By Suleiman Abbah
In recent years, Nigeria has faced a growing challenge of insecurity, particularly in the northwestern region of the country. The rise of banditry and other security threats has left many citizens living in fear and uncertainty.
At the risk of overstating the case, one can unhesitatingly assert that the situation in the North is one of the most serious social and security challenges facing Nigeria today. The fact that the problem is insidious and not readily apparent is the more reason why it should be seen as an existential matter that needs to be addressed and tackled robustly and defeated once for all. No nation can aspire to greatness or seek to remain secure and safe when its youth and the productive segments of society are left wasted at the mercy of murderous criminals.
National challenges such as the one we are faced with should not be treated with levity and condescension. Neither should they be seen as affecting only one region or state or, for that matter, one ethnic group or the other. On the contrary, such challenges are cross-national issues that affect every one of us regardless of where we live or come from. For this reason, the security problem must be confronted collectively with the entire will and resolve of the nation behind the effort. Failure to do so will indubitably mean that every effort made in isolation will defeat all endeavours, and render the task the more difficult and futile.
Every one must therefore, become a stakeholder and a committed actor in this struggle to free our society and our country of this hazardous and debilitating problem. The young and old, men and women, leaders and the led, politicians and civil servants, businessmen and women, teachers and students, and people from all walks of life must get involved in this struggle to eradicate this menace from the midst of our society.
It was in recognition of the enormity of the challenge before the north and the country in general, and the urgency of the situation, that Bello Matawalle, the former Governor of Zamfara state and current Minister of State for Defence, emerged as a beacon of hope, offering a different approach to addressing these issues that has yielded significant results.
Matawalle has long been a proponent of dialogue and reconciliation as the most effective means of addressing security challenges, particularly the menace of banditry. During his tenure as Governor of Zamfara state, he implemented a strategy of engaging in dialogue with bandits, which led to a significant reduction in violence and a year of zero incidence of bandit attacks in the state. This approach not only helped to bring about peace and stability in the region but also fostered a sense of coexistence among different communities.
In his current role as Minister of State for Defence, Matawalle has continued to champion dialogue and collaboration as key tools in the fight against insecurity. He has embarked on comprehensive stakeholder engagement and consultations with key national and regional leaders to seek their input on how to best tackle the escalating security challenges facing the country. His recent meeting with former Head of State, Abdussalami Abubakar, underscores his commitment to seeking out practical solutions to the issue of insecurity.
Before the current leadership of the Defence Ministry came up virtually the entire North was a battlefront, and the nation was a hostage of Boko Haram and assorted criminal gangs. Today the Ministry’ effort has provided a vastly-improved security atmosphere, with Boko Haram, kidnappers and bandits pinned to enclaves.
Matawalle’s effort represents an initiative by a leader with a major role to play in rescuing Nigeria from the margins of irrelevance, impotence, consequences and decay in the context of the global order which currently runs on the basis of values and practices that Nigeria needs to understand, adapt to or create alternatives that suit its cultures, circumstances and interests.
This Matawalle initiative represents a major step up in the activities of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration as part of the mobilization strategies to involve every significant component of Northern society to make the federal government presence felt among the nation’s intelligentsia, community leaders, students in higher institutions as well as the business community and bring them into the mainstream of the “Renewed Hope Agenda activities.
Matawalle recognizes that addressing insecurity requires a collective effort from all stakeholders, including political leaders, traditional institutions, and security heads. In a recent statement, he emphasized the importance of unity and collaboration in finding lasting solutions to the security crisis. By prioritizing peacebuilding and conflict resolution over purely military intervention, Matawalle has shown that sustainable peace and stability can only be achieved through dialogue and consensus-building.
His dedication to finding peaceful solutions to security challenges serves as an inspiration to other leaders across the country who are grappling with similar issues. Matawalle’s example highlights the importance of seeking non-violent means of resolving conflicts and underscores the power of dialogue and reconciliation in achieving lasting peace. As Nigeria continues to navigate the complex landscape of insecurity, Matawalle’s commitment to peaceful solutions should serve as a guiding light, showing that it is indeed possible to achieve peace and stability through dialogue and collaboration.
This, without doubt, is a commendable step, because if the Nigeria today needs to hear the truth, it should be told that before the coming of Tinubu and his defence team, previous Nigerian leaders had lost the energy and some of the courage to take up those issues that were once the major focus of its leaders and its community.
Nigerians must therefore commend the successes of its gallant troops and the strong will of President Tinubu in the fight against insecurity. We must applaud the new spirit of cooperation among our regional neighbors, and appreciate the support of our friends across the world who are assisting us in this fight.
We urge the government and security forces to fight this insurgency with resolve and awareness of their obligations under the law, as well as the knowledge that victory will only be pronounced when the nation achieves full cessation of hostilities, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in the entire region.
Middle-Belt Times 