The Anyim’s Open Letter to Buhari on the Worsening Insecurity
ANYIM PIUS ANYIM LLB, LLM
3rd May, 2021
Mohammedu Buhari, GCFR
President
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Aso Villa
Abuja
OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT MOHAMMADU BUHARI.
RE: THE STATE OF INSECURITY IN THE NATION:
MY SUGGESTION
Mr. President, you may recall that on the 5th of October, 2018, I had audience with you in your office. In that meeting, with your then Chief of Staff, the late Mallam Abba Kyari, in attendance, we touched on a number of issues including the insecurity in the country and about which you directed that I should do a short brief on my suggestion and forward to your Chief of Staff.
Mr. President may wish to know that I did as you directed and submitted my suggestion to your then Chief of Staff on the 20th of October, 2018.
I have decided to do this open letter just to be sure that it will get to you, because I suspect that the private one did not get to you. Most importantly, I would not have bothered to write you this letter if the unfortunate and avoidable circumstances we have found ourselves in, as a nation, have not continued to fester to the magnitude of threatening the fabric of the nation. This letter, therefore, is to reconvey my earlier suggestion which, I want to believe, did not get to you.
PREAMBLE
The perilous threats to our national sovereignty at the time you took over the reigns of power in 2015 were the Boko Haram insurgence in the North East; the armed agitation in the Niger Delta Region, and the IPOB agitation in the South East. Mr. President, on your assumption of office the most striking promise you made to the nation was to tackle insecurity with emphasis on reclaiming the territories occupied by Boko Haram. I must admit that you did approach the insecurity challenge with commendable determination but unfortunately, the challenge, with time, became hydra headed and no doubt went
beyond your control.
Before I proceed with my suggestion, may I first put in perspective the basis of the position I will canvass in this letter.
Read Also:
I wish to note that every violent agitation originates from a non-violent agitation that was not attended to. Today, Nigeria is bedeviled with violent and non-violent agitations. It is also a fact that the current violent agitations originated from non-violent agitations e.g.,Boko Haram started as a non-violent procession; the herders/farmers clashes which has
degenerated into a deadly conflict with many states now bloody theaters of war; ethnic conflicts in Kaduna, Ebonyi, Cross River, Benue, Plateau states etc. which are escalating to an unmanageable scale; Armed Banditry in virtually all states of the federation
particularly Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto which has overwhelmed the Law enforcement agencies, kidnaping which has become occupational in most parts of the country.
To worsen matters, Boko Haram, has acquired new impetus that they now overrun the military and have even expanded their base to Niger State. IPOB has become a regional challenge. On the non-violent side, agitations for restructuring are scaling up in
momentum, ethnic consciousness and allegiance even among the elite are far eroding national concerns. All these and many more coupled with gross downturn in the national economic, social and political space has become an apparent threat to our nationhood.
I am to add, that it must be known that military actions or even foreign help alone cannot bring permanent solutions to ethnic conflicts or nationality agitations. Mr. President, you need to create a platform to hear Nigerians out.
MY SUGGESTION
THE SEARCH FOR SOLUTION MUST INVOLVE THE CITIZENS
In the build-up to securing the Nigerian Independence, the Colonial Administration were confronted with reservations by minority tribes in the three regions of Northern, Eastern and Western Nigeria about fears of domination by the majority tribes. In other to find a
lasting solution, the Colonial Administration appointed a commission to “ENQUIRE INTO THE FEARS OF MINORITIES AND MEANS OF ALLAYING THEM”.
vii. Such document will be the foundation for a new Nigeria anchored on negotiated settlement derived from the legitimacy bestowed by citizen participation and the credibility of the commission.
Above is submitted for your kind consideration Sir.
Anyim Pius Anyim, GCON.
Former Senate President
Federal Republic of Nigeria
