There are different kinds of warfare and this includes the physical and the spiritual. Even in the physical, we have the conventional and the asymmetric warfare. A good example of asymmetric warfare is the Guerilla warfare which is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel, or armed civilians including recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism, raids, petty warfare or hit-and-run tactics in a rebellion, in a violent conflict, in a war or in a civil war to fight against regular military, police or rival insurgent forces.
In Nigeria, as it were, we have the wars against Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), and the former militants of the Niger Delta as what can be described as asymmetric warfare. This kind of warfare requires a different kind of approach to arrive at a resolution when compared with conventional warfare that more often than not requires only the kinetic approach. Where there is a political will on the part of the leadership, the asymmetric warfare, some of which have been described can be won, but not without the cooperation of the citizenry.
The reasons why Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, and attacks from members of the IPOB have remained include, the problem of sabotage by some elements who are in government working against the efforts of the government and the security agencies. Another reason could be in a situation where the leadership is using the chaos going on to its advantage to create an atmosphere of “divide and rule.”
Moreover, the wars that are different from those highlighted above that the present Tinubu administration cannot easily win are those against corruption and the media. Suffice it to say also that as long as these wars are being fought and not won in the country, no matter how much the leadership of Nigeria tries to fix the problems around economic, political, and social, progress and stability will remain elusive.
Recall that one of the mantras of the All Progressive Congress Party (APC) during the time of Muhammadu Buhari was the fight against corruption but in the end, he and his lieutenants bankrupted the country. On the assumption of office by the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he also vowed to fight against the monster of corruption but within his one-year period in office, corruption rather than being eradicated, has become a pandemic where some members of his cabinet have been found culpable to corruption charges and with no prosecution made so far as deterrents.
Recall how Betta Edu, the minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, and Mr. Olubunmi Tunji Ojo, the Minister of Interior were indicted over the transfer of public funds into a private account, the causation of why Betta Edu is on suspension and the activities of the Ministry temporarily suspended, regardless of how strategic and vital the ministry is in meeting the needs of the vulnerable Nigerians.
The cases of corruption allegations against the former governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello to the tune of 80 billion Naira, the former Minister of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Ahjia Sadiya Umar-Farouq under former President Muhammadu Buhari amounting to N37.1 billion, the former Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris in the amount of N109 billion, the former president Muhammadu Buhari himself for the amount of N33 trillion and the most recent involving the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, in the amount N423 billion, are critical stones that should not be left unturned if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is serious and out to fight against corruption in the country.
Why every vehicle has a rear mirror is to enable the driver to look at what goes on at the back and this is instructive. Life is understood backwards and lived forward and knowledge acquisition is from known to unknown. The leadership of the tenth assembly of the National Assembly of Nigeria under the chairmanship of Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Executive under the able leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the Judiciary under the leadership of Chief Justice Olukayode Ariwoola should deem it fit to be productive in leading the country Nigeria to the promised land and stop being just busy chasing the shadow and leaving the substance.
It is time to borrow a leaf from the United States of America in respect of former President Donald Trump who is now the first former or serving president of the United States of America to be convicted of a crime.
Nigeria needs responsible leadership in all three tiers of government to transform and regain its enviable position in the Committee of Nations. These cases must not be swept under the carpet.
On a final note, the war being fought by the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu against journalists is like an ill wind that blows nobody any good. No leader who is out to destroy and kill the conscience of the nation can make a headway, let alone succeed.
As horrible as the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired army general is reputed to be, he can be absolved with regard to human rights abuses especially in connection with the suppression of the Press and the mistreatment of journalists. In his eight-year tenure of office and since the introduction of the CyberCrime Act, a total number of 17 journalists were arrested and prosecuted, while within just one year of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in office, a total number of 8 journalists have been arrested and prosecuted including Jones Abiri, Agba Jalingo, and Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of an online newspaper, Sahara Reporters.
It is absurd to have a President who is believed to be a Democrat engage in acts that are injurious to the Press and its practitioners. The Cybercrime Act is what is being used as a guise to attack Press freedom in Nigeria by arbitrarily arresting journalists. The continuation of this act of trying to suppress the freedom of the Press and the attack on Journalists will backfire and will not be in the interest of the All Progressive Congress Party(APC) under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Let it be known that no matter how fast the lie is and has gone, the truth will overtake it and there will be no standing or sitting possibility for he who swallows a mortar.
Attacking journalists in Nigeria is not different from he who murders sleep, who as a consequence of his action will no longer have the luxury of sleeping. Wisdom is better and stronger than the weapons of war and profitable to direct. You can run away from others but you cannot run away from yourself.
Written by
Samuel ‘Tunji Adeyanju
Leave a Reply