That most states in Nigeria, particularly northern states, is now under the siege of terrorists, is no longer in doubt.
What started out as isolated attacks by Boko Haram in 2012 has snowballed into daily reports of activities of various terrorist groups across the country mostly prevalent in the north.
From kidnapping school children for ransom, to sacking communities, to banditry, to killing helpless citizens etc, Northern Nigeria is clearly under seige.
What is more? Security agencies have continued to appear helpless with many ending up as victims of these terrorist attacks.
The recent attack on the Nigeria Defense Academy (NDA) in Kaduna by bandits in which two officers were killed and another abducted, are pointers to how emboldened these terrorists have become and the inability of security operatives to contain their activities.
There is now open admonition to citizens in worse terrorist hit states to defend themselves against these attacks.
Governor Ortom of Benue state, who himself was attacked twice in three months asked citizens of his state to defend themselves, a sentiment also recently echoed by the governors of Katsina State, Aminu Masari, his counterpart in Zamfara state, Bello Matawalle and the Pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organization, Afenifere to mention but a few.
Despite these, the Nigerian government has continued to claim a mirage victory over the Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram.
Information Minister, Lai Mohammed in particular, has continued to echo the mind of the federal government that the deadly terrorist group has been ‘technically defeated.’
The killing of the former leader of the group, Abubakar Shekau which was confirmed by Boko Haram’s sister organization, the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), was celebrated and hailed as a major victory in the battle against terrorism in the country. It was expected to dampen the morale of both terrorist organisations. This has however not been the case.
While the activities of these groups were initially limited to Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States, other northern states and local governments have attested to the groups and their operations spreading to their states.
The Governor of Niger state in April this year revealed that Boko Haram sacked communities in his state and hoisted its flag in captured villages, including Kaure village in the Shiroro Local Government of the state, a town only two kilometres from the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Katsina State governor in August, revealed that ISWAP was trying to set up bases in the north-western states of the country.
According to a report sighted at the global network against terrorism in the world, it is projected that Nigeria may lose both Zamfara and Katsina states to terrorists before 2025, as both states are hotbeds of terrorism.
In May this year, video footage was released of suspected ISWAP terrorists distributing food and cash to communities during the Ramadan period. This is one of the gestures that the group has used to gain popularity in rural communities.
According to a report by Humangle, ISWAP exploits gaps in governance by trying to prove that it can provide essential services in the areas under its control. ISWAP distributed leaflets stating their objectives, who they considered a target, and an invitation for locals to join their ranks.
Despite the wide use of multimedia tools and social media for the dissemination of propaganda, ISWAP employs the traditional approach of using leaflets to convey messages to the local population as seen recently in Geidam and last year in Monguno and Buni Gari.
These moves are no doubt yielding ‘positive’ dividends as both Boko Haram and ISWAP control 40% of the territory of Zamfara and Katsina states. They now have coordinated operations in some of these areas and operate like a government.
Taxes and levies are imposed on citizens in some of these communities as part of the regulation of trade and agricultural activities with ISWAP members collecting N5,000 monthly from traders and farmers while fishermen pay N2,000 per bag of fish, among other levies.
It is also believed that the groups now have over 100,000 members, including adults and children soldiers.
As Allen posited, defeating Boko Haram, ISWAP and other forms of insecurity in the country will require a fundamental shift in how the Nigerian government has handled the insurgency which should be a clear departure from the lackadaisical attitude being displayed.
The recent victory of the Taliban in toppling the Afghanistan government should serve as an eye-opener to all who continue to underestimate the capacity and capabilities of these extremists groups.