Nigeria Content Online

Last
Saturday the world marked the ninth anniversary of the September 11
attacks that brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Centre.

The events of that fateful day set off a chain of
events that have irrevocably altered the world, as we know it. From
increased security at airports to the invasions of Iraq and
Afghanistan, 9/11 has stamped itself on the face of the world.

It is hugely disturbing that during the week
leading up to the anniversary of 911, there was a resurgence of the
Boko Haram sect in Bauchi State. More than a year after a series of
deadly attacks that caught law enforcement agents by surprise and
resulted in the destruction of police stations and government
buildings, and in hundreds of fatalities, Nigeria was again caught
napping.

It would be impossible to remember 9/11 without
thinking of Jos, a city that has since exchanged its legendary serenity
for the din of bloodthirsty gangs.

And then there is what is arguably the most
far-reaching (in terms of Nigeria’s international reputation) attempt
of all – the alleged plot, last December, by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
to blow up an American airliner in American airspace. That attempt
instantly earned Nigeria a place – mercifully short-lived – on an
American terror listing.

Against this backdrop of religious crises the
question that looms largest is the one to do with the state of
preparedness of Nigeria’s security and intelligence agencies. Judging
from how we have faced up to the age-old challenge of armed robbery and
the more recent one of kidnapping, the immediate conclusion is that
against the schemes of determined terrorists, Nigeria is a glaringly
helpless country.

Nigeria’s intelligence agencies appear to be far
more adept at clamping down on genuinely frustrated citizens than on
actual threats to national security. During the military era, the (now
defunct) National Security Organisation (NSO), the Directorate of
Military Intelligence and State Security Service made a name for
themselves terrorising journalists and activists, suppressing the
clamour for democracy and justice,

and nipping coup plots in the bud.

It is not clear if the country’s intelligence
agencies have properly adjusted to this democratic dispensation. The
SSS appears to have been reduced to carrying out perfunctory screenings
of nominees for senior government offices. The Federal Investigation
and Intelligence Bureau (FIIB) remains a part of a hopelessly
inefficient police force. The National Intelligence Agency (NIA)
doesn’t even have a website.

Under the watch of these agencies Jos and Bauchi
have burned again and again, and kidnappings have become a national
industry, with no high-profile arrests made and no concerted clampdown
on the perpetrators. What chance then do these so-called intelligence
agencies have of succeeding in the fight against terrorism?

The threat of terrorism is very real in Nigeria.
There is nothing to stop Nigeria’s teeming numbers of unemployed and
frustrated youth from being indoctrinated by extremist religious
groups. If that happens terrorism could very easily become the ‘new’
kidnapping.

In February Reuters reported that an Al-Qaeda cell
based in North Africa had offered, on its website, to provide arms and
personnel to Nigerian Muslims “to enable you to defend our people in
Nigeria.” Only last July Kampala,

the Ugandan capital, was rocked by a series of terrorist explosions that left no less than 60 persons dead.

In the face of these threats Nigeria requires an
efficient network of intelligence agencies. The decisive American
response to 9/11 is instructive. In the wake of the attacks, the United
States Government immediately created the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) at cabinet level to ensure the protection of the United
States from terrorist attacks. In the years since then the mandate of
the DHS has expanded to include coordinating the response to natural
disasters. While we have concerns about some of the tactics and
measures employed by the DHS in its quest to secure America, there is
no doubt that the wide-ranging bureaucratic reorganisation that
produced it is a sign of a country genuinely concerned about the
security of lives and property within its borders.

We should learn to be proactive in the quest to
maintain national security, instead of resorting to setting up
unproductive panels of enquiry after every security breach. The
appointment or replacement of the National Security Adviser (NSA) – who
should oversee the country’s combined intelligence efforts – should not
be reduced to an act of political expediency. There is far too much at
stake. If it is true that the current NSA (Mohammed Gusau) is
interested in contesting in the 2011 presidential elections, then he
should resign immediately. The responsibility of that office is a
full-time one.

We urge President Jonathan to go a step further
and initiate a radical reorganisation of all the intelligence agencies.
It is not enough to replace the bosses, as he did last week with the
State Security Service.

Nigerians can remember a time, not too long ago, when kidnappings
were not the order of the day. If care is not taken we will soon be
recalling a time when terror attacks were a rarity in the land.