The Nigerian state is failing her citizens

One of the oldest and simplest justifications for government is as a protector. The government is meant to protect its citizens from violence.

In his seminal text, Leviathan, the philosopher Thomas Hobbes offers what was then seen as a novel conception of the origins of civil government. Hobbes’ position on the ideals of a commonwealth is predicated upon his views of human nature and the state of mankind without government. First Hobbes writes of the natural inclination of human beings, which he believes is inherently troublesome; the state of nature that exists without a government, which to Hobbes is terrifyingly chaotic; and then the laws of nature that he says can, but do not always guide human behavior towards self-preservation.

Hobbes posits that “in the nature of man we find three principal causes of quarrel: first, competition; secondly, diffidence, thirdly, glory,” and then list’s man’s primary aims to be gain, safety and reputation. So when left to our own devices, in the course of trying to attain our primary aims, there is absolutely no chance for sanity.

The insanity in Nigeria has gotten to a level that one would expect in a society without a government. This is not surprising, given that after each and every atrocity committed by its favoured citizens, the government of the day only releases a press statement condemning the act while suing for peace, then goes to sleep.

The wanton killing by terrorists in the garb of herdsmen deserves more than a press statement, it deserves decisive action by the government of Nigeria. Instead, what we get is a minister of interior affairs turning into the spokesman of terrorists, giving unreasonable excuses for why the killings persist.

How does a sane person rationalize killings as a response to grazing laws enacted by some state governments? At this point, it’s almost impossible to absolve the government of complicity in the herdsmen menace. Isn’t it curious that each and every time villagers defend themselves, killing herdsmen in the process, the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice? Yet the known architects of the coordinated herdsmen massacres are granting press interviews and given free passes?

If a government that is coming to the polls in about eight months to seek the renewal of its mandate can be so conspicuously biased and inept at securing the lives and property of the citizens it swore to protect, I shudder in trepidation at what will happen if and when the mandate is renewed. May we remind the government that the right to life is not a favour, but one of our fundamental rights as human beings? In the absence of a responsive and responsible government that guarantees this right, we lay the foundation for despotic and fanatic warring bands.

In failing to judiciously perform its role as a protector, any other policy initiatives by this government is automatically rendered meaningless. You need to be alive to enjoy any supposed dividend of democracy. The government needs to start living up to its responsibility as an unbiased umpire in the issues related to the herdsmen and farmers. For starters, the government can begin by proscribing and disarming people without the right to bear arms. This should be a relatively low hanging fruit as I’m not sure there is any other group of people allowed to move around freely with assault rifles all in the name of protecting herds of cattle, farms or villages. The lives of Nigerians shouldn’t be a collateral damage for the madness of a few.