PSJ UK joined Dr. Alex Vines and Mr. Peter Obi, the Nigerian presidential
candidate of the Labour Party at his just concluded Chatham House event on the
16th of January 2023. As an independent organization focused on providing
solutions to the insecurities and injustices plaguing the country, we paid keen
attention to Mr. Obi’s policies on security, justice system and the
anti-corruption agenda.
It was significant to note that Mr. Obi acknowledged the devastating
security situation in the first part of his speech which read- “We have
alarming insecurity that has led to the loss of many lives and properties,
significant decline in food and economic output, immense trauma that has
compromised the mental health of communities, and in some cases, irredentist
pressures and disaffection with the Nigerian project”.
He rightly identified some of the offshoots of insecurity in Nigeria,
however, he seemed to have missed one of the most critical byproducts of
insecurity which is the internal displacement of people and property (IDP).
Nigeria has a population of 2.7 million (Statistica, 2020) internally
displaced citizens, falling shortly behind Iraq and Afghanistan. We hope
that his government does not trivialize the Internally displaced and will
continue to work toward solutions to curb insecurity and return these Nigerians
safely to their homes or what is left of them for them to rebuild.
This review will not fail to mention that during the Q&A session, he
mentions IDPs as a response- “As long as we have some Nigerians in IDP
camps,” he said, “we are all IDPs.” With bandits, herdsmen, and
terrorists still a fixture in the Nigerian state, the IDP camps’ recruiting
channels remain open.
His speech captured succinctly the core reasons for security failure in
Nigeria which read- “The growing insecurity in Nigeria is not because the enemy
is formidable, it is rather because of lack of focused leadership, ineffective
security governance structure and poor coordination from the centre” to this we
add, the lack of accountability from those in whose hands the security
apparatus has been entrusted.
With the magnitude of the ravaging insecurity in Nigeria, the service chiefs
whose performance has been below par, such as the former and current chiefs of
Naval Staff, Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas CFR
and Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo under whose leadership several expositions of
oil theft has come to light should have been relieved of his duties and made to
face trial.
This should apply to other security heads. Mr. Obi spoke extensively on his
commitment to fighting corruption which we hope he upholds across the board
especially to those who he appoints to rebuild the country with him if
elected.
He further includes “pursuing a robust reform of the security governance
structure with a strong coordinating mechanism that assures that all levels of
government – federal, state, and local with 3-level policing structure as a
part of his plans toward curbing insecurity”.
This is a commendable expansion that has been practiced by several countries
such as Canada which practices the three levels of police services: municipal,
provincial, and federal. However, if the underlying issues of mode of
recruitment, appropriate training, funding, re-orientation, discipline,
citizen-security equipment like body cameras are not addressed, the
decentralization would have been an effort in futility.
We commend Mr. Obi’s commitment to a stronger justice system as a part of
his speech which read- “I also plan here to speak on institutions and how the
leadership we offer can facilitate the evolution of stronger institutions, with
the rule of law a key anchor of Nation building in Nigeria”.
His commitment to a stronger rule of law will bring justice to the killers
of Deborah Samuel, current and former Boko Haram militants and various degrees
of crime and indiscipline in Nigeria no matter how trivial. A stronger justice
system will facilitate a safer society where the symbol of justice is blind to
tribe, religion, social status and political affiliations.
Insecurity in Nigeria is interwoven with unemployment, lack of proper
education, religious and ethnic divides. A report submitted to the US
department of justice lay claim on the interrelationship between unemployment,
and underemployment especially among a certain age bracket, as strong breeding
grounds for crime to the tune of 22%. CNBC report that 64% of unemployed men in
their 30s have a criminal record.
To this regard, Mr. Peter Obi solidifies his resolve in strengthening the
economy through agriculture and industrialization, his commitment towards
education through public-private partnerships, and his government’s obligation
to provide employment opportunities, means of trade and relevant skills set to
Nigerians. If elected we encourage Mr. Obi to stay strong on his commitment in
these areas as a continued solution to insecurity.
We commend and hold strong opinions of Mr. Obi’s speech at the Chatham
house, however, we more than ever look forward to the actualization of these
promises. The giddy reception of Peter Obi’s Chatham House speech echoes the
speech Major General Muhammadu Buhari gave here in February 2015.
“Let me assure you,” he promised, “that if I am elected
president, the world will have no cause to worry about Nigeria as it has had to
recently; that Nigeria will return to its stabilising role in West Africa; and
that no inch of Nigerian territory will ever be lost to the enemy.”
Buhari promised to lead from the front in battling this insecurity and
poverty in the land. Eight years on, Nigerian poverty figure which Buhari
decried at 60 million has now risen to 130 million. While the menace of Boko
Haram reduced, armed bandits and killer herdsmen became stronger under Buhari’s
watch and agitations in the southeast reached dangerous heights. Buhari did not
win the war on terror nor on poverty nor on infrastructures nor on corruption
nor on health nor on education.
On democracy, Buhari claimed to be “a former military ruler and now
converted democrat who is ready to operate under democratic norms.” He
didn’t obey court orders and when contradicted by Twitter, he banned the site
for more than eight months. Will Mr. Obi prove to be a doer of his words or is
he a younger, more eloquent version of President Buhari? Only time shall tell.
This review is not an endorsement as we maintain absolute neutrality in the
election, we wish Mr. Peter Obi the best of luck as we promise to work with him
in the identified areas, if elected, to build a strong, safe and reliable
society for everyone.