State Police, grazing reserves… All VP said at security summit

Organized by the Senate, the summit aims among other things to provide an all-inclusive platform for finding long-term solutions to acute and long term security challenges in the country.

highlights Osinbajo’s thirty minutes speech at the security summit.

Benue killings

Nigeria entered the New Year on a tragic and bloody note; 73 persons were murdered in Benue State by persons who were suspected to be herdsmen.

To the North, in southern Kaduna, Kaduna State, a traditional ruler and his pregnant wife were murdered in their home. Down south, in Rivers, a cult murdered more than 20 innocent persons returning from a church vigil. On the 3rd of January, 14 worshippers were killed in a mosque at Gamboru, and on the 17th of January, a suicide bombing attack in Maiduguri claimed 10 lives.

These incidents immediately served as a reminder that there is no room for complacency in the task of securing Nigeria, even against the backdrop of the remarkable progress we’ve recorded in the most critical of our security challenges at a time: the fight against Boko Haram.

Boko haram defeated, seeking attention

Indeed, Boko Haram is a good starting point for a conversation about security in Nigeria as we go on to the more current and contemporary concerns we have. How a small band of religious proselytizers evolved into the biggest threat to the sovereignty of Nigeria in five decades is a question that has occupied and perhaps, even defied researchers and law enforcement agencies for years.

In 2015, when the Buhari administration took office, much of Northern Eastern Nigeria lay beneath the palpable shadow of the terrorist group. In the two and half years since then, our military has done a remarkable job, reclaiming Nigerian territory, rescuing tens of thousands of civilians, and routing Boko Haram. Today the group is a shadow of itself, forced to resort to cowardly suicide bombings and other attacks on soft targets in a desperate bid at attention-seeking.

Arrest and killing of criminals

Over the last three years, some of Nigeria’s deadliest criminal kingpins have been arrested or killed. I think credit must go to the security agencies for this. Khalid al-Barnawi, head of the al-Qaeda linked Ansaru terror group, and one of the most wanted terrorists in the world, arrested in Kogi State in April 2016; kidnap kingpin Evans (arrested in Lagos State), Dracula (arrested in Delta), Vampire (arrested in Imo last year). One of the more recent ones is Don Waney, cultist and mastermind of the New Year’s Day attack in Rivers State, killed during a joint operation by the Military and the DSS at the end of 2017. We will not relent in our efforts to bring all of these criminals and others to justice.

Government ‘fails’ to protect citizens but not deliberate

Let me preface this by saying that every Nigerian is entitled to adequate security from government for their lives and livelihoods, government may slip in that responsibility often but I must say never deliberately. Every killing demeans us as a people. Every killing undermines the authority of the State.

Although generally the security forces, the entire infrastructure, have performed creditably given their resource constraints, the problem is that in some of the worst killings, security agents were simply not there in time. Whenever that happens as was the case in Logo, Guma, and Mambilla last year, the failure to protect the lives of the innocent is inexcusable, and we cannot rationalize or diminish that failure of our security apparatus of government in any way.

Killings not because Buhari is Fulani

This is why the suggestion sometimes, that because President Buhari is Fulani he has ignored the killings by herdsmen is both untrue and unfair. In any event, herdsmen and farmer clashes resulting in deaths have been with us for at least two decades.

And I have worked with him for three years now, and I do not know of any one issue that has given him more concern or on which he has spent more time with Security Chiefs as this particular issue.

Actions on ending the attacks

The approach of the government has been to deploy mobile police forces to troubled areas and also both the army and airforce, the Nigerian Army formations and units in Benue State for example, especially 72 Special Forces Battalion, have consistently maintained Forward Operating Bases at the flash areas covering Guma, Logo, Katsina-Ala and Agatu Local Government Areas.

Accordingly, more troops were deployed and the Commander 707 Special Forces Brigade was reassigned to Taraba State for effective command and control of troops operating in the entire Benue/Taraba general area. And next week, the Nigerian Army will flag-off Exercise Ayem Akpatuma to checkmate the activities of armed bandits and militias in Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa and environs.

Quick dispensation of justice

One direct consequence of the scaling up of military and police presence in these parts of the country most vulnerable to attacks by armed herdsmen and other such attacks, is the arrest and detention of hundreds of suspects. And it is in this vein that we will require not only the full investigation of these cases, but also the cooperation of the Judiciary, to enable the speedy dispensation of justice, so that those who have committed these heinous offences are brought to book and are seen to have been brought to book.

Proliferation of arms

One thread running through all of the security challenges in Nigeria is the proliferation of light arms and small weapons. This age-old problem appears to have intensified in recent years on account of the fall of the Libyan Government under Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. These events unleashed large numbers of well-trained fighters, as well as the contents of Gaddafi’s armories.

Today, all across West Africa security and intelligence agencies are seeing the devastating impact of these mercenaries, and their arms and ammunition.

Complicating our situation in Nigeria, is the porous nature of our more than 4,000km of borders which allows the easy flow of illegal weapons. To combat this, we are devoting increased resources to our Customs and Immigration agencies, as well as upgrading the Presidential Committee on Small Arms and Light Weapons into a well-resourced Commission for all of the movement of arms going back and forth through our borders.

Another issue worth taking into account is the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol which Nigeria signed in 1998. This guarantees free movement to pastoralists, herders across the sub-region. As signatories to that Protocol, we are obliged not to restrict the movement of herders and their cattle from other ECOWAS countries.

This has added a further complication to the problems we already have, besides most foreign herdsmen are exposed to the firearms market noted earlier and are unknown to the local farming populace. What we are doing and must continue to do, is to ensure robust documentation of all entry and exit through our borders, and as we develop new methods of cattle breeding, we must get those coming through other countries to comply with the laws of Nigeria.

Commercial grazing reserves is the way forward

We believe when cattle is sedentary, it will improve the productivity of the cattle. Our beef cattle Sokoto Gudali adds 0.5 Kg per day while the Brahma in Brazil which is bred in a ranch adds 2.5kg per day. Our dairy cows produce 1 litre per day, whereas in other parts of Africa, there is production of almost 15 - 20 liters per day.

There is also a clear sense which I think must be appreciated, that the Federal government cannot dictate to States what to do with their land. However, in several States, especially in the North, there are duly gazette grazing reserves. A majority of these grazing reserves are degraded and are without pasture or water especially in the dry season.

Grazing routes leading to these reserves, must also be secured. The grazing reserves to be effective and operate effectively, should operate as ranches or livestock production centres on a commercial basis. The ranches will have adequate water from boreholes, salt points and pasture.

The locations would serve both as forage points, but also centres for providing extension services to boost animal care, feeding and veterinary facilities, and even abattoirs. Because the ranches are commercial ventures, cattle owners will pay for its use.

It is important to note that by and large, in consultation with stakeholders, all agree that where adequate provision is made on a commercial basis, there is no reason why there won’t be cooperation to use those ranches because there are both economic and social benefits for everyone, including herders.

13 States provide land for cattle colonies

Aside from States that have gazette grazing areas, so far about 13 States have agreed to allocate 5,000 hectares of land for the ranching or livestock production.

Let me reiterate, that on no account will any lands be seized or forcefully taken to create these ranches or grazing areas. All insinuations to that effect should be disregarded. No one is giving land to herdsmen, as is being falsely alleged. Instead, it is in our view that States that are willing and which have set aside land for development should cooperate with willing investors into commercially viable, government-supported ranches or livestock production centres for commercial use.

Osinbajo advocates state and community policing

Securing Nigeria’s over 923,768 square kilometers and its 180 million people, requires far more men and materials than we have at the moment. It also requires a continual re-engineering of our security architecture and strategies. This has to be a dynamic process.

For a country our size to meet the 1 policeman to 400 persons UN prescribed ratio, would require nearly tripling our current police force, far more funding of the police, military and security agencies is required.

Secondly, we cannot realistically police a country the size of Nigeria centrally from Abuja. State Police and other community policing methods are clearly the way to go.

Collaboration with neighbouring countries

We must intensify existing collaboration with our neighbours in the Chad Basin, especially border communities to prevent the movement of small arms, and disarming armed pastoralists and bandits who go through our borders day after day.

Leaders have a role to play

Lastly, we must avoid the dangers of allowing these conflicts to harden to religious or ethnic conflicts. This is the responsibility of political, religious and all other parts our leadership elite in Nigeria.