The Nigeria Army have officially began an exercise in the South Eastern Nigeria, termed operation Python Dance. Since the news filtered in, a lot of political jobbers and ethnocentric characters have sought to gain cheap popularity with it by sending fear in the hearts of the people of the region. Based on their interest, some have described it as evasion and others said it was an occupation. But the government has maintained that it is a security operation in the interest of South Easterners.
Whatever be the case, the biggest challenge we have in Nigeria today is the weak police force. Over the years, mendicant characters destroyed major institutions and industries in Nigeria, and successfully rendered the nation prostate. From Obakran, to Aba, Jos to Kaduna, all the industries that made Nigeria great were destroyed. Most of those industral premises are either churches or kidnapers’ den.
They did not only destroy our industries, they did a deadly damage on our institutions. Today, Nigerian police force, has lost the moral bearing to largely handle our internal security. A lot of police officers are either corrupt or incompetent of dealing with the security challenges in Nigeria because they were not qualified in the first place to have been recruited into the force. Many of them went into the force to use the uniform to make money for themselves, they are serving only their interest and that of their political godfathers who enlisted; they are not patriotic at all.
But for God’s intervention, Dasuki and his co-military looters would have destroyed the army. But God did not allow the enemy of our nation to succeed.
Now, in the mist of all these decays, politicians built private armies and equipped them with sophisticated weapons that made them more powerful than the state. And before you know it, these private armies became monsters and began to terrorise the nation.
Today across the length and breadth of Nigeria are security challenges that the regular police cannot deal with, not to talk of a weak police force like ours. The option is to draft in the army to restore normalcy whiles reforms are ongoing across institutions of government, including the Nigerian police.
Because of that, it is not strange to see military men in many parts of Nigeria. It is a necessity and we must not play politics with it.
Especially in the South Eastern Nigeria, some people are trying to gain cheap popularity by attacking the army. They have to be warned to be careful. There is hardly any part of Nigeria where we don’t have military presence and it is necessary for the maintainance of security for now. Like in other regions, there is Kidnapping and armed robbery in the East. Let’s stop misinforming people, the army is in the south east to secure our people.
Or is South East not part of a sovereign Nigeria? Arepo, was bombarded and many militants were killed and arrested, nobody from South West saw it as war against Yorubas. Nigerian army have been in the South South for as long as the new Democratic experience since 1999. From Zamfara to Madugiri, Lagos to Calabar, there are soldiers everywhere maintaining peace and securing the sovereignty of the nation and the peace of the people.
The army can be drafted in to maintain security in any part of Nigeria, and they are currently in many parts of the country. Enough of propaganda, we need security in the South East.
I know many who are denying the reality of the security issues on ground in the South East who cannot walk the streets of their towns freely by 9pm. The last time I met with the youth executive from my state under T.A Orji, in our state capital, they all came around disguised, the bus they came with was hidden, all because they were afraid for their lives, there is no security in the state.
Truth be told, most of our Igbo successful brothers and sisters who live abroad or anywhere outside their states are running from going home and many are no longer investing back home because of murderous politicians, armed robbers and Kidnappers. On top of that, there is infrastructural decay. For 16 years successful governments abandoned South Eastern Nigeria to there fate. They allowed kidnappers, armed robbers and murderous cult gangs sponsored by politicians to overrun our region. People were being randomly kidnapped, there was capital flight and brain drain across the region. Instead of investing home our people bought, built and made their investment outside our region because there is no security.
Why are we lying to ourselves and resulting to cheap politics over the attempt to solve the security problems in our zone? Or are those who are pushing for the withdrawal of the army part of these kidnappers and armed robbers destroying the South East? What are they afraid of even when it is in our best interest to secure our region?
Anybody who’s hand is clean, should have nothing to be afraid of. There are Igbos in the army and they are all working to secure Nigeria. If there was anything to worry about, true Igbo leaders and our governors would have spoken up against it.
Whatever you think you are, please be informed that we don’t have two governments in this country. Both at the local government, state and federal levels, we have one government. And as long as we remain one Nigeria government has a duty of care towards everyone and region. All law abiding citizens who have no skeleton in their cupboard have nothing to fear.
Nigerian army should go about their job with civility. And they should work with accurate information and ensure that all the bad eggs in the South East and other parts of the country are flushed out and their roots permanently erased to avoid a reoccurrence of these evil activities.
As a part of support measure, President Buhari should accelerate job creation and massive infrastructural development in the South Eastern Nigeria, to create opportunities that will take young people away from crime and violence.
Change is no rocket science government should be up and doing and citizens must be law abiding, nomatter who they think they are and what part of Nigeria they live.
God bless South Eastern Nigeria.
*This piece was picked from Great Imo Jonathan’s Facebook page. He is a public communicator, from Delta State.
