Written by Prince Tubo Johnson Aghogho.
The subject, counting the cost, has come to reminds each one of us of the poignant moment as we reflect on the sad events of recent occurrence in the history of our Nation – and the occasion to reminds us of the humongous cost of belligerency in a life time as community of brotherhood in solidarity against the established enemies of the State and humanity – terrorists, bandits and kidnappers.
That being said, it is imperative that we pay our heartfelt eulogy to those gallant security officers who sacrifice their lives in the defence of the country, and also those who loss their lives in the hands of the terrorists.
Meanwhile, it is also instructive to note that just as there are religious terrorists – those Islamic radicals and extremists, and their cohorts – the bandits and kidnappers, we also have political and economic terrorists as well.
Religious terrorism is when groups of people or organisations commit, incite or threaten to act or engage in violence to achieve political, social, or ideological goals, while justifying their actions through extremist interpretation of a religious doctrine or mandate – as we have it in Nigeria as religious terrorists.
In the same vein, economic terrorism is a situation when an individual, or group of people deliberately causes severe financial harm or destabilise an economy to achieve political, ideological or personal goals. For instance, there are those referred to as transnational terrorists and sub-national groups – like the Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al-Shabaab in East Africa – Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya), and other violent cartels, whose main targets are critical infrastructure like oil pipeline/power grids, use of extortion, kidnapping and money laundering to cripple State economies to finance their activities. Other include, corrupt public servants, kleptocrats, market manipulators and hoarders.
On the other hand, we also have those who are political terrorists as they engage in political terrorism. They include individuals, members of sub-national groups who uses premeditated violence, intimidation, or threat thereof against non-combatants to coerce government or society whose goal or aim is to force political, ideological, or social changes to overthrow government or alter state structure or change public policy. In this case, we have those referred to as Revolutionary/Insurgent terrorists who seek to overthrow governments. There are others who are known as Nationalist-Separatist terrorists – like militants using violence to establish or agitate ethnic agenda, State terrorists – i.e. governments or State institutions that use/apply oppression, fear and violence against their own citizens.
That being said, let us pause here to have an understanding of what an asymmetric warfare is all about in the Nigerian context as it applies to the subject matter – and the theme of this piece.
Asymmetric warfare is a military strategy where opposing forces – in this case, “the superior Nigerian military or security forces”, which has significantly superior fire power, capabilities or strategies to have engage in conflict, prompting the weaker sides, “terrorist groups, bandits and kidnappers”, who are using unconventional tactics – such as guerrilla warfare/tactics to counter the superior strength of our security personnel. In this regard, the terrorists/bandits exploit vulnerabilities to avoid decisive defeats and hence seem to prolong and erode the political and economic will of the federal government in the fight against terrorism.
Although it is believed that despite the superior fire power, which the government leverage on, by gaining more grounds in the fight against terrorism, it seems as though the government is still in a cul-de-sac situation, as the fight against terrorism had dragged on for over seventeen (17) years. Over the years, the modus operandi of these terrorists have been the deployment of improvised explosive IEDs, hit-and-run tactics, with their knowledge of the local terrain, application of boobytraps against civilians and security officers, etc. In another dimension, these terrorists – bandits and kidnappers also negotiate with individuals and allegedly with government officials for ransome payment and exchange for their members freedom.
The subject, counting the cost is all about careful assessment of the risk, sacrifice and the consequence entails in the fight against terrorism, banditry and kidnapping – all crimes against humanity as we experienced it in Nigeria since in the 2nd term of the Fourth Republic.
It encompasses all the sacrifices in it’s entirety – the political, religious and economic dimensions, the resources and planning involved, and the implications of the consequences and the lack of political will to nip it in the bud once and for all.
Consequently, having established the characters and the intentions of those characters – religious, political and economic terrorists (including banditry and kidnapping) the cost of their respective actions and activities have become the talking point.
It is estimated that over 190,000 lives have been lost since 2009 when the insurgency started as recorded by Civil Right organizations. However, it was also reported that deaths arising from starvation and disease as a result of terrorism since 2009 is approximately 350,000, this is in addition to security personnel.
The cumulative economic loss in cost of the conflict and insurgency in the country is estimated to have reached approximately between $150 billion and $200 billion. On the other hand, macroeconomic humanitarian fallout indicate that foreign direct investment (FDI) involved in security threats has caused macro FDI losses in the tune of N1.33 trillion, while on humanitarian context, the conflict and insurgency have displaced over 2.5 million people, and forcing thousands off their land for agriculture and livestock resulting in high prices in products and attendance poverty.
Indeed, as we ponder as a Nation on the cost of this unsolicited trauma and embarrassment of terrorism, banditry and kidnapping, let us also remind ourselves that counting the cost does not only entails the physical losses of human beings and monetary matters, but also the psychological trauma, which has had tremendous impact resulting in large scale image deficit in the global community.
Furthermore, it has also exacerbated the fear, suspicion and lack of trust among people, as the Yorubas would want the Igbos out of their territories, the Igbos would want the Hausas and Fulanis out of their communities, and vise versa.
At the moment, there is institutional decay in the country arising from the breakdown of systems in governance. Which is why many people, departments, agencies and ministries were alleged to have been involved in the Prince Adeyemi scandal of the Non-Existent PFIPC as it’s fake DG, which invariably have had a monumental image deficit on Nigeria as a “Nation of Fraudsters”.
No doubt that the asymmetric warfare resulting in the activities of terrorism banditry and kidnapping and implications for the fight against the elements involved – terrorists and their sponsors had been an herculean task for the government and security personnel across board. However, we must appreciate, applaud and salute the military, and the paramilitary officers who have played direct roles in the fight against terrorism, banditry and kidnapping across the country.
However, it has been alleged that politicians have become induced in the use of militants, militias and terrorists in their political adventures, just as some of them are alleged to have been involved. Which is why it has become fashionable to hear them accused one another these days of being complicit in the terrorism activities.
That is why they are being advised to jettison their ambitions in this regard, and eschew such idiosyncrasies as paradigm shift, for the stability of the Nation’s political ecosystem. And the time to start is now.
Prince Tubo Johnson Aghogho, is a Columnist and Public Affairs Commentator.
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