State of Emergency To Slate The Insurgency, By Hannatu Musawa

So after much deliberation and rigmarole,
after much dissent by leading sectors of
Nigerians, after the massacres and
nauseating murders of men, women and
children, the government has finally
declared a state of emergency in three
states.
The unexpected declaration of the state of
emergency to deal with the high rate of
violence and spate of deadly attacks by
militant groups has taken many by surprise.
Yesterday evening, 14 th May 2013,
President Jonathan delivered an address in
which he gave the military powers to take
over security in the states of Adamawa,
Borno and Yobe.
This step, which affects a broad range of
civil rights, has already triggered widespread
debate about the implications of the
government’s latest strategy, from the
opposition, to religious groups, civil society
and even the governor’s forum.
The state of emergency requires a
presidential proclamation under conditions
specified in the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended under
the provisions of Section 305 (1). It gives
the authorities special temporary legal
powers to arrest and search citizens without
a warrant. It also imposes a curfew on the
specified states, restricting residents to their
homes between the times of a curfew. Other
emergency powers regulations affect
‘habeas corpus’ and citizens’ rights to
freedom of movement, assembly,
association, speech, and privacy.
Over the past two years, the rate of violence
in several states has increased dramatically,
fuelled by the rise of militancy, extremism
and the widespread availability of illegal
weapons.
Successive clamp down by authorities, an
apparent trigger-happy task force,
mismanaged deliverance of information on
behalf of the government and a leadership
that seems totally confused and not in
control have had the utmost regressive
effect, almost to the point of providing
sympathy and understanding for the plight
of the insurgents. In recent weeks, the
country has been horrified by the series of
violent murders.
The situation became a lot worse, with the
massacres in Baga and Bama town.
Announcing the state of emergency,
President Jonathan said, “The country is
facing, not just militancy or criminality, but
a rebellion and insurgency by terrorist
groups which pose a very serious threat to
national unity and territorial integrity”.
While I am often at variance with the
utterances and policies of President
Jonathan, it is not so difficult for me to
understand why the president felt the need
to take such an aggressive reaction,
especially along his reasoning that no
terrorist group, religious or tribal has a right
to pose a threat to national unity and
territorial integrity. Not Boko Haram or
tramps and vagrants like Asari Dokubo or
any other ignorant yobs who fancies
themselves as the new Scarface and who
happen to all be the same kind of bigoted
criminals disguised in different garbs. The
country cannot go to war because of some
criminal elements have been threatening to
overrun the Nigerian state under the guise of
religious extremism, resource control,
militancy or insurgency.
If reports that over a dozen local
government areas in Borno State have been
taken over by insurgents are true, if reports
that in those local governments there is no
semblance of authority are factual, then a
state of emergency in those hotspots was
absolutely and unquestionably necessary.
Why should a whole nation be held to
ransom by plundering and rancorous groups
of brutes bent on creating havoc on a
society, no matter how candid their
grievance or cause? Why should a group of
people organize themselves in guerrilla
warfare and carry out the kind of offensive
that is claiming the lives of innocent men,
women and children? For goodness sake,
when did our society sink to the depths of
darkness we are in now; where we are
forced to discuss the destruction of people’s
lives and death of fellow human beings in
such a blasé manner? That is what we have
been reduced to.
Every single morning, the minute one listens
to the news or reads a paper, the first thing
one is confronted with is stories of death,
destruction and murder. I mean it is just so
absolutely unbelievable for us to wake up
every morning with news of the kind of
senseless violence we have been witnessing.
It is simply unacceptable. As a civilized
society which has evolved from the dark
ages, our current situation has got to be
intolerable by every standard, even for those
criminal Nigerians who are hell-bent on
declaring a ridiculously, unnecessary and
unfair war against innocent Nigerians.
It may be easy enough for those of us who
are not directly affected by the violence to
sit and judge this draconian declaration by
the government, but even those of us that
have not been directly affected by the
violence and unwarranted massacres in the
affected states have been shaken to the core
by it and shudder at its domino effect. The
situation of the murders and total disregard
for human life has reached epic proportions;
proportions which call for the authorities to
respond in the most decisive manner
possible.
There is no doubt that this measure which
the government has taken will have an
impact on the daily lives of innocent, law-
abiding citizens in these areas and provide
inconveniencies for them. It will limit
people’s movements and give the regiment
powers to arrest; it will even infringe on the
fundamental rights and freedoms of the
citizens, but, unless someone in authority
takes the bull by the horn and affects this
kind of stringent system, the situation in
those areas will not be brought under
control and it will come to a point when the
violence cannot be contained.
Those affected by the state of emergency
should look at the bigger picture and
recognize the need to protect them and
bring the current violence surge affecting
them under control. Many people have lost
their loved ones to unnecessary violence in
the past three years and unless something
is done to restore normalcy in those areas, it
will likely get worse.
Of course, there are other manners of
dialogue and solutions that need to be
adopted in order to bring this impasse
totally under control; solutions that focus on
long-term results to the problem and the
fundamental issues that gave birth to the
crisis itself has to be tackled. A state of
emergency has a time-limit and therefore
has a short-term effect and short term gain.
Therefore, in addition to placing the state of
emergency, the government must
immediately sit down and identify what is
driving this upsurge of violence in these
respective areas and address the best way
to bring an end to it, otherwise when the
emergency is eventually lifted, it will be
‘violence’ business as usual.
To show sincerity in its wish to end the
violence, the government should
immediately make an undertaking to release
the innocent women and children that have
been detained without cause in the quest to
clampdown on the guerrillas.
Government should further undertake to
rebuild and relinquish the Mosques and
properties that belonged to the Jamā’a Ahl
al-sunnah li-da’wa wa al-jihādmovement
before the Borno state government under the
leadership of Ali Modu Sheriff launched its
offensive against them, before the murder of
their leader Imam Mohammed Yusuf. And
most importantly, the on-going trial of the
security operatives who murdered Imam
Mohammed Yusuf and Alhaji Buji Foi should
be intensified, together with the arrest and
prosecution of the government officials who
allegedly ordered their execution. Those
actions would show the sincerity and
commitment of government to tackle the
root of this problem and bring it to an end.
Now that the presidency has expressed
determination to root out the insurgents in
the affected areas, the good people of those
states should endeavor to cooperate with
the authorities in order to bring an end to
the horror that surrounds them every day.
To restore law and order to the states,
people should be able to give accurate and
dependable information as well as advice to
all seekers of peace.
It is expected that if the society as a whole
resolves to end the crisis today, there will be
no more killing or kidnapping of our
peopletomorrow. If the communities do not
provide a safe haven for those who are out
to disrupt peace, there will be no place for
any criminals to hide. Our brothers that
have turned renegades should also be
persuaded to embrace peace and end the
killings of innocent people.
The security officials deployed in the three
states ought to understand that democracy
is still in place in Nigeria as a whole and
even though a state of emergency has been
declared in those states, we are still a
democracy and overzealousness of any kind
should by no means be exercised or
tolerated. The authorities themselves cannot
use lawlessness to fight lawlessness
because violence begets and encourages
more violence.
One prays that we will soon see an end to
the violence and hopes that the government,
in enacting this state of emergency can
tackle the mayhem in the troubled areas in
the most responsible manner and be
committed to placing every resource at their
disposal towards winning this war in a way
that is in the best interest of the collective.
The current rate of violence dictated for
more to be done and stronger action to be
employed. The situation, especially in Borno
State, could not have been expected to
continue the way it was going without a
response commensurate with the wanton
acts of violence and lawlessness; it is a
response that is necessary to halt the
current spike in the hostile activity of
insurgents in the shortest possible time.
Desperate acts require desperate measures.
So, even though the method is not ideal
under our democracy, I can appreciate the
current declaration of government to be
more than a panic response. I do not see it
through the lens of opposition, creed or
tribe; I see it simply as a “state of
emergency to slate the insurgency.”

Ms. Musawa, a syndicated columnist, writes
a weekly column for premiumtimesng.com
from London. She can be reached via twitter
@hanneymusawa