Guardian

‘How to curb insecurity in Africa’

The Military Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State killed four suspected armed terrorists in a clash between the hoodlums and soldiers on patrol at the Abaganaram Ward of Maiduguri in the early hours of Wednesday.

An eyewitness and resident of Abaganaram said that eight gunmen on two tricycles attacked one of the JTF patrol vehicles at the old Maiduguri and started shooting at the soldiers, but four were killed while attempting to shoot at the driver and tyres of the patrol vehicle that pursued the tricycles.

He said: “As the shootings continued for about half an hour at 2.35 a.m., four gunmen fell from the tricycles.”

The JTF spokesman, Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa, could not be reached for confirmation because of the poor communication services caused by the damage to the GSM masts in Borno and Yobe states.

Another eyewitness however said that he saw three bodies while trekking to his office. The Borno State Police Spokesman, Gideon Jibrin, confirmed the attacks in Abaganaram, but was unsure whether the attacks and shootings were directed at JTF vehicles or other targets of armed hoodlums that operated under the guise of Boko Haram. He said no arrests have been made by either the police or JTF.

A hospital mortuary attendant said six bodies were brought to the morgue in the morning in a Toyota Hilux police patrol van.

Meanwhile, a university teacher, Prof. A.E. Ekoko of History Department, Delta State University, Abraka, has blamed rising insecurity in parts of Africa on poor leadership prevalent on the continent, which has failed to deliver development to the people in all the areas of human development index.

Ekoko stated this while delivering a keynote address at the 3rd International Conference of the Faculty of Arts, Delta State University, Abraka, which opened yesterday, with the theme ‘The Humanities and Security Issues in Africa’.

Ekoko noted in his submission that security was the same as development, particularly human capital development, which was largely lacking on the continent, saying: “Now, if truly security is about development, and development is about people, then ipso facto security is about people. And if security lies in the mind of man, then development also equally can only grow from the mind”. He situated Africa as being the poorest region in the world with its political leaders putting themselves far above the people they are supposed to lead, with the result that discontent was rife.

He said Africans have never been in the political equation of its leaders, adding: “There is pervasive lack of public morality and ethics, corruption is cancerously endemic, human and basic rights are elusive and basic needs are not met. The five poorest countries of the world are in Africa. Hunger, disease, illiteracy and ignorance are still endemic in Africa. The supreme goal and justification for any government is to promote the security and well-being of the nation and its people. But in Africa, the leadership orientation has not changed, and there has always been a lack of regard for the people, and putting their own political interest above that of the people so much so that an African leader is only interested in power.

Consequently, African elite delude themselves about being secured amidst the nagging insecurities across the continent, knowing fully well that security is indivisible.”

This prevailing situation in Africa, Ekoko observed, made the continent ripe for the global insurgents plaguing the world, with the Arab Spring uprising, al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups finding the continent fertile soil for terror acts.