Prince Chidi Ibe is the Global Coordinator, Initiative for Diaspora Knowledge Transfer. In this chat with TUNDE ESO, he takes a look at the rising level of insecurity in the country and the need for countrymen at home and in the Diaspora to stand up and tackle the menace with sincerity.THE alarming level of insecurity in the country in recent times has fueled suggestions in some quarters that the nation''s security agencies may not be up-to-speed in the combat of crimes in Nigeria. What is your view in this regard'SECURITY agencies are doing their best, going by the resources and equipment they have. I think the issue of security is a complex one because enemies abound both within and without. It is therefore very difficult when you have people that are part of government and who have access to information within government to pass such on to the perpetrators of these crimes. This is what makes it difficult to tackle the menace.So the question is what should be done to ensure our resources measure up with the security situation we are dealing with' Should we purge the government given that our camp seems infiltrated by enemies'So you share the same school of thought with President Goodluck Jonathan that his government is infiltrated with Boko Harram members'I have always known from the attitude of people around the president even before he declared his intention to run as president that he was not the best choice for the job in the mindset of those who claim to be the custodians of Nigerian government. Against all odds, he emerged as the president and they have not liked him from day one. He knows it yet has made no attempt to remove them in order not to hit up the polity.For instance, the president knew that the then National Security Adviser, Aliyu Gusau was going to run against him, but he did not even do anything in terms of removing him until he resigned at will few days to the elections. So, clearly, some people who do not want him to be president of Nigeria has infiltrated the government.How could the problem be resolved'I think President Jonathan is already dealing with the problem the way he knows best and God is helping him. A lot of people would not have survived under these circumstances. If you tell him to act like a military man, he may make mistakes. So he is letting God take control of his government and doing what he promised the Nigerian people he would do in terms of transforming the country.Like he promised, transformation was not going to come without pain. He urged Nigerians to make sacrifices. I would not advise him to do it differently but to do exactly what God has laid in his heart to do. My question is where are we taking Nigeria to if we intend to frustrate the president and cripple our country' I do not see any benefit except for people who think that the unity of Nigeria is no longer viable to them.In the quest for peace, the idea of splitting the country is also being muted by interest groups. What is your viewpoint on this'People should be careful of their wish because they may get it. We have people from the South clamouring for regional integration but the North has not known peace since Goodluck came to power. Making Nigeria ungovernable is not a solution but would only add to our problems. We hear of Boko Haram killing Christians and Muslims, people are bombed and the innocent die. But why are some people bent on making government ungovernable for president Jonathan' But I like what the president is doing; he is playing everything by the book.However, I am calling on President Obama not to ignore what the Boko Haram is doing to Christians and businesses in Nigeria. President Jonathan should not be left in the cold because we have an army of very powerful Nigerians with international connections that can cripple a government. Nigeria can do with the helping hand of the likes of David Cameron and other world leaders.President Jonathan and other Service Chiefs have been assuring Nigerians that insecurity would soon become a thing of the past. Should Nigerians bank on government''s promise or defend themselves'Nigerians will eventually defend themselves in a matter of time because nobody will want to see their brothers and sisters being killed for no cause. But I think the government is sincere. The security agents are over stretched doing everything to protect innocent Nigerians, recall the security agencies have been worst hit. The police headquarters was hit, the Army barrack was hit; that is the worst that can happen to any nation. The army is one establishment that most Nigerians do not to mess around with. This further reinstate the belief that there are people within government that are controlling Boko Haram and sending them signals to continue to operate. So government will continue promising because it is willing to protect lives and property of the citizens, but would their effort be enough to stop the killings'What I am not seeing these days is appreciable activity of the Civil Society Organization, the hypocrisy I see in their action is very clear. I challenge people like Tunde Bakare who came out during the pronouncement of removal of fuel in Nigeria to cheer anti-government protest and the Occupy Nigeria saga, to show the same sense of patriotism if they really want to save the soul of Nigeria. Where is the ''Save Nigeria Group'' in the effort to condemn the on-going killings' I see double standards here; I call on the organisers of Occupy Nigeria and organised labour, not to pick and choose politically what to protest against. They may say security is not our business; my word to them is that government policy is not also for them to question. If security for our lives is a business to be left in the hands of security agents alone, then they should never interfere in government policies.What should be the role of the organized labour in times like this'I used to believe in labour a lot before the recent strike they organized in protest of subsidy removal. I have come to realize that the leadership of the organised labour is not showing a clear evidence of patriotism because its leadership has first hand information of where the subsidy money was actually going.When government exposed the manipulation in the oil subsidy regime, what I expected labour to do was to say we know there is systematic flaw in the regime, how do we get involved in making sure that if you remove this money, Nigerians will gain in other ways' If they are going to pay high transport fares, they should get more money in other things. If labour had worked with government in that direction, it would have being okay. But they connived and paid deaf ear to government actions based on the corruption so entrenched in the system.The labour leadership knew that what government wanted to do has never been done before. They knew that what has been on for a long time has corruption written all over it. We elected the president to transform our country. What is the meaning of transformation' Changing something from its former ways, and we have not allowed him to transform before judging him. So I believe labour did not represent the people.What should be the role of the Save Nigeria Group and other civil society groups'If they actually want to save Nigeria and could protest against the removal of subsidy, which was meant to recoup our money from the corruption trail, then when people are being killed by some sect in the country, they should protest as well and unite Nigerians to fight evil.For instance, 9/11 is not an act of the government of the United States. It is an act of terrorism, which united the Americans more than ever. So, Boko haram should unite Nigerians too, not divide us because those perpetrating the acts are trying to kill our values.If the ''Save Nigeria Group'' is truly out to save Nigeria, I call on them to come up with programs that will actually save our brothers and sisters who are being bombed everyday in their churches in Jos, Kano, Maiduguri and the like. They should go there and stage ''Save Nigeria'' protest, so that we can take our country back and save our people from death, not from temporal sufferings.How best could the Boko Haram challenge be tackled'Boko Haram should be denounced by all Emirs. The Northerners should come together and unite in the fight against it and say to members of the sect that they are not part of them. Some people are enjoying the bad image it is causing us as a country; they do not want Jonathan to succeed and it should not be so. We need to be honest with ourselves by separating National security from politics.However, this administration needs the assistance of the international community. It has come to a stage where foreigners are being killed in the name of Boko haram, and the response from our leaders is not enough. I think it is totally anti-government, I think this insecurity is merely to mar president Goodluck Jonathan''s administration. And the best thing the international community can do is to stand behind the President in condemning what is happening in Nigeria, in providing support and also telling the northern elite that the part they are treading will not be good for Nigeria.
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