Security Situation: Three Steps Forward, One Step Backwards: The Very Recent Kidnap Snatch in Zamfara and Katsina States
by Sadeeq Shehu
In the midst of recent successive victories by our security forces, suddenly and out of the blues, bandits kidnap scores in Zamfara and Katsina and attacked a town in Sokoto.
True , the performance of our security forces have been on the upswing (not only in the NE where undeniably the terrorists are quiet) but also in other parts of the country. That’s noteworthy and commendable.
But then these bandit raids in Katsina Zamfara and Sokoto including the temerity of holding villagers forcing them to pay taxes and do forced labour. These episodic reversals and setbacks are symptomatic of an underlying malaise we refuse to acknowledge: We have too few boots on the ground; with only ordinary Hilux vehicles and very few helicopters our forces lack the mobility assets to penetrate the inaccessible areas where the bad guys are.
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Hilux is useless if terrain is rugged and interspersed with obstacles such as streams and seasonal rivers. Consequently response time is long.
We get ecstatic when our security forces prevail and we wrongly believe that our security forces have adequate human and material resources. But those victories are recorded not because of sufficient human and material resources, but in spite of huge gaps in human and material resources.
How I wish someone in Executive or Legislature or even media would ask:
1. How many security personnel do we have in total?
2. How many helicopters do all the security forces have in total (the serviceable ones ooo not the ones on calendar)
3. How many APCs does the army have and how many they are supposed to have with some 6 or 7 divisions on paper?
4. How many paratroopers/ Special forces do we have that can be dropped deep into bandit territory?
These are the kind of questions that one hopes to hear at budget sessions but you never hear them being asked.
*Shehu is retired Group Captain in the Nigerian Air Force
