…Says kidnapping pandemic frightening, worrisome, an emergency to be dealt with,otherwise, it will consume whole nation
…Says Nigeria can become one-party, party-less state
…Argues that things won’t get better unless there genuine people’s constitutionÂ
 …Says were Nigeria had altruistic leaders, it would have become beacon, model for Africa
 …Posits that with recent Supreme Court verdicts on Govs, judiciary has become hope of common man Â
…Prays for apex court to grow in wisdom, courage, fear of God to raise justice barÂ
…Says criminal capitalism won’t augur well for NigeriaÂ
Prof. Tunde Adeniran is a former member of the Committee on Nigerian National Defence Policy for the year 2000, former staff of the United Nations, and international security scholar. In this interview with ROTIMI AGBOLUAJE, the former envoy said re-integration of repentant terrorists, poverty, greed, the weak justice system and others are responsible for the kidnapping epidemic in the country. The  former Minister of Education lamented that the kidnapping pandemic is frightening and  worrisome,saying that urgent steps must be taken to address it. Speaking on the Nigerian leadership system, the elder statesman asserted that  with the  current Constitution, Nigeria can become one-party, and even a party-less state, stating that those at the helm of affairs possess huge power. The diplomat argued that things would not  get better unless there is a  genuine people’s constitution. He stated that  were Nigeria had altruistic leaders, it would have become the  beacon and model for other African countries.On the victory of all governors whose cases went to the Supreme Court, on the heels of the litigation that trailed the 2023 governorship polls, the Professor of Political Science posited that the judiciary has become the hope of the common man.  He therefore prayed that the highest court grow in wisdom, courage, fear of God to continue to raise the bar of justice.
BY ROTIMI AGBOLUAJE
How will you react to the kidnapping pandemic that is going on in the country?
I believe that it has reached a stage where it has become rather frightening and worrisome. By now, we ought to have put in place a comprehensive plan to deal with the epidemic. It’s a very terrible situation now. We ought to have seen ahead that if certain steps were not taken, we could get to where we are now. It’s not funny at all. This is a very dangerous trend. At the present stage, it’s not just worrisome because of its impacts, the toll it is taking on the individual, their relations and closed ones, but also its implications on our stability and for the economic growth and development of investment possibilities. And above all, it’s worrisome because of the consequences it will have on the psych of the average Nigerian and the nation itself as a whole. When you have this type of situation, it makes people have doubts. We need to establish that confidence in the Nigerian people; that they can be protected and they will be protected not just by words of mouth alone but by actions. We must take that action. I believe we have enough human and material resources to be able to deal with such a pandemic.
What do you think are responsible for the high rate of insecurity in the country, especially kidnapping, at present?
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So many factors are responsible. Everybody has been stressing the fact that the economic situation and condition in the country is so bad that many people are taking to criminality because of the need to survive. But it’s not an excuse for people to take to criminality. This is due to the orientation of inordinate acquisition, where people now see shortcuts to making money instead of working hard. For some, the environment is not conducive for exploring ways of earning a living, then they take to criminality.
What we need to do, regarding that, is to realistically tackle the sources of poverty. We keep talking about educating the children, taking them off the street and making sure they all go to school and get to a level whereby, in spite of whatever background they have, they will be able to stand on their own and acquire some skills and be useful to themselves and the society.
Apart from the issue of poverty, we also see the element of greed which is so pervasive now. People take to kidnappings  and related activities, because the consequences are not there to deter them. For them, it is easier; it doesn’t cost them much in relation to other means of acquiring criminal proceeds. So, it’s very important to draw attention to some of the reasons for this act. These include the conspicuous consumption by the people, what people see on social media on how our Naira is being abused and how our values are eroded. You see people taking bundles of Naira notes in different denominations, throwing them all over the place because they never worked for it and earned it through legitimate means. Nobody who works honestly from his or her profession will just be throwing money the way many people do at parties nowadays. These people, of course, see all these and they want to behave and show off that way. They are desperate to make money too, using all means.
So, the other area that we should also be mindful of is the fact that the goal of a society has really changed. People are no longer interested in building names and contributing to society the way people used to do in the past. People are now more concerned about how much material wealth they can acquire, and how much money they can grab by whatever means.
Again, the easy access to weapons has made it possible for them to acquire weapons, and other instruments of coercion they use to conquer their victims.
The other point, we have a situation in which we suffer double jeopardy in terms of our security outfits, the security apparatus of the country. We have a shortage of staff. Apart from this shortage of staff, the recruitment process is faulty. There are reports all over the place that people are being recruited without sufficient background checks. In other words, we may inadvertently be recruiting criminals, who will come in, and we give them some training and they end up compromising the security networks of the state. The report also has it that there are some people, the so-called repentant terrorists, former criminals that have been re-integrated. When you bring those people in without training and retraining, sufficient de-radicalisation from the negative lane, there would be problems at some points. These are part of the problems compounding the existing ones. When all these come together, they  represent danger for the security of the state, and a threat to the lives and property of Nigerians. More dangerous is the long-term consequences. This is because they also recruit and train others who will assist them in the criminal trade that is gradually turning Nigeria to a crime space under the control of different groups of criminal gangs who are ready to do anything.
One had thought that by now, there ought to have been sufficient dis-incentives. The effort being used at a time which we thought would be improved upon, seems ought to have been abandoned. I’m talking about this idea of a cashless society. We ought to have tightened it and built upon it in such a way that anybody taking any money will go through certain procedures. And when the kidnappers are aware of this, of course, they know that it’ll not be easy for me to get the raw cash they are looking for. There are so many other steps that ought to have been taken.
Finally, our justice system also inadvertently helps to let this ‘business’ to thrive as a result of the slow pace of the justice system and the judiciary is also over-stressed. If we have had a separate court treating such matters with a dispatch, the time of committing the crime and the time of them getting judgment, will be space of some days. Once they are aware of this, it would have sent some strong signals to them and we wouldn’t have had them replicating, multiplying and reproducing themselves the way we now have it in our hands. It’s frightening but it can be tackled with the political will and determination on the part of the authority.
Do you think the authorities possess the right political will to tackle the problem?
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There is no way any government that is faced with this serious challenge should not muster the will to tackle it. It is the appreciation of the enormity of its seriousness, the dimension and the extent to which it could damage the destiny and future of the country that are important. That appreciation will prompt the government to do something. I’m impressed that among the forces that are expected to play some roles now,  the media is doing a tremendous job in that regard, drawing attention, raising issues and pointing the way forward. I believe it’s left to the government to listen, and use some of those ideas, because they proffer solutions to address the issue. I’m expecting that various professionals will also draw attention and take some steps too to mobilise and raise the alarm. It is an emergency that has to be tackled and dealt with. Otherwise, it will consume the whole nation. People are no longer sure of their safety in their homes, on the road, at their workplaces, and on the farmland. We’re talking about food scarcity. Under this prevailing situation, the plan to have food security will be a mirage. We can’t put something on nothing. We have to deal with the fundamentals before we can get to where we need to go.
Of importance also is the role of civil society organisations. They should go beyond just concentrating on political issues, elections, electoral process and political governance. Security of lives and properties of the citizens should also attract the attention of the civil societies. They should know that part of the governance process and system is ensuring the security of individuals and Nigerians collectively. Nigerians, in whatever system we are operating, need to be protected. We also have such organizations, religious organizations that draw attention of the government to what is needed to be done in certain areas. They have been doing substantially well in terms of drawing attention to it. One dimension which I’ll urge them to bring into their own campaign is the role of the citizens too; the alertness that they must acquire so that while the government is trying to come up with some measures to do something, the citizens too should be mobilising themselves to ensure the protection of their lives and properties. There are different ways of doing this. Nigerians can be creative and we should tap into the creativity of Nigeria when it comes to this area as well.
Talking about the justice system of the country you just mentioned, during the week, the Supreme Court gave judgment in some state governorship litigation. Contrary to the expectations of some people, none of the governors was sacked. Is it to douse the tension in the country or merely a coincidence?
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As a layman, I believe that some of the judgments given can be defended. As a layman too, there are two or three of the cases that one thought wouldn’t have gone the way they went? But, the justices knew the matter they had before them and why the judgment that they gave. What I believe is that, as a result of the judgment given, the judiciary has been applauded. This is because there are some cases in which people were thinking that political intervention would, probably, have produced a different result. But which never did. And people are applauding that the apex court had the courage to do what was considered the right thing.
At the same time, it is said that, maybe, on two or three occasions, it ought to have gone farther to change what was on ground. But as you hinted that, perhaps, it was to douse the tension, whichever I wouldn’t know. Certainly, the apex court’s recent judgments have given the ordinary person the hope that, with determination, the Nigeria judiciary could rise over and above any pressure and be itself. That is, to dispense justice without fear or favour. We must also be mindful of the fact that those who are on that exalted bench are human beings whose knowledge is not infinite. In other words, none of them is God. They are expected to read things differently from the way some people read them. In order words, they shouldn’t be expected to interpret the laws to suit and satisfy virtually every Nigerian citizen. They’ll do their best within the limitations imposed by the circumstances and the environment, and of course, by  their own being human beings to dispense judgment. My personal prayer is that they will continue to grow in wisdom, courage and the fear of God to raise the bar of justice, raise the level of appreciation and regards that Nigerians have for the judiciary at the moment. I believe that what has happened recently has further lifted the judiciary higher than the previous pedestal where they stood. I have no doubt about that. I also believe that the judiciary has the potential to continue to improve upon its public perception and capacity to do justice for Nigerians and the Nigeria state as such to re-establish itself firmly as a strong pillar for the sustenance of democracy, the nation as a whole, as well as  the most respectable and respected arm of government and the hope of the common man.
During the last yuletide, Governors across party lines – the Peoples’ Democratic Party, the Labour Party and the All Progressives Congress – paid a visit to the Lagos residence of President Bola Tinubu. Some political pundits have expressed some reservation of the visit, arguing that, if care is not taken, Nigeria might become a one-party state. Do you also share this sentiment?
With the type of constitution we have now, Nigeria could become anything. It could become a one-party state; it could even become a party- less state. Anything is possible, because the constitution we have is not a people’s constitution. We could call it an instrument designed to serve as an all-purpose vehicle just to seize power and use power with reckless abandon. The checks and balances that are supposed to be within are not strong enough. The interests of the people are not fully protected. Democratic principles are not fully ingrained in the content. Of course, it is anything but federal in nature. So, whatever we may say, anybody who is in power will exploit the weaknesses of  the constitution. They’ll exploit its lack of regards for Nigerian people to advance selfish political goals, ends and interests.
If we have had selfless, absolutely patriotic and altruistic leaders , who are determined to transform society and liberate the downtrodden, in charge, the same constitution could have been used to make Nigeria the beacon, model and exemplar of countries moving forward in Africa. Nigeria would have been at the forefront but because of the nature of the process of leadership recruitment, we are where we are. Things are not going to get better unless and until we have a genuinely crafted constitution coming from the people and belonging to the Nigerian people. That is when we can have the type of the political party system that will really address the yearnings of the people. When we suggest that the constitution should be modified, adjust it here and there to get certain things, we are going nowhere. We will just be moving in circles. Where would the restructuring come from, the social basics and principles that should govern how you are managing the affairs of the people when you have Section 2 of the constitution loosely put together without being justifiable? Then, the people have no right. They can only get whatever those who have taken over power in one way or the other, dispense. That is why anything could happen. As I said, Nigeria could end up as a one-party state or it could continue to have multiplicity of parties, depending on how the game players ,and the forces propelling the game changers to intensify their propensity to control, not just governance and so forth, but the ultimate destiny of the nation.
I hope and pray that we will wake up on time to really deal with the fundamentals. Without the right type of the constitution, we will not be able to get to where we want to go. When we have the right type of the constitution, of course, it will provide for an enabling environment, and make up for an opportunity for our leadership recruitment process to be different from what we presently have. Presently, we continue to promote criminal capitalism which will not augur well for the country.
END