Kidnap-for-Ransom: South-West Governors must be proactive, avoid over-reliance on the centre
Discordances from insecurity threats in Nigeria are worsening to become uncontrollable tempests across the Country. While the winds have assumed several dimensions, the trend of kidnapping, particularly for ransom, has become a rising menace whose wings are stretching so wild at disturbing length. The turn of bandits to employing kidnap-for-ransom tactics in their operations has made the dimensional character more troubling. While kidnap-for-ransom registered its evolutionary seed majorly from the South-south (Niger Delta) by militants in the oil rich region, the North most recently has been cut in the web of the entanglements. The phenomenon at its germinating stage had registered the mischief of kidnapping expatriates and magnates to secure ransom in return for their release. The phenomenon has however, grown from the infantile offshoot to rooting deeply as an albatross to Nigerians.
While expatriates and nobles used to be the major targets, the records of targets in recent times have become more elaborate, breaking the barriers of limits. Even in recent times, pupils have become victims of the abduction. Reports of insecurity from the North are known to be saturated with kidnapping for ransom recently. The turn to abducting students in higher institutions to pupils in primary and secondary schools has become a part of bandits’ escapades. As students become soft targets, schools in Northern States experiencing ravaging intensity of banditry, are continually suffering closure as parents/guardians and pupils are increasingly becoming panicky over fears of becoming victims of kidnap, while the Government stares at the situation looking apparently handicapped.
However, while the North continue to record stronger frustrations from the menace of abduction by bandits, the South-West has begun to have a fair share of the menace. While the menace is still at a fledgling state within this part of the Country, the possibilities of the menace growing its tentacles is near sight. It would be observable that the lack-lustre disposition of the Government and all relevant stakeholders to rise to task in taming the offshooting threats of banditry, has created strings of discomfort for the region as the menace has grown to spread its devastating tentacles beyond close limit.
The docility posture of the Government to security threats has led to the degeneration of situations which have worsened living conditions in the Country. The signals of kidnapping-for-ransom in the South-West is beginning to shoot off with pointers of threats. It was reported Friday evening, that unknown gunmen had kidnapped a traditional ruler, the Eleda of Eda Ile, in Ekiti East Local government area of Ekiti State, Oba Benjamin Oso. The monarch was said to have been kidnapped in the presence of his wife at their farm at Eda Ile. It would be recalled that barely two months ago the Obaadu of Ilemeso, in Oye Local government area, Oba David Oyewumi, was abducted by unknown gunmen.
It has become of necessity for South-West leaders to come to the terms of the rising threats offshooting before the zone. While certain steps are known to have been taken in this regard, it is pertinent that the required efforts demand stronger coordination. The formation of the Amotekun Security outfit which could be pointed to as one of such measures that can be categorised under this perspective, had been surrounded with much controversies beyond reasonably coordination needed for such inter-state regional outfit to take productive effects.
The roles of Governors as the Chief Executive and Chief Security Officer of their respective States is critical in devising tactical meaures to proactively prevent the fledgling misadventure from growing its wings of turbulence within their respective States. While the possibilities of joint measures may not be foreclosed from the workable parameters, it is essential to make such arrangement strongly coordinated within workable architectures navigated within patterns of pragmatic possibilities to check against the menace.
While it is known that there are constitutional limitations in view which may portend institutional limits to Governors, the possibilities to devise by strategic approaches, workable formulations to address the local security matters, particularly the rising kidnap-for-ransom are still practically not impossible. The need to work with local authorities, including traditional and community leaders, local security formations, among other relevant security stakeholders, is very paramount in gathering intelligence and permutations towards arriving at rational frameworks for meaningful architectures to address the rising threats. Depending and waiting for the Federal Government which oversees security affairs from the centre may be too costly to give adequate response to peculiar security matters within zonal jurisdictions and more narrowly, state and local entities. It is therefore essential for governors within the zones to galvanise coordinating measures in proactive response against the germinating threats.
