“Best Was Not Good Enough”: Securing, Not Rhetoricing Citizens and Businesses -An Elegy to Nigerian Presidency

Since 2015 that President Muhammadu Buhari has taken over political leadership in Nigeria, there is nothing making closer or farther from the public than insecurity. From professionals to members of the civil society and non-governmental organisations, the message has been that President and security chiefs need to do more in the area of qualitative security provision. On a number of times, Nigerians and other nationals have had the course to seek knowledge about the level of insecurity and express their feelings about the incessant killings, kidnappings among other crimes. This, when the President acted, has led to feuds between the Presidency and concerned stakeholders.

There is a need for the President and cabinet members, including heads of security related agencies to increase processes and equip people being used for securing the lives and properties with the right practices. This has become imperative in lieu of citizens’ understanding of insecurity through the President since 2015. President and concerned stakeholders should realise that “a failed state is a political body that has disintegrated to a point where basic conditions and responsibilities of a sovereign government no longer function properly. A state can also fail if the government loses its legitimacy even if it is performing its functions properly.

“The term ‘State failure’ is only useful as a basis for investigation into human security – that is, a state’s ability or willingness to function in a manner conducive to the welfare of the majority of its citizens. If we ask for whom the state is failing, and how, we can understand the lived realities and coping strategies of the affected population, as well as the role of non-state actors.”  It is high time that the President and others stop rhetoricing Nigerians and businesses because a failed state cannot be viewed in isolation from insecurity. Understanding this is crucial to finding solutions to problems of insecurity, development and governance.

Lives and properties of citizens and other nationals cannot continue to be played with rhetorical messages such as “great concern over the declining security situation in the country” and “extremely unhappy about what is happening”. Nigerians know these and that formed part of the reasons they elected Buhari in 2015. President needs to move beyond expressing anger at the security chiefs’ performance. Nigerians need actions. Businesses need actions. When this happens, they would prosper using their own creativity and innovation supported by God’s favour. Enough of judicial, deliberative and epideictic oratories. Concerned stakeholders should do the needful and save us all.

Exhibit 1: Select Deaths per Category

Exhibit 2: Keywords Density in a 3,544 Words 2020 Democracy Day Speech