Social media has gone agog following the recent release of documents by investigative journalist, David Hundeyin.
These documents that he tweeted show that the president, Muhammadu Buhari, had approved about 10 Toyota Land Cruiser Vehicles to be given to the Republic of Niger.
The minister of finance has also confirmed that indeed, Nigeria through the president has purchased vehicles worth 1.4billion naira to help Niger Republic tackle insecurity.
The minister of finance, Zainab Ahmed further said that it was within the prerogative of the president to approve this purchase of vehicles for neighbouring countries in order to tackle insecurity and that this act was nothing new.
Now, the question as to how or why luxurious vehicles such as these would be Nigeria’s President’s definition of a “security vehicle”, let us take a sneak peek into what Nigeria’s security has been looking like over the past couple of months.
On the 28th of March, 2022 at about 7:45 pm WAT, several unarmed, innocent citizens of Nigeria were attacked with their numbers running into hundreds. These passengers were on their way to Nigeria’s northwest and were attacked with most of them kidnapped around a place called Katari in Kaduna State.
Several others were injured and killed by these bandits who employed the use of bombs, firearms and other deadly weapons.
On the 19th of June, 2022, gunmen attacked unarmed worshippers in Maranatha Baptist Church and St. Moses Catholic church. Shops were looted, people were injured and a few died.
Prior to this, on the 6th of June, 2022, gunmen again attacked a catholic church at Ondo State, St. Francis Xavier Catholic church and spared almost no soul.
Children dressed in white, wrapped in innocence, elderly women and men, baring their soul before their maker, youths, our supposed hope for the future, were shot, killed, with a few brutally injured.
It was supposed to be a pentecost sunday, one that welcomed the descent of the Holy Spirit on the church but the only thing that rained that cold, sunday morning were bullets and dynamites.
Bodies were littered across the church, as though it was to be a sight for weary eyes.
Interestingly, residents of the area raised a distress call to the police to stop this brutal invasion that had the gunmen carefully taking their time to carry out.
However, no security force showed up during the attack. A source revealed that both divisions, that is the area command and the mobile police squad in Owo, Ondo state do not have operational “security” vehicles to combat situations like this.
Maybe, these obvious security issues seem too far away from home for the President of Nigeria to take notice of. Let’s bring it closer home for him.
The Kuje Custodial centre located in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory came under attack on the 5th of July, 2022.
The attackers made use of bombs and forcibly gained control of the four entry and exit points in the prison. This prison lies in the Kuje Area Council of the FCT, right outside the Abuja City centre, 47 kilometres to the Aso rock Presidential Villa and 24 kilometres to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
Just maybe, insecurity is not the forte of the Nigerian president, the Academic Staff Union of Universities have been on strike for six months now over money owed them by the government. It is also no news that Nigeria has been drowning in debt, with her head barely above water due to monies owed to other countries. At some point, the Central Bank of Nigeria which happens to be the apex bank, suggested extracting some funds from the accounts of hardworking, innocent Nigerian citizens to pay off the country’s loans.
Nigerians have questions, lots of it. While it may seem like Nigerians have adapted to the downturn of Nigeria’s economy, cripple in value of the naira and the spike in the cost of living, Nigerians are still not a people to be taken for fools. Over the past eight years, Nigerians have known hardship by name. It has become a miracle to get by in Nigeria and make enough to have daily bread.
This country that houses professionals, intellectuals has also become home to lawlessness, chaos, anarchy and now, comedy, ironic comedy.
Just when Nigerians think it could never get any worse, the government shows up again, “surprise”!
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