Dutsinma attack: Buhari's failings haunt Nigeria

TERRORISTS stepped up the game on Tuesday when they ambushed the Presidential Advance Squad in Dutsinma, Katsina State, injuring two security personnel. Absent-minded, unfocused, lacking a coherent strategy or a strong will to defeat crime and perpetually in denial, the violence and chaos that engulfs the entire country draws closer to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (Retired) . Nigeria is approaching chaos, not thanks to Buhari's many failures. The chickens that the diet has hatched come home to roost.

When terrorists ambush the president's convoy or his person, a symbol of national sovereignty, all pretensions to safety and normalcy are brutally shattered. That's exactly what the 'bandits' have done with the audacious attack that captures the collapse of Nigeria's security system. More disconcerting is that the attack happened near the president's house in Daura. Numbering around 300 and mounted on motorcycles, the sophisticatedly armed terrorists/bandits engaged the security personnel attached to the convoy in a firefight, injuring two.

Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu called the incident sad and unwelcome. Buhari should realize the reality of a country that is moving closer and closer to anarchy.

Tuesday's event coincided with other bloody security breaches across the country. Earlier in the morning, the bandits, wielding general purpose machine guns and AK 47 rifles, ambushed an assistant police commissioner, Aminu Umar's squad in Zakka Forest, Safana LGA of l State of Katsina. Not for the first time, the criminals had the upper hand, killing Umar and another officer. This prepared the ground for the attack on the presidential convoy.

On the same day, terrorists besieged the Nigerian Correctional Service, Kuje, in the Federal Capital Territory, for three hours, freeing around 879 inmates, including 64 Boko Haram suspects. Some 443 were taken over. That means more hardened terrorists on the loose.

Buhari visited the Kuje prisons, but flew to Senegal on Wednesday. He had also embarked on a trip to Portugal, amid unprecedented security breaches last week. While he was away, bandits attacked a mining site in Shiroro LGA in Niger State. They massacred at least 30 soldiers, seven mobile police and civilians. A few days later, bandits also killed a police inspector and injured another officer at a mining site in Shao, Moro LGA of Kwara State. During the week, bandits also killed five people in Kajuru LGA, Kaduna State.

Terrorists, bandits and their fellow Fulani herdsmen blaze a bloody path through Nigeria. In March, the terrorist group Ansaru attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train, killing eight passengers. About 50 of the victims are still in captivity. In June, terrorists massacred 40 worshipers at St. Francis Xavier Church in Owo, Ondo State.

In hindsight, the Buhari regime set itself up for failure by refusing to act quickly in the face of events. In July 2021, bandits shot down a military plane over Zamfara State. Curiously, the soldiers did not prosecute and bring the assailants to justice. Then bandits attacked the Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna, killing two officers and kidnapping another in August 2021. In March, bandits on motorbikes stormed Kaduna International Airport, massacring a worker and bringing airport operations to a trickle.

The Northwestern States are under siege. From Kaduna to Katsina and from Sokoto to Zamfara, bandits dictate the pace. In the center-north, particularly the states of Bénoué, Niger and Taraba are soaked in the blood of perennial attacks by Fulani militants. In the Southeast, wanton killings and kidnappings are commonplace. In June, Methodist Church Prelate Samuel Kanu-Uche said Fulani militants operating in the forests of Abia State had collected a 100 million naira ransom before releasing him, along with 'other officials kidnapped.

Nigeria's slide towards state failure has accelerated. However, terrorism, insurgency and banditry did not start under Buhari. But it was to his eternal discredit that all escalated almost beyond control under his watch. His major and persistent stance is to live in denial and blame his predecessors. He doesn't take responsibility; it lacks sharpness. He fails to provide strong leadership to his team, the security agencies or the Nigerians.

Normally, a Commander-in-Chief would take charge, provide hands-on leadership, and stay focused on moving the "battlefront". Instead, Buhari appoints a succession of unimpressive defense ministers and security chiefs. As some fail, he refuses to replace them promptly in accordance with world standards...