Recently, residents of Yauri town, in Kebbi state of north-western Nigeria, were in a celebration mood. Not because the Nigerian government has showered them with basic social amenities like electricity, water supply, sanitation, hospitals, and schools. Nor were they celebrating because the government has guaranteed the much-needed security, which has become one of the greatest threats facing an average Nigerian today. No, the people in Yauri were celebrating their heroic act of ambushing and killing a rare but feared hippo - along with its calf – which had terrorised farmers in that region for many weeks.

The killing prompted jubilations and a sign of relief amongst the locals, especially the rice farmers and fishermen whose crops the animal had destroyed. The hippo attracted the attention and wrath of the Kebbi state government after it killed a fisherman who worked for the local traditional leader. Yes, the problem drew the government's attention only after a government associate became a victim of the pugnacious animal. The killing prompted the Kebbi state government to order the immediate killing of the "killer Hippo" for the safety of the community living along the River Niger.

Following the order from the Kebbi state government, the locals managed to kill the animal and jubilantly ferried the carcass in a canoe to the palace of one of the Emir of Yauri's high-ranking administrators, where it was butchered and its meat divided amongst the local community.

Despite the jubilation of the Yauri community for their gallant act, groups such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are saddened by the killing of the hippo. The hippo population has declined considerably, leaving the endangered species with only around 100 animals, mainly living in conservation areas.

"What the people of Yauri ought to have done was to report to relevant authorities who would capture and relocate it."

As much as one understands Isyaku Abdullahi's anger, it is essential to appreciate why the Yauri community, land an average Nigerian may not consider it necessary to report the danger facing them to the relevant authorities. It is one thing to bring your problems to the authorities; it is something else for the State to take the complaints seriously and deploy adequate measures to address them, so one needs to understand the present mindset of an average Nigerian. Once bitten, twice shy.

It has never been so bad for Nigerians recently; apart from the explosive high cost of living, inflation, and unemployment, menacing insecurity challenges are seriously threatening the existential fabric of the country, with terrorism and other criminality such as kidnapping and peril of cattle herders accounting for thousands of innocent deaths in Nigeria. Many communities have been displaced, and the farms and other sources of livelihood for hardworking citizens have been decimated. Terrorism and banditry have become the most lucrative business in Nigeria, with some areas of the country, like in the Northeast, effectively taken over by armed criminals who are running their shadow government and collecting taxes forcefully from the local communities. Not only are some places no-go-areas in Nigeria, but it has also become hazardous to travel by road in most parts of the country. Terrorists and bandits are making billions yearly from ransoms and other monies they collect from victims, while the average Nigerian is living in fear, desperation and hopelessness.

Here comes the disturbing part of the narrative. In a sheer display of fearlessness and boldness, the criminals post videos of their mayhem virally on social media. The culprits hardly hide their faces, whereabouts, or locations, which has made many Nigerians believe that the elements are being sponsored or backed by influential individuals in the country. Worse still, often when the murderers kidnap innocent citizens or commit other atrocities, they demand hefty ransoms, some running into millions of dollars; in most cases, as in the past, individuals, mostly highly placed and influential, acted as brokers and often had meetings and negotiations with the gunmen and ransom paid to the bandits. That would involve communicating with the criminals, having physical meetings, and sending the demanded ransoms to them.

Looking at the whole process, many concerned Nigerians have raised many serious questions, most unanswered. In this modern age of technological development, how come the Nigerian intelligence agencies are incapable of tracking down the terrorists and anarchists even though the criminals were communicating on the phone? For those who may ask how the negotiators knew the whereabouts of the terrorists to enable the meeting, one could, for the benefit of doubts, argue that the terrorists may have intimated or revealed the meeting point to the negotiators. Fair enough. However, considering that the so-called meeting had taken place severally, many are wondering why the security agents have not gathered enough intelligence to track and apprehend the assassins. It does not help that neither the law enforcement agents nor the Nigerian government have been able to provide its concerned and terrified citizens with enough convincing answers to calm down their fears and worries.

Former Nigerian head of State General Sani Abacha once made a statement which often echoes in the minds of many Nigerians.  

"Any Insurgency that lasts more than 24 hours, a government official has a hand in it."

Many Nigerians are now wondering what to make of General Abacha's statement and which narrative to believe — the Nigerian government's or General Abacha's.

Photo: CNN