#SecureNorth Protests: The North and Differing Opinions
By: Sani Abdulrazak
AREWA AGENDA – The recent protests that enveloped the Northern region with the hashtag #SecureNorth as expected polarized opinions. With olla podridas of tongues debating it from within and outside the region, with some in support while others were heavily criticizing it. The critics believe it is unpatriotic and a form of ingratitude to the present administration’s efforts in tackling insecurities in the country. They see it as a distraction to the government’s resolve in bringing an end to the ‘portmanteau’ of all evil threatening our collective existence. While the protesters and their band of supporters are of a differing school of thoughts; they believe the security situation in the country is no longer tenable and the government’s efforts are not enough. They believe the government is no longer in touch with the gruesome security decay especially in the North West region, hence the protests in order to call on the government to do more to end insecurities in the region and the country at large. They somehow view contrary opinion as being more concerned with the image of the government than the tragedy of the victims.
It is quite unfortunate how these peaceful protests in some states turned violent resulting in the loss of lives and properties. It is reprehensible and highly condemnable especially in a region already grappling with multidimensional insecurities. Violence in whatever guise or form stands reproachable. Let me state clearly that I personally don’t subscribe to protests in whatever situation, but I deeply understand and accept the grievances that led to the protests and it is my hope and prayers that the government put in more efforts and do more to secure the lives and properties of their citizens because nothing is more fundamental and imperious than that.
We must learn to accommodate differing opinions and not allow emotionalism to divide us further. Nothing is reaping Northern Nigeria apart right now like asinine conspiracy theories, hypocritical silence and utter poverty of ambition. When people rise up from within and ask the government to do more to protect the lives and properties of its people which is the fundamental responsibility the government swore an oath to protect, they are not in any way out of place, provided they do so within their constitutional rights without infringing on others. It is ironic that the ones flying the banners of patriotism today were yesterday’s protesters and for similar reasons. They promised us they will bring an end to the insecurities bedeviling us, we in turn believed them absolutely and half a decade on, we are where we are.
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We must also understand that we are Nigerians first before anything else, and loyalty to a politician or any political ideology does not at all times translate to patriotism. And that when this loyalty and sentiment prevents you from accepting and siding with what is right no matter the circumstance, then you are not a patriot. Most of the band of loyalists in our political climes today have crossed over that line and it is one of the reasons we are in this incongruous spot in our country.
Fake news and use of social media if left unchecked might bring the whole country to its knees because it is stream that waters the root of the recent violence in the country. The youths today have evolved with social media taking center stage as a major means of communication and source of information. However if applied irresponsibly, the social media is a box of matches in the hands of a madman at a gas station, with some unscrupulous elements taking advantage of it to spread rumors and fake news inciting violence and threatening our National Security. Until we see fake news as the monster that it is and bring its peddlers to book, we have very little chance of restoring peace to our dear region.
Whether you are for or against the #SecureNorth movement, it is completely all right, but we must accommodate their differing opinions because never before in our history have we been faced with multitudinous security challenges like now. It is beyond a doubt Northern Nigeria is now turning to a killing field, we have surrendered our major roads, villages and farmlands to marauding bandits and kidnap kingpins further worsening the Himalayan poverty level in the region and further crippling our economy. Our homes are no longer safe and it’s like we are all waiting to be killed somehow in our own land while we fold our hands and do next to nothing. The picture cannot get any gloomier. If a certain school of thought is satisfied with this condition or have other means to call the government’s attention, the #SecureNorth movement are not, both opinions should as a matter of fact be respected. After all both have genuine intentions and are united in the common goal of redeeming the once peaceful and prosperous Northern Nigeria.
Blowing the horns of warning to leaders is one of the highest form of patriotism and must not be seen as hatred or opposition provided it is constructive, done with respect and within the ambit of the law. Not calling out leaders in this tenuous security situation whether privately, publicly or other lawful means amounts to insensitivity and hypocritical silence. I guess the school of thoughts would have been entirely different both within and between if only we are in this egregious security condition under the fisherman from the creeks for this long. The region’s proverbial nine lives may be running out. For Northern Nigeria my home yesterday, today and forever, I know and I believe we shall rise.
Sani Abdulrazak, a Northerner, Writer and a Technologist at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria can be reached via email at [email protected]
Arewa Agenda is a Publication of young writers and Journalists from Northern Nigeria towards Peaceful Coexistence and National Development through positive narratives.
