Arewa trapped between terror and neglect

The scenes coming out of Arewa today are no longer just disturbing; they are heartbreaking. They should trouble every conscience.

In Zamfara this past week, 20 people — including four soldiers, three policemen and 12 traders — were killed when terrorists ambushed a convoy under military escort on its way to Nasarawa market in Bukkuyum. Over the weekend, three policemen were killed while on night patrol in Damba, Gusau. Along the Gusau-Dansadau road, nearly 30 vehicles have been burnt, travellers abducted, communities emptied.

This is our daily reality now. From Sokoto to Katsina, from Zamfara to Kebbi, from Niger to Kaduna and beyond, the stories remain the same: innocent poor villagers are killed gruesomely while they sleep in their mud houses or till their farmlands. Their livestock is stolen while their children and wives are raped, killed or kidnapped. As I noted much earlier, forests in the North-west — like Sambisa before — have become forests that also kill and destroy.

Babies crying from terrorists’ dens while their parents remain helpless. Pregnant women languishing in conditions no human being should endure. Entire villages sacked, ancestral homes deserted, farmlands burnt, herds rustled. The few communities that remain live under constant threat of kidnapping for ransom, even after paying so-called protection money to ward off the next attack.

It has never been this bad. Even as I write, 78 schoolchildren abducted from Mussa and Lassa in Borno in May have spent more than 150 days in captivity. Their parents, too poor to even afford transport to Abuja, had to shelve a planned protest at the Presidential Villa. Dozens of worshippers kidnapped in Niger State still languish in the bush.

Particularly worrisome is that those saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives and property appear busy campaigning for the next elections. We cannot remain silent while this happens. The breadwinner in captivity today did not know he would be the next target yesterday. The worshipper abducted this week did not know she would not return home last week. None of us is immune.

We must call out government to do its primary duty: protection of lives and property. We cannot pretend not to see the obvious. Our security forces are ill-equipped with modern tools while politicians buy and share brand new SUVs for campaigns. 

It is 2026. The world has moved to unmanned aerial vehicle — drone — warfare. Even armed groups now use drones, yet we still send young soldiers on rusted motorcycles and old Hilux vans into forests to chase terrorists who are better armed and better informed. Our politicians seem not to know how to procure modern and efficient military equipment to tackle insecurity, but they know where to get the best designer clothes and luxury vehicles for personal use around the world.

Although security agencies have at times intensified operations, such operations only succeed in treating the symptoms of the conflict without resolving it. The solution is not rocket science. We must leverage technology. Instead of sending young troops who are largely ill-motivated and under-armed, we should deploy drones for surveillance, intelligence gathering and precision strikes.

At the same time, we must be mindful that kinetic action alone does not bring lasting peace. Development, economic progress, justice, and good governance must not be limited to cities; they must reach rural areas. Schools, hospitals, roads, potable water, and electricity must trickle down to those at the bottom of the ladder.

Those at the helm of government should remember that, as part of their responsibilities, they swore to protect the lives and property of citizens. History will not judge them by how many roads they commissioned or how many SUVs and cash they shared to scholars and religious leaders but by how many lives they saved when Arewa was bleeding and calling for help. We have mourned enough. We have buried enough. We have seen terrified babies in bushes crying enough. The time for excuses is over. Government must act – and it must act now.

Labaran Yusuf,

Jos, Plateau State.