By Anselm Okolo
Sokoto state is famed for the sultanate. Its arid desert plains provide an asphyxiating allure for a first time visitor to the state. Deep in the dry Sahel region and surrounded by sandy savannah and isolated hills marks it out for lovers of monarchical history and architecture, royal dance and splendour.
With rising incidents of insecurity across the country and the intractable hotbed of insurgents around the north eastern flank of the country, this normally quiet farming state has been in the news for a different kind of reason.
Recent acts of banditry, especially in the eastern parts of the state have assaulted the peace and sombre tranquillity erstwhile taken for granted in the state. In several organised night time attacks across over 60 villages recently, these bandits had attempted to overrun the state but for the timely intervention of the Governor of the state Rt Hon Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.
Shocked by the level of carnage by the bandits, Governor Tambuwal quickly mobilized security operatives in rapid response joint reconnaissance operations across the state and especially around areas invaded by the marauding bandits. Results were swift. Many of the bandits were arrested and now awaiting trial.
Addressing a State Executive Council meeting in May in Sokoto, Governor Tambuwal vowed that things must be done differently in Sokoto concerning security. He announced that a new security mechanism will be introduced in the state. Under the new plan, which is a novel in the country, he said all hands, resources and institutions would be mobilized to ensure that rising incidents of insecurity are nipped in the bud. He said the security mechanism will ensure swift response by security outfits, intelligence gathering by the people led by the traditional institutions and youth groups, to advise and support deployment by security outfits in the state.
Other planks on which the new security mechanism will stand are regular and wide consultation of stakeholders, launch of a new state vigilante security outfit and intelligence sharing by security outfits.
It was in following on the planks of the new security mechanism, that Governor Tambuwal held frank and incisive consultative meetings with youths and traditional rulers, across the state recently. Governor Tambuwal said at the opening of the meeting with students and youths, that the meeting was part of government’s response mechanism to banditry and kidnappings.
Unveiling other salient aspects of the new security architecture to the students and youths leaders, Governor Tambuwal said the youths must own and drive the new policy to avoid a repeat of the nocturnal attacks by the bandits in the state.
The new security mechanism is novel in its boldness and allocation of responsibilities to government, youths and students, security agencies and the traditional institution in the state. Governor Tambuwal promised at the parley that his administration will fulfil all of it’s own aspects within a record time.
The government is already doing so. At a recent ceremony in Sokoto, Governor Tambuwal inaugurated 98 specially formatted pick-up vehicles for distribution to security agencies in the state, and added another 15 a few days later, to improve their abilities to safeguard lives and property in the state. It will further help security personnel chase and apprehend bandits who may insist on continuing their wicked acts in the state.
“This is why we have procured these specially fitted vehicles to support the operational efficiency of the security outfits” To further support their operations, he said the state government will very soon establish a state vigilante outfit, to increase physical presence of security on the ground and enhance collaboration with local institutions and individuals on intelligence gathering at the rural level.
“Traditional rulers and residents of towns are closest to where these acts of insecurity occur and they know one another and so more able to identity new faces when they enter their communities” he said adding “this is why they have very critical roles to play in this new security mechanism, we are not going to play politics with this”
Another novel idea canvassed by Governor Tambuwal is the establishment of a legal framework to compel landlords to keep a record of tenants in their houses or buildings. This also requires a very strong association of tenants and persons living together in various communities.
But Governor Tambuwal is also convinced that Federal Government must provide additional training and functional logistics for its security agencies in the state, to assist the officers and men carry out their constitutional mandates effectively. For in the wisdom of the crafters of the 1999 Constitution, most of these security agencies are domiciled operationally in the Federal Government. And although states have a lot to do, they are hamstrung by the limits imposed on them by the Constitution.
In addition he argued that the time had come for the federal government to recruit more personnel to fill existing gaps in the security sector of the country. According to him, the rising incidents of insecurity in the country, demanded additional men on the ground.
This would not be the first time Governor Tambuwal would be drawing attention to the need for a total overhaul of the security architecture for the country. Addressing the National Executive Council meeting of the Nigerian Union of Journalists in Sokoto in 2018, long before the recent wave of banditry in the state, he had called for the creation of state police to complement what the police was doing.
“Whether we like it or not, there is seeming justification for the state police and there is seeming justification for state governments to have some measure of control on security personnel” he added rightly as it has turned out today, “everything is wrong with our nation and we must as a matter of urgency rise to the challenges”
The challenge according to him at the occasion included President Muhamadu Buhari mustering the political will to sack the present Service Chiefs. He was convinced the Service Chiefs had run out of ideas on confronting the worsening security situation in the country.
“Providing security lies squarely on government, particularly the federal government. We must call a spade by its name. The President has to do the needful, we have qualified people who can bring fresh ideas to the nation’s security situation”
Consultation and advocacy are two strong vehicles on which Governor Tambuwal plans to rest the success of his new security mechanism. As a result, a comprehensive list of consultative meetings with all stakeholders in the state has been drawn up. The ones with traditional rulers and youths and students have taken place. So also is that with the federal leadership led by President Buhari.
Satisfied with the outcome of the consultative meeting which held recently in Abuja with Mr President, he returned to Sokoto and assured the citizens of the state of President Buhari’s pledge and commitment to fighting insecurity in the state. The consultation is already bearing fruits.
Mr President recently dispatched the leadership of the entire security agencies to visit the state and assess progress. Those in the entourage of the National Security Adviser for the visit include inspector General of Police, Muhammad Adamu, Director General of Department of State Service Yusuf Magaji Bichi, Director General National Intelligence Agency, Ahmad Rufai Abubakar and Chief of Defence Intelligence, Air Vice Marshall Mohammed Saliu Usman.
Tambuwal told the delegation that his administration would “collaborate with the Inspector General of Police for full implementation and success of community policing”. Towards this end the State’s Community Policing Advisory Committee was recently inaugurated.
He assured the delegation that “we here in Sokoto are ready and fully prepared to give our 100 percent support for this mission to succeed in order to restore normalcy and peace.”
He said there was already synergy among all the security agencies working in Sokoto state as amplified by a new security mechanism of the state government.
“They work together and we work together with them. And, the common objective is to re-secure the state, in particular, in the areas where we are having all of these challenges,” the Governor said.
He expressed gratification to President Buhari for dispatching the team to his state and his prompt response when the crisis broke out recently.
The Governor described the visit as a “soothing balm” that will “send some signal to our people that Mr. President has indeed promised, is responding and considering our appeals to him when I visited some weeks back”
Another important component of Governor Tambuwal’s new security plan is enforcement of sanctions for disobeying the law. On this, Governor Tambuwal is requesting the National Assembly to enact stiffer penalties for possession of illegal arms in the country.
“Like a death sentence or life imprisonment should be prescribed for unlawful possession of arms. This is the only way we can have peace in this country,” he argued but added that before enforcement of the law people should be given some time to wilfully surrender their arms to the government.
“Those in possession of unlicensed arms should go and register them and if the arms cannot be licensed, they should be surrendered to government and the government will pay them,” he said. Those that fail to heed the call must be made to face the full sanction of the law.
To ensure that his new security mechanism to its fullest, he said one thing he said must happen is information sharing among security outfits in the state. Tambuwal says “it will only work well if the people and the security agencies work together for the common good” and so “you must share intelligence among yourselves to ensure effective restoration of peace and security in the State” he advised at the ceremony where the first set of 98 vehicles were handed out to the agencies in Sokoto.
To facilitate information sharing amongst security the outfits and between citizens, he said the state government would very soon set up a fully equipped Communication Control Centre.
On the desirability of the State Vigilante Group he said its time had come. One of its benefits would be its ability to deploy very quickly to any troubled spot in the state. “It will be manned by indigenes of the state who know the terrain like the back of their hands, this will enhance intelligence gathering and use” he added.
He assured that the security group would operate within the ambit of the law and in conjunction with the security agencies, so that “they will not take laws into their hands”.
Expanding his sensitisation on his new security mechanism, he urged citizens of the state to be vigilant at all times and avoid playing politics with issues surrounding insecurity, health and the traditional institution.
Speaking on the new security mechanism a youth leader in the state, Iliyasu Badawa praised Governor Tambuwal’s “bold response to the killings and destruction of property” adding “I am more pleased with the establishment of the state vigilante group, the police alone cannot handle this situation” but suggested that “only youths and experienced citizens of the state should be recruited to work under it”
- Anselm Okolo is a journalist based in Abuja