n October 2024, a platoon of Nigerian solders were ambushed by Fulani terrorists and all the soldiers lost their lives. It was another tragic end for soldiers who are Poorly paid, poorly equipped, under an uncaring commanders and government in this unending and insincere war against terror.

This week, the governor of Plateau State lamented that Fulani terrorists have taken over 64 villages in the State. Recently a village was wiped out in Benue state by Fulani Terrorists. Fulani terrorists controlling vast regions of Zanfara state where they engage in illegal mining, kidnapping and extortion.

No serious country would behave like Nigeria government in the face of the type existential threat posed by Fulani and Boko Haram terrorists.

In Nigeria, Fulani terrorists have an Islamic cleric who defends their good work and justifies the atrocities they commit. Terrorists are free to roam about with their weapons, even though it is unlawful for anyone, except, approved security officers to carry military grade weapons in Nigeria.

Terrorists have their ransoms delivered to them by police and or army officers, with assistance of Bank managers.

Terrorists’ supplies are deliver by helicopter in full knowledge of the military. Terrorists are occupying villages whose indigenous owners are in displaced people camps.

The Nigerian President and defence minister do not care that terrorists operate open mines and impose tax on surrounding villages.

I ask again, who is the Nigerian government working for? For whose benefit does the Nigerian state exist? Is it for the terrorists, politicians or the people? It was the same in the last administration.

During the administration of Goodluck Jonathan When the then army Chief, Ihejirka was dealing with the terrorists, the current terrorists Sheikh, Gumi, Mohammad Buhari, El Rufai and Sanusi and all the other northern Muslim jihadists working to make Nigeria an Islamic country protested and impugned the intentions and integrity of the army chief.

In fact, since Ihejirka was removed as army chief, those in charge of Nigerian military have not made a serious attempt to deal with Fulani and Boko Haram terrorists for the simple reason that both the defence ministers and army chief have either been Fulani terrorists sympathisers, or constrained by the president.

Brutari under Buhari did nothing, except, ensuring that the defence budget did not improve the army. The result of the actions of government since 2015 is that terrorists have grown bolder and stronger and Poor Nigerians continue to pay the blood price of this tragedy and infamy.

As an Igbo, I wonder what would have happened to the villages around the scene the Terrorists ambushed the Nigerian soldiers, if this ambush happened in Igbo labd. A region and people marked out by the government for suppression and marginalisation.

With a run away inflation and worsening security, it is almost a hopeless situation as Nigerians are finding out that a corrupt Jonathan government was actually better than ‘jihadist and murderous Buhari’s and that in allowing Tinubu to succeed in his election fraud, that a bad situation has been made worse.

When presented with a choice between bad and worse, Nigeria chose the worse. Today, Nigerians are realising that replacing a murderous ethnic irredentist with a rogue, is not progress. The murderer steals lives and the thief steals what sustains lives.

The reality is that Nigerians no longer look for honest men as leaders, but just men, who are just not too corrupt.

This is both the sadness and tragedy of Nigeria that people run for public offices not on their integrity, honesty and probity, but on being less dishonest, less corrupt and less clueless than their opponents.

Many knew Buhari was a bad choice in 2015. They thought he was not as bad as was revealed. I remember Obama supporting him. In 2018, many people believed that Atiku does not quite make the moral bar for the high office he seeks, but a much better choice than Buhari, yet they supported Buhari.

In 2022, Nigeria had a choice to elect an honest leader with integrity in Peter Obi, but Igbophobia could not allow them.

Just like in 2015 and 2019, they did not think Tinubu was as corrupt as the evidence showed. Well, two years into his term, Nigerians are realising that even Atiku would have been better choice than Tinubu.

The future of Nigeria lies not in election under the present constitution, but in the restructure of Nigeria into regions that allows the ethnic nations to develop at their paces and a new constitution which reviews the powers of the executive for patronage, decentralises power, empowers state institutions to become independent and strong to enforce their constitutional powers without fear of the executive. This is one way that gives Nigeria a chance to survive as one country and end the reign of Fulani terrorists.

Unless, the power of the executive to intimidate is removed, well defined processes and procedures for accountability put it in place and the constitution makes it unlawful for the executive to use the army and police the way Buhari and his predecessors have done, politics in Nigeria will remain an ethnic scramble to loot a sinking ship.

Until the Nigerian state sees Fulani terrorists and kidnapping as the greatest existential threats Nigerians face, this dillydallying with this lethal threats would continue.

It is time for the Nigerian government to use its military to bring an end to the reign of terrorists so that the thousands in displaced people camps can go home and Nigerians can feel safe again.