When some members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists in Kaduna State paid him a courtesy call last week, Alhaji Saidu Adamu, the Commissioner for Information in Kaduna State lamented the high cost of maintaining the current levels of security in the State, and drew attention to the fact that the funds which go to support the current peace and security infrastructure in the State could be used to develop it instead. The Commissioner was reported to have said that the State Government spends millions of Naira to pay for allowances of security personnel and other sundry security expenses. A few days ago, the State Government also undertook to repair the vehicles of the special security outfit called Operation Yaki which were destroyed or damaged during the April post-election violence.
The Commissioner’s comment on the very high cost of maintaining the current levels of peace and security in Kaduna State is a revealing and disturbing reminder of the current situation in Kaduna State. It is no secret that the State, particularly its large towns and highway is dotted by hundreds of checkpoints manned by soldiers and policemen. There are also many mobile and surveillance teams on constant patrol. There must also security personnel who are not visible to the public, and possibly quite a few other behind-the-scene efforts to reduce tension and build sustainable levels of peace and security in the State. All these cost a lot of money. This is money which belongs to the public, and cannot be said to be wasted, because it gives citizens some measure of security and assurance. Security is valued most in its absence; and no sane citizen of the State will quarrel with reasonable efforts to secure lives and property, and the cost of these efforts will obviously be contingent on the nature and dimension of the threats to security.
But all responsible citizens would also ask how long it will take, and ultimately how much it will cost, for the State to achieve a level of security which will relieve the people and the government of this huge cost of security paraphernalia. This is a reasonable question for the Government particularly, because while security is the responsibility of every citizen, it is the government which is primarily responsible for it. Funds expended towards maintaining security are difficult to verify, and are therefore prime suspects in the minds of a sceptical citizenry. If government says it spends N300 million monthly to pay for allowances, fuel vehicles and other expenses, and it does not make these expenses available for scrutiny because this is a sensitive issue, many section of the public many not believe government. Yet, the expenditure may be genuine. The problem for the government therefore is compounded: it is battling to secure a State, while dealing with a sceptical citizenry. Its credibility is therefore at risk, at precisely the moment when it should generate the highest levels of trust and support from the public.
A similarly worrying dimension to the current situation is the seeming absence of concrete efforts to begin the real work of reconstruction towards long-term, sustainable security and peace among in all the communities. The hugely expensive security apparatus which the public pays for from resources which can build schools, hospitals and roads is only to ensure that fighting does not break out again; or people do not go around planting bombs. The citizens of Kaduna State cannot live with this apparatus as a permanent feature of their lives. Indeed, the more it stays within the community, the more it will induce the sense of insecurity, and the fear that danger lurks at every corner in the State. This is why it is imperative that the government and the communities begin the hard task of exploring avenues for sustainable security and peace.
The government of Kaduna State must be more active and visible in pursuit of strategies to get citizens and communities involved in the search for genuine peace. The huge controversies which had trailed the proceedings of the Panel of Enquiry set up by the State Government on the April crisis are enough evidence that there are still alarming levels of anger and bitterness in many communities, and that faith and tribe will continue to divide the citizens of this State. There are still visible and pathetic reminders of conflicts in refugee camps; in daily rumours of impending attacks, in palpable fear and inflammatory comments by religious leaders; and in the visible absence of entire ethnic groups from areas where they had lived for decades. These problems will not be solved by checkpoints manned by soldiers or by policemen driving around in Operation Yaki vehicles. They can only be solved by the communities who have to be encouraged by the government and by their desire to live less under a garrisoned existence, and more as a free people who cherish their freedom from fear and violence.
The State Government should tap into the existing goodwill and high levels of responsibility of many community and religious leaders and engineer some form of engagement which will facilitate the building of critical bridges. Too much of the terrain is being left to mischief makers and people who seek personal benefits by fanning the embers of hatred and fear. Many of these people wear religious garbs. Government needs to limit their damage and space by encouraging responsible engagement involving citizens and groups that can participate in genuine and constructive dialogue.
There are serious challenges facing the government and the communities of Kaduna State in terms of their security and long term, sustainable peace. The current appearance of peace in the State is peace of the graveyard. It is costly and wasteful, because while it stops wanton violence and destruction of property, it does little to ensure that security and peace can be guaranteed without the intimidating presence of soldiers and policemen. Security is expensive, and peace is more than just the security of lives and property. Peace involves guaranteed security and assurances that people will assume responsibility to relate to each other in such as way as to mitigate the dangers of endemic insecurity. If the government and the community will not work for sustainable peace, they will have to pay dearly for temporary security. This is what the government and people of Kaduna State are doing, and they cannot afford it is. It ultimately self-defeating, and is too expensive for a State desperately in need of resources to fight poverty and other social problems.
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