By Mobolaji Sanusi

“Good governance is the art of putting wise thought into prudent action in a way that advances the well-being of those governed.” —Diane Kale-Sukra

The eerie air of insecurity tormenting our national spirits in recent days has made the country an object of gibelike remarks in global politics.

The unsavoury development seems to have enervated a corrosive knob in our country’s topmost security hierarchy that has hitherto been epileptic. Encouragingly, one can only assume that the recent echoes of inspiring security vibes emanating from the nation’s federal seat of power in Abuja will, inexorably be sustained.

For everything good that is desired, whether as individuals or as a nation, its attainment must be accorded intentional primacy. This probably informs why Richie Norton, a global thinker, executive coach to several world renowned CEOs and an award-winning author and serial entrepreneur once admonished on the perils of jettisoning intentional living by individuals, leaders, and nations, when he declared: “Intentional living is the art of making our own choices before others’ choices make us.” — I add; for good or for bad like the evil choice that organized terrorists are ravaging the country with.

Recent insecurity challenges in the country are bringing out the truism in Norton’s statement and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s new approach of imbibing the hands-on/intentional technique is in this regard reassuring the public of presidential concerns and further helping in putting the rampaging terrorists on the run.

Pointers to this fact are legion: First is the president’s responsive cancellation of his earlier planned trip to South Africa to attend the G-20 summit, opting instead to sit with his security and service chiefs to take charge, direct, and give ultimatum where necessary in his bid to achieve the goal of restoring security to the country. Secondly, the president declared a state of national security emergency as I proposed in my last week’s piece. Thirdly, he ordered the withdrawal of policemen attached to supposed ‘VIPs’ in the country with immediate effect and for the first time transited his often touted state police idea from the realm of rhetoric to boldly calling on the National Assembly to immediately commence a constitutional review process in that regard. It is crassly indefensible that 11,566 newly withdrawn policemen, consequent on the presidential order, were hitherto wasting away in our system’s bid to satisfy the egocentric pride of supposed ‘VIPs’ when a large chunk of the country is inadequately policed: Fourthly, he ordered that the military and police should employ more hands: Fifthly, the president put the entire security architecture in the country on red alert, especially in troubled terrorists’ areas. Commendable deeds and actionable pronouncements which should have come earlier but the truism; better late than never applies.

A glimpse of what the consequences of being a hands-on or better put, an intentional President, unfurled immediately. Last Sunday, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara state gleefully informed an elated Nigerian public that the thirty-eight persons recently abducted during an attack on Christ Apostolic Church in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area of his state had been released. He particularly applauded the hands-on/intentional efforts of Mr. President in making the mission a reality. The DSS, in particular, under Mr Tosin Ajayi, deserves commendation in this regard. Also, last weekend, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) announced that fifty-one students from those abducted from a Catholic school in Niger state had ‘escaped’ from their captors’ captivity.

Despite the recurred kidnappings of some inhabitants of Isapa on Monday after the release on Sunday of the abducted 38 CAC church members in neighbouring Eruku, and another similar incident same Monday in Kano state, it is obviously clear to the leadership of the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Intelligence Agency, the Nigeria Police and even the terrorists that it is not business as usual with the newly adopted intentional approach of the president.

It is important for the president to take more than a special interest in how to whip the nation back to the peaceful line through his results yielding new approach. Doing this, in spite of the orchestrated machinations of his political traducers that are criminally fueling the insurgency gambit, will solidify his personal, political, and administration’s survival. This is because a president can only preside over a peacefully functioning country devoid of international interference.

The purported ‘escape’ and ‘release’ of the Niger and Kwara states abductees merely hint at how far we would have gone if the new intentional approach had come earlier.

The terrorists’ choices of kidnappings, killings, bombings, raping, and abductions that were being inflicted on us continue to reign undisturbed because we had no effective official choices thereby leading to our new moniker: “Country Of Particular Concern”—apologies to President Donald Trump of the United States of America.

Suddenly, the president’s embrace of Norton’s prescription of intentionality is yielding hopes in hopeless Nigerians whose only avenue for escaping the inept approach to insecurity issues in the country over the years is to ‘JAPA.’

However, there’s a need to acknowledge that terrorism did not start with the current administration. The ongoing banditry cum insurgency are destructive vices created in the north. Also, previous administrations did less than enough to nip this north’s originated criminality in the bud.

Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2002, reportedly combated the Boko Haram sect when it first reared its ugly head in Yobe state. But the sect reemerged in Borno state where it assumed a violent dimension in 2009. Former President Goodluck Jonathan lacked the courage that the occasion required to quell the Boko Haram insurgents in their infancy. And the kidnapped Chibok girls incident that occurred during his time clearly put Nigeria in the world’s consciousness, for the wrong reasons.

His successor, General Muhammadu Buhari, widely acknowledged to have been helped to power by the incumbent president, was a foremost activist of Fulani ethno-tribal and nepotistic sentiments. Some people, during his lifetime, actually described him as a Fulani irredentist. He never masked his odious backing for mostly armed herdsmen that were and are still largely perceived by Nigerians as bandits/terrorists with his disingenuous official policy of amnesty cum rehabilitation of purportedly ‘repentant terrorists.’

Tinubu is at the moment having his share of unabatedly orchestrated insecurity and as the monster unleashed during Jonathan’s tenure, it is sad that till now backers of these criminals, out to disturb the peace of this government and Nigerians are yet to be apprehended. They demand, with temerity, ransom through traceable mobile telephone numbers and yet, the same technology cannot be deployed by our security agencies to trace, locate, apprehend, or decimate them. Even their collaborators in the system roam freely around since we could not even address the simple but important issue of unraveling the officer(s) that ordered soldiers guiding a Kebbi state school, where intelligence showed was about to be attacked by bandits, to withdraw. Something is definitely wrong somewhere in the chain of leadership common sense in this country.

During the tenures of past and present administrations, billions of dollars budgeted to combat this menace went down the drain with nothing to show for their disbursements as insecurity continues to thrive; and with no single sponsor or perpetrator of this evil held accountable in a way acceptable to Nigerians. Such looted and wasted public funds cannot be audited simply because they are designated as ‘security spending.’

With the president’s change of tactics through the embrace of Norton’s intentionality approach, there should be no going back. And since terrorism has further assumed a more intense international dimension, there’s no way the country can easily win its negative global perception except this administration accords the issue of diplomacy the seriousness it deserves. In almost three years, it is unbecoming that in the most important capital countries of the world, the nation does not have ambassadorial presence. It is however good that the president this week sent three names of ambassadors-designate to the Senate for confirmation. The move would have been better wholesome to make up for the lost time but who knows what the president’s strategy will unveil.

Notwithstanding, our diplomatic silence in important countries for nearly three years has aggravated Trump and other world leaders’ expressed hyperbolic opinions of our insecurity challenges that are now being believed globally to be a true reflection of the nation’s insecure situation, particularly on Christian genocide.

For instance, our government, expectedly sees Trump and other leaders’ opinions on the nation’s insecurity as a distortion of reality but with no substantive ambassadors to speak and lobby for the country, it becomes vulnerable to these foreign leaders’ prejudices. We sheepishly abandon the global stage due to this avoidable diplomatic gaffe.

Any serious country must be intentional about winning an internal war that threatens its corporate existence. The destruction of the peace of the entity called Nigeria is what Boko Haram, ISWAP, and other insurgent groups across the north are planning and our government should not allow this to happen.

Political pussyfooting will not help any government at this point; except it is telling Nigerians that the country, despite the trillions expended on security matters, does not have the military might to decimate the terrorists within a specified timeframe. Questions: Why is our military allowing to lie fallow, our reportedly acquired Wing Loong ll drones that is capable of KD missiles deemed to be an equivalent of America’s Hellfire? What about our military’s T-129 ATAK helicopters that could wipe out the terrorists from their hideouts in hours?

As time tickles fast, Nigerians, within and outside the shores of this country are fast running out of patience with our government’s inability to effectively wipe out the terrorists’ threats. The perilous implications of negligent official planning that is giving this orchestrated insurgents an edge is traumatic on the wellbeing of our collective sovereignty.

This is why yours sincerely thinks Mr. President’s new policy of intentionality in his handling of security matters should be extended to other state matters begging for effective supervision; the president should also be intentional in putting in place accountable measures to instill public trust in governance processes. His presidential order regarding the withdrawal of police officers guarding VIPs in the country should be carried out to the letter because it is something that ought to have been done but delayed due to lack of political will to subdue political pressures by successive inspectors general of police.

Also, the presidential directive for the recruitment of thousands of police and military personnel should be conclusively pursued. The new recruits when enlisted and those currently serving must be well equipped and remunerated for them to effectively do the job of policing and that of protecting the country’s territory. The recruitment process must embrace vigilance in order to ensure that it is not infiltrated by northern bred Boko Haram/ISWAP members or criminal elements from other parts of the country. The system must be intentional about this very important directive.

To all Nigerians, let us be hopeful that our president will succeed in resolving the inherited insecurity challenges facing the country. The president, having achieved his professed life long ambition of becoming the leader of this country does not deserve our pity because he personally asked for the onerous job. But he deserves our prayers, understanding and cooperation as he trudges on in tackling the current challenges facing the nation.

The president’s message to the nation early this week is very clear: He assured that he “will not relent…..” and also confidently stated that “Nigerians in every state has the right to safety…” He went further to state, more importantly that under his watch, he will “secure this nation and protect our people.” I verily believe him, and so do I want fellow Nigerians to allow him realise this lofty objective of ridding our dear country of this orchestrated insecurity through his newfound intentional approach to governance.

•Sanusi, former MD/CEO of Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency is currently the managing partner of AMS RELIABLE SOLICITORS.

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