Arewa insecurity: terrorism and government negligence

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

In Zamfara last week, 20 people – including four soldiers, three policemen and 12 traders – were killed when terrorists ambushed a convoy under military escort heading 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 were burned, travelers kidnapped and 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: poor innocent villagers are killed in gruesome ways as they sleep in their mud houses or cultivate their farmland. Their livestock is stolen while their children and wives are raped, killed or kidnapped. As I noted much earlier, forests in the northwest – as before in Sambisa – have become forests that kill and destroy.

Children crying from terrorists’ dens while their parents remain helpless. Pregnant women languishing in conditions no human being should endure. Entire villages plundered, ancestral homes deserted, farmland burned, flocks rustling. The few remaining communities live under the constant threat of kidnapping for ransom, even after paying so-called protection money to ward off the next attack.

It’s 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 transportation to Abuja, had to shelve a planned protest at the Presidential Villa. Dozens of worshipers abducted in Niger state are still languishing in the bush.

Of particular concern is the fact that those with responsibility for protecting lives and property appear to be busy campaigning for the next election. We cannot remain silent while this happens. The head of the family detained today did not know that yesterday would be the next target. The faithful kidnapped this week didn’t know she wouldn’t return home last week. None of us are immune.

We must call on the government to fulfill 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 on to the war of unmanned aerial vehicles, drones. Even armed groups now use drones, yet we continue to send young soldiers on rusty motorbikes and old Hilux vans into the forests to chase terrorists who are better armed and better informed. Our politicians seem to not know how to procure modern and efficient military equipment to deal with insecurity, but they know where to find the best designer clothes and luxury vehicles for personal use around the world.

Although security agencies have at times intensified operations, such operations only manage to treat the symptoms of the conflict without resolving it. The solution is not rocket science. We need to leverage technology. Instead of sending young, largely undermotivated and unarmed troops, we should deploy drones for surveillance, intelligence gathering and precision strikes.

At the same time, we must be aware 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, drinking water and electricity must reach those at the bottom of the ladder.

Those who lead the government should remember that, as part of their responsibilities, they are sworn to protect the lives and property of citizens. History will judge them not by how many roads they commissioned or how many SUVs and money they shared with scholars and religious leaders, but by how many lives they saved while Arewa bled and cried out for help. We cried enough. We’ve buried enough of it. We saw enough terrified children crying in the bushes. The time for excuses is over. The government must act – and it must act now.

Labaran Yusuf,

Jos, Plateau State.