Now that “Their Excellencies” have found a voice
The first time we had an inkling that most of our state governors were not on the same page with us, security-wise, was when some of them trooped to the presidential villa to see President Muhammadu Buhari, a few months ago.
Despite the carnage and bloodshed being perpetrated in several states of the federation, these state CEOs were not there to discuss how to save their people from cold-blooded murder, their mission to the villa was simply to save their colleague Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo. In fact it was a classic case of esprit de corps when they went and begged PMB to intervene and ensure that the Edo Governor wins the party’s ticket to run for a second term; against the party Chairman’s wish to change him.
Those of us watching from the sidelines could not believe what we saw. Here were states on fire, with gun-men, kidnappers and the die-hard insurgents all wreaking havoc on defenceless communities, yet all Their Excellencies could think of was the need not to lose Edo.
The godfather/godson feud between Obaseki and Oshiomhole was obviously more important to these APC governors than the flowing blood of the innocent in their backyards. This took me back to the unpleasant episode, during the last PDP administration, when President Jonathan led party big wigs to Kano to welcome former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau to the PDP. The singing and dancing that took place came a day after 49 Yobe youths were massacred in their hostel by Boko Haram. Some of them had not even been buried at the time.
What’s obvious is that our politicians will always put party affairs over and above the plight of the ordinary man.
And just when we thought they couldn’t care less what happened to the rest of us, they suddenly found their voice. But it’s not because of the dead and wounded in Borno, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara and other states, it is because one of their own has had a close shave with these merchants of death.
Governor Babagana Umara Zulum’s encounter with attackers, who might or might not be the murderous Boko Haram, was what suddenly rouse our governors from their slumber. Suddenly they are up in arms, telling the world that even they are not safe. Additionally, they now saw a reason to visit President Muhammadu Buhari and discuss the security situation around the country.
Honestly, this shouldn’t be so. The need to see the president and press home the fact that people are needlessly dying, should be informed by the daily media reports of killings in several places, rather than by an attack on their colleague.
Again this proves the fact that with most of our state chief executives, the common people come last on their priority radar. However, while they are still rattled and desperate to see the Commander in Chief with their security demands, now is the time to present them with our wish list.
Top on this list is for the president to personally visit the IDP camps in all states and see for himself how responsible and self- respecting families have been reduced to homelessness and destitution by faceless and murderous bandits.
In a video report by the VOA, no less than 35 women gave birth in a few days at a Katsina IDP camp, after their villages were ransacked by bandits. Another report talks about the high number of widows and orphans in Zamfara state, all caused by the killing of men in their thousands.
Numerous villages and farmlands have been deserted because residents had to flee for dear life.
This in itself promises another disaster, likely to be caused by food shortage.
Their Excellencies must be blunt in telling Mr President the bitter truth, which is that the security situation in many states is so bad that we couldn’t believe he’d make the time to travel abroad to Mali, when even his home state is now held in bondage by bandits.
Whether he’ll agree to change his service chiefs and bring some with new ideas or he will hold on to them and give them a new challenge is left to President Buhari. But the governors visiting him must make sure to say that in the eyes of ordinary Nigerians, the service chiefs have failed woefully to secure the nation.
Those of us watching from the sidelines could not believe what we saw. Here were states on fire, with gun-men, kidnappers and the die-hard insurgents all wreaking havoc on defenceless communities, yet all Their Excellencies could think of was the need not to lose Edo
Their Excellencies must be blunt in telling Mr President the bitter truth, which is that the security situation in many states is so bad that we couldn’t believe he’d make the time to travel abroad to Mali, when even his home state is now held in bondage by bandits