Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN) condoles Nigerians over the myriads of distresses and calamities that have befallen the country under the All Progressives Congress (APC) led government. Since APC made its debut in government in 2015, the country has been reeling from one distress to another. As the country prepares for another election in 2027, CSMN calls on Nigerians to objectively appraise the condition of the country and call a spade a spade. It can no longer be denied that Nigeria is afflicted with unimaginable leadership deficit in the past few years. In other nations, this leadership appraisal might not be a challenge, but in a country in which pretence and deceit are fast becoming the culture, it is necessary to remind Nigerians that “only the truth sets free.” A people that cannot tell themselves the truth will remain in bondage.
THE SPIRIT OF REHOBOAM
The Bible narrates the story of Rehoboam, the son of king Solomon. After ascending the throne, Rehoboam had the option of following the wisdom of the elders and serve the people or run an elitist government. Rehoboam chose the folly of chastising the people with scorpions and serpents, and he lost the kingdom which he inherited from his father. This Biblical narrative graphically describes the current situation of Nigeria. The President had the option of either serving the populace or promoting the interest of a select group of the elites. The country was unfortunately governed with policies that sting like scorpions and serpents. The first tenure of the president has been painfully traumatic. Now, he is desperate for another term in office.
The assessment of the Tinubu-led administration is made easy by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) in Section 14(2)b. It states that “the security and the welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”. No amount of propaganda or image laundering can whitewash the abysmal state of insecurity and sufferings in the land. Under the guise of a bogus reform, Nigerians have been subjected to unwarranted sufferings and lack while the politicians live in opulence reminiscent of Arabian fairy tales. Any government that performs poorly in “security and welfare of the people” undeniably falls short of the constitutional parameter. The question that Nigerians would have to answer is whether they would reward failure or sanction it.
In addition to the constitutional parameter, the self admission of the President, when he was campaigning for the office, would be useful to assess his performance in office. The President stated that if he did not provide 24-hour electricity for the country, he should not be given a second term in office. Instead of fulfilling his promise, the President disconnected the Aso Villa from the national grid and spent N10 billion of public funds to provide solar electricity for the State House where he lives.
It would be disrespectful not to take the President at his word. By his self-admission, he should not be considered for a second term in office.
THE ESCALATION OF TERROR
Under the APC led government, terror attacks keep spreading all over the country. From the inception of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau made it clear that “… this war is not political. It is religious. It is between Muslims and unbelievers (arne). It will stop when Islamic religion is the determinant in governance in Nigeria or, in the alternative, when all fighters are annihilated and no one is left to continue the fight.” Despite the spirited efforts by the government to deny genocide against Christians, the fact remains that Christians are specifically targeted by the Islamist terrorists for elimination.
The attacks by the terrorists assumed a greater sinister dimension with the kidnapping of Nigerians all over the country. In recent times, the mass kidnapping of children and women have been reported in Borno, Zamfara, Kogi, Kwara, Benue, Kaduna, Niger, and Oyo states, to mention a few.
It is incumbent on the Federal Government to provide solutions to the problem of insecurity in the country. It is dereliction of duty for the Federal Government to seek to shift the responsibility of security to the State Governors. Under the present laws of the country, the Federal Government controls all the security agencies. Even though State Governors are theoretically referred to as the Chief Security Officer of their states, the fact remains that no governor has authority over the Army or the Police.
On 15th May 2013, President Tinubu was quoted by Premium times as saying, “No Governor of a state in Nigeria is the Chief Security Officer. Putting the blame on the Governors ... for the abysmal performance of the government at the centre, which controls all the security agencies, smacks of ignorance and mischief.”
The process of establishing State Police should be expedited. The President should heed the call of well-meaning Nigerians who have called on him to declare state of emergency over insecurity in Nigeria. The current elevation of politics over governance by the President should cease.
TURKEY MILITARY COOPERATION
In 2017 and in 2024, there were reports in the media of multiple seizure of arms and ammunition brought into the country from Turkey. Interestingly, government investigation into these shipments did not confirm whom the weapons were meant for in the country neither was anyone prosecuted for it. These were shipments intercepted at the Tin Can Island port, Lagos, Onne port, Port Harcourt, as well as at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.
It was therefore curious for the Tinubu administration to strike collaboration with Turkey to combat terrorism in Nigeria. Meanwhile, there are allegations in foreign media that Turkey was supplying arms to Boko Haram. These allegations become more worrisome when Sheik Abubakar Gumi publicly advised the government to seek technical support from Turkey to combat terror attacks in Nigeria.
These considerations raise questions about the sincerity of the Tinubu administration to combat Islamist terror attacks in the country. Presently, the entire country has been thrown into panic over the spate of mass kidnapping of children by Islamist terrorists.
The Tinubu administration must do more to persuade Nigerians that it has their interest at heart. President Tinubu should not assume that Nigerians have no choice but to accept whatever he dishes out as governance. While Nigerians are peaceful and restrained, their tolerance should not be taken for granted. The President should devote more energy to make “the security and the welfare of the people” his priority. So far, the President has demonstrated that his second-term re-election is his priority.
God bless Nigeria.
Bishop Samuel Ayeni
CSMN
Coordinator, USA
Bro. Yinka Quadri
CSMN
Coordinator, UK