 Good morning once again and welcome back to the breakfast. It's time to move into a conversation on security. Sunday was another sad day for the police in Aquivom State as the police station was attacked in a back local government area. This happened a day after five police officers and an officer's wife were killed in another attack in the state. Another police station was also attacked over the weekend in River State and reports say no fewer than five officers were killed. This brings to 53 the number of police officers killed in such attacks in the last seven weeks in the southeast and south south Nigeria. No group is claiming responsibility for the attacks. Joining us on the breakfast this morning is a security analyst, Bosindi Araikbe. Good morning and thanks for joining us. Good morning please. All right it's 53. I don't know if you know this happens anywhere else in the world, even in very very crisis torn areas. You don't hear that 53 police officers have been killed in six seven weeks. So there's obviously something going on that we're not aware of or we're not very sure of. So quickly share with us what do you think might be going on across the southeast and south south? Well I think what is going on here is not about the southeast or the south south. What is going on here? Can you hear me? Yes clearly go ahead. Can you hear me? Okay fine. What is going on now in Nigeria, especially in the southeast and in the south south? It's not about the southeast and the south south. Personally as a security activist and consultant I have watched the situation and I've concluded that some elements are taking advantage of the lapses in government. You see for the first time in the history of Nigeria after the civil war you have crisis in every geopolitical zone that has to do with insecurity. Now insecurity is saddled solemnly on the federal government, the president to be precise, he is the commander in chief which makes him the one in charge of all the arms in the country. Now people are taking advantage of their inability to have sorted out the issues in the nuts and since that issue has lingered for long it has given privilege to other hoodlums and criminally minded individuals, organizations and persons to also launch their attacks simultaneously claiming what they want to claim. The idea of this attack is to weaken the security infrastructure and security architecture of the government of Nigeria. When that security architecture is weakened anybody can claim whatever they want to claim and succeed but if they cannot weaken that architecture then they might not be able to get what they want it may just be a mere illusion. So attacking the security personnel is aimed at demoralizing them. When you demoralize them properly then you can launch your bigger plan. So I think this what is going on now is people taking advantage of lapses in our government's inability to address security issues in the nuts. What kind of bigger plan? So the things they can't address let's add our own. Yeah what kind of bigger plan are you referring to and you know should we be? Well people don't just attack. I have studied the situation for example like precisely those in the southeast in this area now. I have seen that people don't just attack police officers because they want to attack police. Now when people attack police officers two things are involved is either they try to mop up arms from the police and add to their armory or they intend to carry out revenge on the police for some issues that has happened before involving the police. However these two is not the case in this attack. They are not mopping up arms. They are not carrying out any revenge. They are only demoralizing the system causing the police to retrieve back to their station with all their protective activities causing the police to focus more on themselves thereby leaving the general public to be unsafe and to be intimidated at will when they have succeeded with causing this demoralization to the security agencies not just the police. The next attack if they have any other agenda I think they have it to be unfolded. So I suspect there is a bigger plan and this is just the background play to enable them to launch that bigger plan. That's what I strongly believe. All right so Miss Haraipe it seems that we have an idea of what the aim is to demoralize you know Nigeria to demoralize our security forces but about them not stealing arms reports you know confirms that some arms have been stolen you know police stations you know vehicles patrol vehicles birds you know even in one of the cases we saw over the weekend one of the wife of the policeman was killed as well so just the state that reports have shown that arms have been stolen so we know that you know this might be one of the reasons why they're doing that but one thing that is not very clear is who is carrying out these attacks. Lots of people have said maybe it's the iPod maybe it's the ESN there's been lots of that but we know that these groups time and time again denied this and we've seen that professor you know Obiezo said that these attacks are being carried out by enemies of the state you know saying that it's not the iPod but the iPod their focus is you know self self-determination they want out of Nigeria they're not out to kill security forces but from what you know the federal government have been saying the body language and we're getting from them if we're to go by that how did a self a group who is you know agitating for self-determination go to a you know become a terrorist organization well well basically uh first of all before I take the question I'd like to reiterate the fact that I said mopping up of arms is not their primary target but of course in a war if you uh if you bring down someone a person you may want to mop up his arm that doesn't mean it's your target you may want to take arms if you're out of bullets you may want to take back bullets from maybe if a dead soldier that you have killed or something it doesn't mean that's your intention you understand what I'm saying so I'm sure mopping up of arm is not their intention but however when you go down someone in Nigeria and you know ak47 is expensive you can also carry but that doesn't make it your intention that is the truth now moving up to how does a people a kind of wanting out of a country become a terrorist group that I don't know how Nigeria explained what they call terrorism and what they don't call terrorism but I know that if anybody is to be classified as a terrorist is because the person has timelessly done things that puts the country at threats you understand me that put the country at rest the resources of the country at rest hold the country to ransom in since the starting things these things I know are what can characterize and classify someone as a terrorist organization you understand the inside a country however I don't know the yardstick the government is measuring the issue with the IPOB with but what I do know is that the federal government need to be open to Nigerians on the security on national security issues the federal government needs to stop hiding some certain information that we help members of the public become part of the insecurity fights we as members of the public are the only hope of the federal government and this time and not to point blame at a section or a tribe or a part of the country no that is not the answer the answer is that the government owes Nigerians explanations on the way forward and the role Nigerians are expected to play in times of insecurity like this and not to be playing blame game blame game does not stop insecurity all over the world I was seen on tv two days ago there was a shootout I think somewhere in America in less than 48 hours less than 12 hours the police chief has come out to tell you what is going on and the role they expected the citizens to play this is recently and our government just keep keeping things private that they should let us in on if this attack is going on the president the nationals creature advisor everyone of them even the general political issue address the country and tell the country this is where we suspect and this is the role we want individual to play you can't run the country like it's your personal property it's Nigeria we are citizens we have a role to play yeah I want you to you know also speak on trying to identify the perpetrators like you've mentioned there's been some level of silence from the government but don't you think it's important that or do you think it's necessary that by now we should have been able to identify the people who are carrying out these attacks and stop you know allowing space for conspiracy theories and for Nigerians to point accusing fingers here and there well Nigeria 20 years ago 30 years ago would have been able to identify those Karina this attack but the current Nigerian system does not have a proper intelligence they have people who are in intelligence community like the DSS we have the SID in the police and the FCI being the police to that with the first headquarters but these people can do this intelligence work and bring out all this information but I'm not sure they are properly mobilized I'm sure security is played politics within Nigeria so because of that politics we might not be able to properly do the job of intelligence you see intelligence based policing is the only thing that can help us now but they need to be motivated all over the world security costs money and it costs sincerity at some point from the government and I don't think we are being that sincere enough to be able to make this things work so I think by now ordinarily we should have had information that are credible and the government should have communicated to the public even if not directly but indirectly you know it's one thing telling your child that there is no food today it's another thing telling your child that we have raw gari but because there is no cuisine to want this that's why we don't have food not just because we don't we have gari it can we can drink the gari we can soak this gari with granite but why we say there is no food is because we don't have cuisine to light the stove and then cook this gari properly and give you with soup which is a better dish that's what I'm saying so you must not tell us everything but you can tell us that this is the XYZ situation on ground and then you begin to carry the public along when you carry the public along even the intelligence you want to gather it is the public that will give it to you you are not a spirit you are not a spirit it's not you it's the public so so which would you say we must feel like we have a share yes absolutely but I want to know which would you say is is very likely to be playing out now uh is it that the government doesn't know who is responsible after weeks and weeks of weeks of these attacks or the government is aware but chooses to not share with the public well going by uh what has been happening for those of us following the security activities in Nigeria to me I will tell you that everything you said is in play I think at one corner the government think that they are aware of what is going on but they don't want to tell the public but at the other end which is the end the public see is that the government is not aware of what is going on and they are just playing main game and doing trial and error that's how the public sees it now why will the public see it that way it is because one the government failed to handle the issue of Boko Haram headsmen this issue were built up to moral boost to the attackers that are now killing the policemen without those three issues in the north these attackers in the south would not have been able to kill any policemen they are clean policemen because they realize that the government cannot protect the people as are supposed to be so they are capitalizing on the lapses of government so to the public now it is believed that since they couldn't tackle the issue they don't know what's going on in the north headsmen here and there that's the same thing that is happening but to the government I think they think they know what is happening but they don't know how to go about it now that's where the public comes in in interviews like this depending on the questions we ask we can talk and give consultation for free on how solutions the less solutions that the government can take if they care to listen and if they care to listen if you actually do help them Nigerian has a bunch of professionals people like myself everywhere and we have a villa set to talk you understand me so I what I think now is that the government feel they know but the public feel the government doesn't know and the public is correct because if the government know then Boko Haram will not have been assisted headsmen will not have been assisted and no policeman would have been attacked like this at this nature and at this style we're saying so we will go by majority and the public is majority therefore the government does not know what is going on they are confused so how about statements about Inam de Canuda says that you know any policeman you know any soldier who kills any Biafran you know that will be punished what are statements like that tell us about who might be perpetrating this attacks and what aim is well Inam de Canuda has been talking for some years now so those who care to listen Nigeria is a very big country with almost 200 persons so one Inam de Canuda should not be the 100% concentration on government his statements should be investigated properly Inam de Canuda is in a country in this world Inam de Canuda is not talking from heaven Inam de Canuda is not talking from heaven Inam de Canuda is talking from a country and Nigeria has diplomatic ties with this country so they should stop telling me stories what I'm saying is that if they want to reach Inam de Canuda they can reach him whatever wants to do they can do the world is now a global community Nigeria has a relationship with countries including the one he's talking from so they should stop telling me stories about Inam de Canuda don't stop using my excuse I focus on doing the job of protection of lives and profits so are you basically saying that you know with all these security challenges in the country the government can stop it if they want to the government can stop it if they want to there is a saying let me not use that saying however it will be too big to use now the government can stop insecurity if they want to it's only matter of having the willpower and the interest of stopping it if that willpower is there and the interest is there to stop and then you need to stop what would you say should be the Nigerian government's response if we're serious about stopping these things from going on wow now there are two things should be the Nigerian government's response every government that is interested in the safety of our people when issues like these are up the whole series of meetings and consult stakeholders whether from the private sector or from the government sectors but anybody who has a role to play like myself and people like myself in this country are invited to a round table and discussed with the powers that be and then they begin everybody begin to bring out their ideas and then the government seat and filters it and then collect implements the best for the counter now however haven't said that let me move direct to what i think is the solution for this current situation it is very clear that the federal government has failed in the job of protection of lives and property which is a primary function of government but what is also very clear is that i have not seen any interest in government to ensure that oh i seem to have lost uh mr rike that a very very important moment there so we're going to reconnect with him and of course have him finish up his thoughts on solutions welcome back mr rike please go ahead okay fine now what i want to advise the federal government is very simple is called state police now state police in this contest is not the normal state police everybody's advising state police in this contest i'm asking them to ban nigerian police no nigerian police is federal police the state police i'm talking of is the nscdc the nigerian security and civil defense have been armed with arms and ammunition and there are acts that have been updated some years ago gives the nscdc the right to perform 95 percent of the job of the police already which means the nscdc is already a substitute police but they choose to focus mainly on bunkering on this illegal bunkering and oil theft and all of that and then they also choose to do the normal private guards approval and all of that but the truth is that we're not seeing any change in the illegal bunkering they are still the way they are so what i want to suggest is that the government should decentralize the powers of the nscdc when those powers are decentralized where the state governor become the commander in chief of nscdc there is no need employing new persons let it become the state police let the governor appoint the state commander of nscdc and promote fire take it over just like you have new york police department nos angeles police department let nscdc be the state police let their roles be divided properly on what they can do and what they cannot do when that is done this insecurity will stop i have other ways that they can make it work when they are ready they should call us and we give them consultation now why am i suggesting this nscdc is because to all state governors they cannot act properly in this situation state governors cannot do much because one the security apparatus under them in their state is still being controlled by the federal when and when a commissioner police is sent to you and the governor rejects it reject the commissioner and you do not change it to the one he wants what are you telling him that he's not in charge when the governor will give order to the commissioner of police and he will tell you he cannot carry out this order what he's telling the governor is that you are not in charge all the security agencies have their bosses at the federal level so the state governors are just there like their side chick and the state governors understand that they are side chick so what do they do they act as that so a state government can give police vehicles give them money but they will never give them the truth it takes to achieve a total form of security because they themselves do not trust the security agency they themselves do not have a hundred percent trust on the security agency why because they are federal inclined so the state has very little trust for them however they just walk around with them so my idea is when the state has their own police stable with certain xyz responsibility as will be spelled out using the already trained Nigerian security and civil defense cop nscdc giving them full control of this and i tell you the government will be truthful with every information they need to the state governors and government will be truthful and i tell you this insecurity will stop because at that point they will be doing it for themselves and not for Nigeria and you and i know that there is politics of party politics of tribe politics of interests so there is very little process thank you very much for you know all the you know very you know insightful comments that you have you know given us today we really appreciate them i mean great great points i feel you know we've been talking about state police and regional policing but you know we've gotten a level of you know understanding of this matter that we should be hoping that the government implements this we have the amotec and we have the it will be our goal coming up here and there but we really can't wait to see you know these security outfits really get to work and you know secure lives and properties so thank you again mr i pay for your time joining us from river states thank you again thank you all right and that's where we wrap things up of course we will be saying our hearts go out to the families of these slain policemen and we hope that you know we have a safer environment in southeast south southern across nigeria and stop losing these policemen who of course are pain with their lives for the job that they do to do to secure our country um thanks very much for being a part of the program this morning if you missed out on any of these conversations so you would like to go back and catch up on conversations we had with uh reman adibi the legacy chairman of liberation movement or with mr boussindy ariaco a security analyst you can check out our youtube channel at plus tv african youtube or the new one a plus tv lifestyle or our social media handles the other ones plus tv africa on facebook twitter and instagram i am osao ye and i am annetta philix saying have a great day