NDA TERRORIST ATTACK: IT IS TIME TO FEAR BY OLA ABDULMUMMINI

I used to be brave and optimistic that we can overcome our security challenges as I felt those at the top must have seen, heard and learnt enough by now to be able to make informed choices when it comes to tackling insecurity in Nigeria.

This optimism was apparently misplaced and we are sinking deeper into the morass of indecision and fatalistic acceptance of inevitable defeat by terrorists, euphemistically referred to as hoodlums, bandits and kidnappers by government agencies.

My fear stems from pervasive insecurity bedevilling our country and the tepid response of those tasked with addressing security challenges. I thought things couldn’t get worse than localized insurgency. Now kidnaping of hapless Nigerians for ransoms in cash and kind have been mainstreamed with terrorists now engaged in mass abductions of school children, demanding and collecting ransoms in millions, motorbikes, recharge cards and food items while our leaders pretended the abducted kids are being taken to Pluto and other exotic locations on excursions; and security agencies including the army look impotently on until the recent attack at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) that led to the killing of two officers and abduction of another, now rumoured to have also been killed.

The presence and activities of terrorists in Nigeria are well-known facts but as usual, our leaders seem to not consider the undesirable elements enough threat to our existence as a nation or priority.

The terrorists started creating fear in the hearts of the populace by indiscriminately destroying homes, imposing ‘taxes’ to allow them farm and killing them. The government elected to call them ‘bandits’ and assured us they were on top of the situation and urged calm. We suspected that they were not on top of anything  but gave them the benefit of doubt as usual.

When the terrorists started to attack security personnel and make veiled threats, they were still referred to as bandits in the usual manner of playing the ostrich with security emergencies and hoping the problem would disappear without them taking any action.

Since Nigerians got tired of the usual blame shifting by the authorities on everyone and everything else other themselves, the government has been scrambling for who to blame for our myriad problems to no avail. Facing national challenges squarely and providing solutions has never been their forte. I wonder what  would have been the response of an Obasanjo government to this outrage against our national pride.

The terrorists have been making inroads into our psyche and sending not too subtle messages about their intentions for long and, as usual, key decision makers pretended that everything was okay and behaved like deaf, dumb and blind village dunces.

In a dress rehearsal for the NDA attack, the terrorists kidnapped thirty-nine students of the Federal School of Forestry located directly opposite the hallowed confines of the defence academy and the military pretended to be deaf and dumb while the poor parents of the students lamented, wept and begged for mercy which they got from neither the abductors nor government. A number of the students were killed by the terrorists to demonstrate seriousness and  brutality of their criminal business.

The distraught parents got the murderous point of the abductors and borrowed, emptied bank accounts, scraped, begged and sold properties to pay off the devilish terrorist/bandits before their children were released.

The government still remained aloof at both the federal and state levels.

All the measures taken by the Kaduna State government pointed to conscious efforts to avoid direct confrontation with the terrorists instead of arranging to have their hideouts invaded and cleared.

What exactly are the government and security agencies scared of when it comes to wiping out the terrorists masquerading as bandits in Nigeria? The answer to this might just help us unravel why terrorists continue to thrive while creating a trail of sorrows, tears and blood all over the country but particularly in the Northeast and Northwest regions. The terrorists grew more brazen by the day, striking fear into the hearts of every thinking person while those at the top become more isolated from the masses.

The Nigerian Defence Academy is the elite training centre for future officers of the armed forces of Nigeria and taking the battle there, inflicting casualties on our forces and taking an officer hostage was a big insult to our military.

The attack also exposed the acute levels of poor preparation and emergency response among our security agencies. It is inconceivable that military personnel slept while bandits launched an attack on a key military institution with no measured response from our troops.

Since the bandits allegedly operated without hindrance and escaped unhurt, we can safely assume that the troops have no functional emergency response plans in place to effectively counter such occurrence. The poor response became even more worrying given the presence of so many military formations including a whole army division in Kaduna.

It is a failure of intelligence gathering for large number of armed terrorists to be able to move and reach the NDA undetected and unchallenged. Now we know why bandits and terrorists are able to move large number of  kidnapped students around without being discovered.

This begs the question of what exactly the government would have done had the bandits managed to kidnap hundreds of NDA cadets? Would the government have agreed to pay ransom or leave the cadets to their fate or allow their parents to resolve with the bandits?

Would the government have the decency to admit it has failed in the discharge of its duty to secure the nation?

This is a big shame on the army as an institution and the entire security architecture of Nigeria. Their sycophancy is responsible for this insult to their integrity and professionalism. The armed forces turned itself to  a political appendage of government long ago, licking the backsides of those in power while refusing to remain apolitical.

The error of judgement and deplorable response of allowing bandits to attack and escape from the School of Forestry right in front of NDA bolstered the terrorists courage to attack the Defence Academy itself in apparent attempt to kidnap military cadets who are mostly from influential homes with parents able to pay huge sums to free their children/wards from the clutches of kidnappers who must have been salivating at the prospects of the ransom to be collected. They might be lucky next time if we sleep off and allowed them regroup.

In the best army tradition, an insult like this must be addressed in the most decisive manner possible. All soldiers who can move must be mobilized to attack these bandits and teach them a lesson they will never forget. This is a morale boosting opportunity to appeal to the professional pride of troops and get them to redeem the image of the armed forces by crushing the terrorists once and for all.

Soldiers must be unleashed against the bandits and allowed to deal with them in the language they understand to prevent a recurrence or else, the next attack may be against the Staff college or to capture the Chief of Army Staff.

The Nigerian army has become soft all in a bid to please those at the top whose body language has never been in favour of decisive action against the criminals. A whole two-star General was killed and the army behaved as if all it lost was a stray dog.

Locations near military formations were attacked and nothing happened too. The bandits are not scared of our soldiers anymore because military commanders have become complacent, allegedly taking orders from shadowy civilian power mongers without constitutional authority who call themselves ‘The Presidency’ and give orders on behalf of the president.

August 24, 2021 is a day of shame which must be avenged with ‘A Day of Rage’ against the bandit/terrorists who invaded the NDA. Their heads must roll to remove this shame or else, the military may find itself taking orders from terrorist leadership in the near future.

The attack clearly reflects a nation on autopilot where the ruling elite enjoyed an Arabian night of debauchery while a huge fire raged, threatening to consume the fortress.

This is the time to show the terrorists who is in control. The army has been dealt a series of dirty slaps by criminals and needs to respond in kind, not turn the other cheek. The image of the army has been damaged nationally by this attack and the response  will also reflect on the international perception of the Nigerian armed forces. A meek approach to an insult of this magnitude can only further embolden the terrorists and the next time they strike, it may be more disastrous.

Nigeria has descended to a new low with this attack and the whole country needs  to pause and reflect because, like an ill wind that blows no one any good, the terrorists will attack more and more brazenly and continue to upgrade their targets until their sinister motives are achieved and it won’t be pretty for everyone except those within their cursed circle or those that share their warped interpretation of the holy books.

They have our attention now and that of the people in power and must be basking in the euphoria of successfully bridging NDA security and murdering and kidnapping soldiers. The families  of the deceased officers are grieving while that of the missing one wait in fear of the unknown.

Can we continue to live like this in Nigeria and expect progress?

The consequences of giving terrorists the impression that they could reenact the Taliban takeover of Kabul in Nigeria will be dire and bloody and may be the final proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. It may be the death knell of our dear Nigeria as a nation.

Terrorists are animals that see nothing wrong in imposing their way of life, beliefs and politics on others. Same applies to their sponsors, facilitators and sympathizers.

But will other Nigerians that do not believe in the extremist ideology of the terrorists agree to share the same country with them? How many lives and limbs must be lost before our terrorists in high and low places understand that not everyone would share a country with them? Few millions?

We are watching the chaos in Kabul and wondering how they got to that level after twenty years of Western influence and babysitting but we also need to understand that a similar situation in Nigeria will be fifty times worse. Those that will be able to escape are the same elites causing these problems. They have access to private jets while most of them already have their second or third passports ready for when push comes to shove.

No one should be under the illusion that what happened in Afghanistan could not happen here. We never thought bandits would be bold enough to attack the Nigerian Defence Academy, did we? But they did and will attack other military installations and institutions if not stopped.

The apparent motive for this attack was to put the government on notice of what they intend to do in future. It was a clear message to the military that the terrorists can and will strike anywhere and at anytime without fear of repercussions from any quarters.  This silly impression must be corrected forthwith.

No serious government offers the olive branch to terrorists without eventually falling. The only option to stop them is by raining fire and brimstone on their heads. They want to become martyrs so they can go to paradise to marry seven virgins and it is the duty of any responsible government to speed them along so that the rest of them can realize that the only place they will go is the hellfire of our armed forces.

The time for sycophantic hustling is over now if the military will redeem itself.

The NDA attack was not an ordinary slap on the face our all Nigerians but a ‘we are coming for you’ message from terrorists. It was meant to rattle the military, create general panic and despondency among civilians and prepare our minds for a possible Afghanistan styled ‘rush to Kabul’.

What happened in Kabul was planted by corruption, watered by unresponsive leadership that abdicated responsibility to foreigners and harvested with the disgrace of the president running away like a criminal and watching his presidential palace overran by Taliban fighters who rubbed salt upon his injury by having their meal inside the president’s office.

The Nigerian terrorists that attacked the NDA know the usual ‘we have the means to deal with the bandits if they don’t desist from their attacks’ statement will be issued and that will be the end of it until they do something more brazen. This won’t the end of attacks on military institutions and formations if government response remains the same.

If military institutions and are no longer safe from terrorists masquerading as bandits, who among ordinary civilians can have the confidence of safety in our homes and places of work? The time to be afraid is here for all of us.

Ola Abdulmummini is a seasoned security analyst with over two decades experience in Post-conflict Reintegration and Community Reconciliation. He writes from Lagos and can be reached by email via Infocrrdpi2021@gmail.com.

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