Recently, the United Arab Emirates, UAE, released a tersely worded statement placing six Nigerian citizens on its terror list.
Following this latest development from the Asian country, there had been widespread reactions from Nigerians with some calling on the Federal Government to disclose the identities of those allegedly involved to put them to shame.
While all together not condemning such calls, one thinks that it would be most appropriate at this point in time for government to use such privileged intelligence at its disposal to intensify efforts towards clipping the wings of sponsors of terrorism in all ramifications, moreso that the same country had earlier divulged some identities of those that were allegedly sponsoring the activities of the outlawed Boko Haram insurgents as well as the financial institutions through which the sponsorship was coming into the country.
It is believed that this latest revelation might only have been a follow up in strengthening the intelligence base in the collaborative build up between the two countries in the efforts to contain international terrorism.
For too long, Nigerians had groaned under the yoke of kidnapping for ransom, banditry, armed robbery, arson, rape, murder and other forms of criminality such that no time should be wasted on naming a band of unpatriotic elements as a way of putting them to shame. One thinks that would rather be making them more popular as some of the names might not be popular names but opportunists.
I agree wholeheartedly with the Federal Government intention to leave nothing to chance in allowing the law to take its full course by bringing the suspected terrorism sponsors to justice. It would be in the greater interest of Nigeria that such malefactors should be fully investigated and prosecuted as a more damning consequence for their heinous crimes that had damaged the social and economic well-being of Nigeria and Nigerians. Such criminality had neither spared foreign interest in the country as some of these negative activities had occasionally affected foreign Nationals as well as critical foreign investments, thereby causing capital flight from the country that was gradually getting more insecure for worthwhile investments for national development.
This pronounced intention of government to bring those allegedly giving financial muscle to terrorists and terror organizations to justice is soothing to the ears, but Nigerians would rest more assured if government collaboration would dig deeper into not just the activities of those that had already been identified but it should use those as further links to those yet to be identified towards finding more critical solutions to the monstrous problem of unabating insecurity in the country.
It is imperative that government should not forget to beam the searchlight inwards to discover possible saboteurs that had remained adamant on ensuring that terrorists were always privy to critical intelligence on tackling them, thereby keep staying ahead of government efforts in ending insecurity.
Such saboteurs, when identified should not just be uprooted from government but should be made to face the music the same way that the others would.
It would be most appropriate for the government not to spare the institutions that had always been used as channels of bringing in financial and other resources for the terrorist groups and their reception points. Sanctions within the provisions of Nigerian law should be visited on them as well to sanitize the system.
It is heartwarming that government is boosting the arsenal of the military against the outcry of inadequate firepower against the supposed sophistication of the terrorists that had made them to appear having a superior edge over government troops.
The recent successes being reached in different sectors of the theatre of the war against terrorism that had seen the killing of many bandits is a pointer to the improving equipment sophistication of the Nigerian military.
Apart from equipment readiness, government should adequately address service welfare by ensuring that all claims due troops were availed them while both residential and office accommodation be updated for them such that they too should operate within secure environments.
It is recalled with utmost regret the recent invasion of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, during which a senior officer was kidnapped and two others were killed. That was indeed a national embarrassment that should never recur.
