading global institution in security sector reform, the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces says that policing in federal states is distinguished mostly by “four levels: the federal, the member unit (state, canton, autonomic) and the municipal one for cities and a territorial unit for the countryside (sheriff in the US, gendarmerie in Spain). In the US, the vast majority of police agencies exist at the local level and the number of personnel can range from about 38,000 police officers for the New York Police Department to just one police officer in a small rural town.”
To achieve its objective, Amotekun should be anchored on a strong participation by people. A necessary ingredient of success is also political and organisational leadership. While the South-West governors should eschew partisan politics, the overall leadership of the outfit should be carefully selected. Never again should the governors compromise the security of lives and property of their people.
