Nigeria is not on the road to Somalia. Nigeria is already in Mogadishu, the Somalian capital. What is happening in this country is worse than what has been happening in Somalia since 1991 when Siad Barre was overthrown.Today, the number of people killed every day in Nigeria is more than of Somalia. There are many unreported cases of killings, murder, assassinations and other vices. Nigeria is already in Somalia. Femi Oworu, Lagos I like your appeal that all spiritualists should start praying for the country. While prayer is good, those in authority should also pray to God to guide their steps. Many things are clear to all and sundry and the moment you deviate, your conscience will be telling you that you are off the track. Let the spiritualists continue to pray and let those ruling us know their right from their left. Lawal Aso, Abuja By the time God decide to move, many people will be surprised because the God we serve is a consuming fire.// Friday Ilohor, Benin I always like the way you interprete the Bible. Are you a leader in your church' Your interpretation is always accurate, frank and straight to the point. Please, keep it up.Godwin Isa, Makurdi You must be a seer. Even while you were still writing your column, these guys struck in Kano and killed close to 300 people. Well, one thing is clear. One doesn't need to be a prophet to know that Nigeria is heading the way of Somalia if something urgent is not done immediately. Lawrence Akogbon, Lagos With the way Labour leaders suddenly agreed to the N97 for a litre of petrol by the Federal Government, are you sure they have not sold out' If they call out Nigerians tomorrow for a strike or protest, I don't think the people will follow them. I am highly disappointed with the way they deceived Nigerians and dumped them. Abubakar Ahmadu, Kaduna Nigeria is not only sitting astride a keg of gunpowder but an atomic bomb. Lanre Lakanmi, Ibadan We need serious prayer in this country for those governing and those being governed. I have a feeling that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is a good President but he has surrounded himself with some people who are deceiving him. For him to succeed, he must sack some of these people. Francis Ogbonna, Warri I want to quote you: 'The army of unemployed youths, miscreants, criminals, thugs, and rascals I saw, during the we-must-shut-down-the economy strike reminded me of the failure of previous administrations to address insecurity, unemployment and other vices for decades, which has become a major challenge today. This is the time for Nigerian leaders to think deeply, forget personal animosities toward themselves and avoid a war situation in the most-populous black nation. In Nigeria, insecurity is pervasive and, God forbid, with a signal coming from unknown warlords, millions of unemployed youths will take up arms against themselves and their country'. What I can deduce from your write-up is that previous administrations neglected the welfare of Nigerians and nothing concrete is being done presently to; at least, tell Nigerians that all will be well tomorrow. The number of crimes being committed today is astronomical and dangerous to the existence of any country. In the current governance, it is the same old song that is being sung. Nothing has changed and if I want to start giving examples, you will not have the space to accommodate it. Just ask any Nigerian anywhere and he or she will tell you terrible experiences. There is no crime you cannot commit in this country now and go scot free if you know somebody in authority ' council, state and federal. Chukwuma Ababi, Benin I hope we will not get to a point in which a gun will be cheaper than a loaf in bread in this country. Biodun Oyetoro, Osogbo All Nigerians must appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan to please not allow the prediction of the United States that Nigeria will disintegrate in 2015 to come to pass. Saviour Agboju, Lagos I am happy that Hafiz Ringim was removed as the Inspector-General of Police (IGP). President Jonathan must do something about the state of insecurity in the land and the first job must start with the police. If Mohammed Abubakar, the Acting Inspector-General of Police does not perform, the President should look for another officer to sanitise the Force. Solomon Eso, Lagos The challenges facing the country, as you rightly stated, are more spiritual than physical. It is not as if we don't have enough papers delivered by eminent personalities to chart the way forward for Nigeria and Nigerians but when a people are already entrenched in doing evil and they don't want to change from their evil ways, what do you have' A failed state. I was going through my archives when I saw a paper presented by former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), at the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, near Jos, Plateau State on November 26, 2004 and more than seven years now, I don't know what has changed in the country. Please, help reproduce excerpts from the paper. Ahmadu Idris, Lokoja Below is the paper: 'In addressing the challenge to the survival of democracy in Nigeria, it is pertinent to consider security issues and problems that have affected or capable of affecting the attitude, confidence and cooperation of all groups and segments that makes up the Nigerian federation. It is also necessary to explore the gaps and gray areas in the national constitution that are responsible for various problems and crises and how these gaps can be addressed. Some of the major security problems currently confronting the nation have been identified to include: political and electioneering conflicts, socio-economic agitations, ethnoreligious crises, ethnic militias, boundary disputes, cultism, criminality and organised crimes. These problems, individually and collectively, constitute threats to the peace, security and development of the country. Invariably, they have implications for the continuity and survival of the nation's nascent democracy. On the other hand, we also need to explore how democracy can itself be deliberately constructed as a positive response to these problems. For the better part of the forty-four years of Nigeria as a nation, the country was under military administration resulting from military takeover of the democratic and constitutional structures of the state. The military takeovers are security breaches resulting from a wide range of reasons, sometimes a culmination of a number of security and political developments. The security, political and sometimes socio-economic developments are security concerns that were not addressed or managed by the existing state structure at the time. Apart from military coups, there are other security issues that have challenged, and indeed, rattled the democratic political system. Among them, is civil or organised rebellion resulting from a number of sociopolitical developments including ethnic disagreements and national resource contentions. The Nigerian civil war is an example of such security breakdown resulting from failure to manage ethnic and social problems. Recent international debates have also raised the need to see security in the broader sense as the struggle to secure the most basic necessities of life: food, fuel, medicine and shelter. This broader human security is important for the attainment of physical and national security and overall peace and development as social unrests arising from the absence of such basic human security can indeed lead to security problems and conflicts. This position is attested to by recent social unrests in various African countries that have roots in the failure of government policies to provide or manage the basic human needs of their citizens. In recent times and especially since the commencement of the present political dispensation, Nigeria has witnessed increasing number of security problems and developments that constitute threats to the maintenance and survival of its democratic political system. These security concerns are diverse and complex, ranging from political disagreements to criminal activities with alarming dimensions and consequences. It is an established fact that democracy in its essence implies the interplay of various interests and shades of opinions in the mode of political parties and pressure groups. This interplay must be undertaken in an open, free and fair atmosphere with adherence to such fundamental principles like tolerance, freedom of expression and freedom of choice. Unfortunately, the activities and conducts of past and present participants in the Nigerian democratic space have failed to adhere to these key principles. Desperate, intolerant and ruthless contests among political parties, political leaders and their followers have often resulted in violence, security breaches, killings and destruction which threaten the very democracy that they seek to partake in. It can be recalled that violent and desperate politicking among political parties was the cause of the problem in the Western Region in 1965 that set in motion developments leading to the unravelling of the First Republic. Electoral fraud poses a major challenge to democracy in Nigeria and by implication, poses threat to the security of the nation. Electoral fraud desecrates the sanctity of democracy and weakens its capacity as an instrument for the mobilisation of national, human and material resources for the development of the people and the state. And in an environment where development is security and security is development, the consequences of such acts catch up very quickly with the system. In recent times, especially during the present democratic dispensation, traits of similar intolerant and ruthless contest for political office have manifested. In addition, the use of illegal arms and weapons by political party contestants and their supporters has assumed very alarming dimension. Some states of the federation are presently experiencing various security breaches and violence involving groups that were allegedly armed by political party contestants during the 2003 elections. Therefore, in order to grow and sustain democracy in Nigeria, it is important that political players and institutions embrace the principles of true democracy and allow open, free and fair competition, which are essential in the process of aggregation of national opinions and development choices. There is the need to evolve relevant constitutional and legislative mechanisms to address areas and issues that will promote open, free and fair competition among political parties. The culture of tolerance and equity should also form part of political education targeted at political leaders as well as the entire citizenry. Nigeria is a political unit made up of over two hundred ethnic and diverse religious groups. The consent and cooperation of these ethnic nationalities and religious groups is important to the existence and continuity of Nigeria as a nation. Unity and peaceful cooperation among these groups is even more important as frequent crises and violence among these groups will lead to divisive politics and loss of confidence in the system that will hurt the progress of the nation and indeed affect the consolidation of our democracy. There have been several ethno-religious conflicts in the history of Nigeria, but in recent times, these problems appear to be escalating at an intolerable scale. Ethnic and the foregoing problems and criminal activities individually and collectively create insecurity and breach of the peace that are likely to or indeed affect legitimate social and economic activities in the country. These problems also have the very damaging consequence of giving the signal to the rest of the international community that Nigeria is not a safe and secure place and as such not suitable for economic investment and activities. This is particularly important in view of the efforts being made to create the desired atmosphere to attract foreign investment.
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