One man, one gun; one woman, one rifle. The above, Professor Itse Sagay appears to be saying, might be the panacea to Nigeria’s seemingly untameable security crisis, as insurgents, bandits and other criminals continue to seize the country by the jugular.
Given the worsening insecurity situation in the country, the Chairman of Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay has called on the President, the National Assembly and all concerned authorities to empower every Nigerian to carry arms. It will help to make for a balance of terror, he insists, in the current situation whereby the country is gradually sliding into a Hobbesian state where life is brutish and where might is right, no thanks to the activities of kidnappers, bandits, terrorists and herdsmen.
“I have made this proposal before,” the Professor of Law advised VINCENT KALU. “We have to all be armed. Communities have to be armed. Individuals should be armed so that all of us coming to assault you will know that he too has no hazard of surviving.”
In the interview, he additionally known as on the government to force Sheikh Ahmed Gumi to guide security agencies to the home of the bandits in the forest. He expressed his reviews on different burning country wide problems. Excerpts:
Nigeria is being stretched to a breaking point. What gave rise to this?
The u . S . Is truly stretched. I actually have never seen this united states of america like this before, wherein at each corner, there is anyone committing one violent crime or the other. Although it's miles greater within the North, the South isn't safe. In the Southwest now, you may’t journey through avenue because people will bounce out of the wooded area and stop after which abduct you. I even have in no way seen a element like this; certainly the Federal Government ought now not simply to claim a nation of emergency. It should have a chief approach session on this. A community might be dozing, and then a few people would simply come killing them. I actually have made this suggestion earlier than: we must all be armed so that anybody coming to assault you may recognise that he too has no risk of surviving. Communities ought to be armed; individuals ought to be armed. That is balance of terror. For example, if as a farmer, a village inside the Southwest is below the chance of Fulani herdsmen who one governor has said were entitled to wield AK-forty seven rifles which they convey about, then I need to carry mine so that once they come to my farm, we confront each different. He, with gun, and, I with gun, then he will recognize that it's miles risky to come to my farm. At that level, whilst there is certainty that the man whom he is despatched to attack can face up to and use identical force, you may see that this aspect will die down.
I usually wonder whilst the youths cry out in various locations, along with my personal Delta and different regions within the East and West that the Fulani herdsmen have overtaken our villages, our farms. Why can’t those youths acquire collectively and are seeking for arms and combat again? People need to fight again with palms and not with bare hands. The federal authorities have to think about loosening the rules governing armsbearing and allow men and women and communities that are beneath attack to have hands to guard themselves. Like in America, everybody has palms; if you are going to raid somebody’s house, you recognize that it is a big threat. Or, if it is a farmer and he is armed, it is a massive chance going to kill him, to break his plants, to rape his wife or carry your cows to return and devour all that he has spent an entire 12 months planting, probably with financial institution facility, spoil the whole lot so that he has nothing to consume due to the fact you have got cows? No, everyone is entitled to defence.
When Ondo governor, requested the herdsmen to depart Ondo forests, it generated plenty tension. Some Northerners said the governor become wrong as Nigeria’s constitution guarantees freedom of motion wherein all people can stay wherein he or she likes, however the governor said it doesn’t mean you coming to wreck my investments. What is the prison interpretation?
There are so many freedoms and lots of legal entitlements. Your freedom of association or freedom of movement is situation to different policies too. Like this question of forest reservations, the law allows you to have reservations. The whole idea is to maintain certain species from being destroyed. Government can make a regulation that no one need to stay in such area so that they would not begin to cut down such trees or kill the animals. There is nothing like unchanneled freedom of motion. You can’t say that due to the fact you have got freedom of motion, you simply percent all your things into my sitting room and say: ‘I even have come; I actually have freedom of motion underneath the Nigeria Constitution.’ What kind of freedom is that? Your freedom ends wherein my right begins. So the freedom of movement ends wherein such legal guidelines that manipulate reservations start. So there's no such unchanneled freedom, otherwise there could be chaos.
Since banditry started out, there is the affect that the navy and security groups don’t realize wherein these bandits are. But we've visible Sheikh Gumi walk into their domicile for negotiations. Some argue that this seems to be a contradiction. What is your view?
It is a certainly a contradiction. Gumi ought to be made to tell the secuirty organizations where these people are so that operatives can organise themselves and wipe them out wherever they're. He have to be made to inform them. To create a scenario in which the impression is for the reason that bandits and kidnappers are valid operators with whom we ought to be negotiating, destroys the society. What this component says is that there is no boundary to misconduct: it approach that any misconduct you could perform turns into legitimized. That is the affect. In this sort of case, existence becomes brutish and nasty because there may be no regulation; there is right, which is simply the right to hold fingers. Once you could use your palms and effectively do some thing dastardly, then you definitely are recognised and you could keep on doing it. It is just now not acceptable.
Sheikh Gumi canvassed amnesty for the bandits in the mold of the kind granted Niger Delta militants, as a manner of ensuring peace. Do you assist his proposition?
It is a very exceptional thing. The Niger Delta militants had been now not killing people. Yes, they did some kidnapping. But they didn’t go to school to kidnap schoolchildren. They targeted oil corporations and those expatriates running for oil businesses. It isn't always as though I assist it, however it is not the equal element. Those human beings had been engaged in political and monetary protest. They have been not just engaged in pure criminality to make gain out of evil.
People are asking: why is it hard to declare the herdsmen and the bandits terrorist businesses?
I don’t realize. If they are not stopped now, they'll deliver this united states down. Already, the economic system is being affected. If where you're doesn’t have an airport, the elite will not cross there; there may be no business there. Those inside the elite group now travel by air; you can’t take the threat of going with the aid of road and experience the nation-state. I actually have legal professionals in this firm. Every time they must go with the aid of road to anywhere, our hearts are in our mouths as to whether or not they might come again. That isn't always an economic manner of surviving and dwelling. So the roads will turn out to be being empty because you have those terrorists. There is not any different element to call them. There had been times where they hijacked buses, gathered all the people, trekked with them miles into the forest, raped the girls, starved all and sundry nearly to demise and demanded money from relatives. And, if the cash did now not come or come early enough, they killed the people. For those who are a piece antique and can't walk rapid sufficient into the bush, they kill them. That is definitely unacceptable and I actually need the Federal Government to deal with this thing in a completely drastic way so that they will understand that what they may be doing is insupportable.
Are you not scared of the rising cases of ethnic warlords? In the East, you have got Nnamdi Kanu; inside the West, you've got Sunday Igboho; within the Northeast, there may be Shekau, chief of Boko Haram; inside the Northwest, the bandits have a frontrunner, likewise the herdsmen, they've a pacesetter?
It is disturbing. I will make an excuse for Sunday Igboho; he seems to try and correct the situation. He is rising on behalf of his humans to place down a situation wherein they're being oppressed by using marauders, robbers and bandits. He is not legitimately empowered to accomplish that, however in which folks that are empowered to soak up such duty are not doing some thing. There is a vacuum which such humans upward push up to and try and bring justice which those empowered to achieve this aren't doing. So, I don’t classify Igboho as one of those you are speaking approximately.
Yes, we've a problem on this u . S .. Northeast, we have Boko Haram; Northwest, we've got bandits and inside the South and Middle Belt, you've got herdsmen. So there may be no peace; the complete u . S . A . Is boiling. The safety companies – the military, the police, the DSS, the Civil Defence Corps, in the event that they need more recruitment into the forces, let it be performed. But this element has to be stamped out. Otherwise, Nigeria will be destroyed. I see its forthcoming break-up, specially by the time you've got humans roaming everywhere in the places. Look at what's taking place now: people who supply ingredients and meat from the North are pronouncing they're now not coming to the South due to the fact something occurred to some of their people. They are not looking at this element nicely. The South didn’t plan some thing against all people except actions people might have been taken against people who were terrorizing them. But for the sort of scenario to arise suggests that the extent of lack of confidence within the united states is so terrible that we are unconsciously developing a breach between the North and the South. If you say you gained’t permit meals which you promote for cash (it is not as if it's miles a present to all people) to different parts of the united states of america. Then that element will say okay, whatever that we've that is going to your very own side will no longer pass. Then very quickly we are going to have confrontations. It is a completely risky situation.
Do you see politics of 2023 election as being at the back of these?
I don’t. What is the person going to gain if this continues? There might be no u . S . A . For him to rule in 2023 due to the fact there could be chaos and anarchy everywhere. I don’t assume it's miles in every body’s interest. But you never can inform because Nigeria is a ordinary united states of america. It isn't obvious to me that any person is doing this due to 2023.
Going again, closer to the buildup to the 2015 election, that became whilst we had Boko Haram taking over some nearby authorities regions in Northeast and the eventual kidnap of Chibok schoolgirls. The equal thing appears to be repeating itself?
I don’t see absolutely everyone benefitting from it except the bandits, kidnappers, herdsmen, and many others. They are the ones gaining; no one else profits. You can’t even say that the North gains or the South gains, no. The schoolgirls taken away had been all Northern women. And, they have been taken away by Northern bandits. So there may be no discrimination amongst some of the criminals and terrorists; they're just doing it towards their personal human beings, towards anybody. The whole united states of america has to be united towards them. I still propose that communities that are usually non violent must be armed to discourage attacks by means of those terrorists.
Talking approximately corruption in the country, we have a new EFCC boss. What this indicates is that the former boss, Magu, became discovered looking. What ought to be the position of the regulation on his case?
We have now not seen the document, so we will’t sincerely conclude that he was located trying. In this form of situation, I could even want to hear what Magu and his attorneys have to say on the difficulty. From the gap that I followed the proceedings, those court cases didn’t hold fair hearing in any respect. It became one-sided prosecution. I’m sceptical of the fairness of the court cases. If you've got a tribunal of some sort, which has already appeared you as responsible before even trying you, it is not an amazing signal. That doesn’t give a excellent indication of what the file may be. I want to look the file, read it, analyse it earlier than I can come to a conclusion.
Who is behind Magu’s travails because he became applauded as giving EFCC a few biting tooth?
He did very well. I’m no longer going to mention any person. But what had been Magu’s sins? I will say there are two: one, independent-mindedness, not wanting to be controlled or his discretion and authority taken over inside the manner he pursues battle in opposition to corruption. Secondly, anybody has a candidate for that his position and they were simply watching for him to do 4 years before pushing their applicants ahead. To that volume, there was preferred agreement among some powerful human beings that Magu must go due to the fact they've their candidates. That is the element approximately Nigeria; it's miles a completely unusual u . S .. You don’t have to be a awful a person; when you have been there for occasionally, there are folks that are warming up to position somebody there, regardless of your excellence or non-excellence. Those are the two motives – unbiased-mindedness and the truth that many effective humans had candidates for that role, on no account inside the hobby of the country.
Many keep the view that Buhari is not appearing because of alleged nepotism; appointing humans from his area, not based on merit. Could it not be one of the motives the polity is overheated?
I don’t assume this is the reason, unless you are pronouncing that the humans he appointed are incompetent. Then you need to be precise. I don’t buy that. I have heard human beings accusing him of nepotism. Frankly, I assume there must be more diffusion in appointment within the security vicinity; extra humans must come from other components of the u . S . A .. But, I don’t agree that it is the motive of our secuirty problems. It is like jumping from one logic to the opposite with out proofs.
What is your finest worry for Nigeria?
It is disintegration. We are in a state of affairs wherein we are warring amongst ourselves; wherein exceptional facets representing special ethnic organizations, exclusive religions are in a kingdom of warfare or war of words with each other. There is need for consensus. There is want to agree that this u . S . Must live to tell the tale and there are sure simple minimal elements or issues that need to exist. One is safety. The charter recognises that the authorities is obliged to provide the 2 most important matters that it is constituted for: secuirty and welfare. So, in that region, we're failing and we want to take pressing steps to address it. I was very satisfied once I examine what the President stated: that the abduction of these Zamfara schoolgirls would be the ultimate. Which method, he has something up his sleeves; he has had enough. That is the way we should view most of these violent assaults on innocent people and communities. We should make sure we take steps to make sure that no one has the courage to say he wants to attack another individual, network or rob another person or kidnap absolutely everyone.
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