Today’s celebration of the International Day of Remembrance of Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism globally should nudge Nigeria to take more effective proactive actions to curb terrorism, remember the fallen and rehabilitate the displaced.

The United Nations General Assembly had in 2017 established August 21 annually to honour and support the victims and survivors of terrorism and to promote and protect the full enjoyment of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. For Nigeria, it is timely. Since 2009, it has been sucked into the vortex of global terrorism. It is the world’s third most terrorised country.

Islamic terrorism was birthed in the country by the violent Islamist group, Boko Haram. Since then, it has sprouted several offshoots, welcomed into its ranks different global terrorist franchises – ISIS and al-Qaeda – and become magnets for jihadists from across the world.

Moreover, other terrorists with other goals have emerged. One group of vicious Fulani marauders is spreading its rapine all over the country. Others are the blood-thirsty bandits/kidnappers ravaging the northern states. These have forged an unholy alliance with the Salafist Boko Haram, Ansaru and ISWAP, the local ISIS affiliate. In the South-East, a shadowy group the media labels “unknown gunmen” for want of a specific name is also waging a campaign of terror, riding on the back of a separatist agitation in the region.

The country is now gripped by violent conflicts on several fronts. Estimates of the number of persons killed in terrorism since 2009 vary from the 35,000 cited by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, to 100,000 as of 2019 given by Kashim Shettima, a former governor of Borno State, the epicentre of the Boko Haram insurgency. In a June 2021 report, the UN Development Programme said insurgency-related conflicts had claimed the lives of 350,000 persons in the North-East by 2020. It said while 35,000 were killed directly, 314,000 died from “indirect causes.” Over 2.5 million persons have been displaced with about 200,000 taking refuge in neighbouring countries. Children and women contribute a large chunk of the indirect casualties.

The Global Terrorism Index 2022 identified sub-Saharan Africa as an emerging epicentre of terrorism, accounting for 48 per cent of global terrorism deaths. Depressingly, GTI noted in 2020 that Nigeria retained odious title of the third most terrorism-impacted country in the world.

In the past 18 months, terrorists have attacked 16 military bases and killed about 750 security personnel. In 2017, the GTI disclosed that nearly three-quarters of deaths caused by terrorism were in only five countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, and Syria.

Though Nigeria has invested hugely in human and material resources in the fight against terrorism, the battle is far from being over. The collaborative efforts of ISWAP and Boko Haram have seen deadly attacks across the North-East, North-West and the North Central. Conversely, the counterterrorism strategies of the military are faltering. Ironically, it is the insurgents deploying technology while the state has been tardy in this regard. While the terrorists obviously rely on accurate intelligence, Nigerian forces suffer from poor intelligence and keep falling into ambushes and endure attacks on their outposts.

Nigeria should therefore remodel its security architecture to defeat terrorism. Secondly, it should radically overhaul its welfare and rehabilitation programmes for victims of terrorism – survivors, dependents of those killed, IDPs and afflicted communities. The hundreds of thousands of villagers rendered homeless by terrorists should be provided for; efforts should be stepped up to return them eventually to their homes. Granting “amnesty” to so-called “repentant” terrorists dismays the living victims and dishonours the memory of the dead. Resources should be deployed to help the innocent, not reward murderers. In the IDP camps, better services, health care, schooling, safe water, and skills acquisition programmes should be ramped up.

Communities recaptured or traumatised by terrorists deserve special attention from the state and federal governments. Rebuilding should be a priority, as well as the provision of basic social services and permanent security presence. There should no longer be ungoverned territories in the country. The UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy recommends adopting measures to “counter the dehumanization of victims of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.” It urges states to create national systems of assistance that would “promote the needs of victims of terrorism and their families and facilitate the normalisation of their lives.”

The widely reported pattern of sexual abuse in IDP camps should be eradicated, and the culprits prosecuted. The camps should be secured and special programmes should be designed for children and girls. Nigeria should imbibe the culture of remembering and honouring victims of terrorism. The United States federal, state, and local governments deliberately mark the anniversaries of terror attacks. France, the United Kingdom holds memorials of major attacks too. In 2014, marking the first anniversary of militant group al-Shabaab’s attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, thousands of mourners, and survivors gathered to pay their respects to the victims killed on September 21, 2013, when gunmen stormed the mall, killed 67 persons, and injured about 200 others. Americans immortalise the September 11, 2001 terror victims with memorial services, dedicated websites and a September 11 Memorial and Museum.

Incumbent and former French presidents, national, provincial, and municipal public officials turn out unfailingly for annual activities and tributes to the victims of 2015 terror attacks on the offices of the Paris satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo and elsewhere in which 17 persons were killed. Other European countries undertake similar activities to honour victims. Such activities unite the country, honour the dead and their relatives and inspire national shared values and patriotism in the people. From the President, his ministers, down to the governors, lawmakers, and elected LG officials, Nigeria’s leaders should join relatives and communities to remember victims and succour survivors of terrorism.

States and LGs should undertake low key memorials to honour the dead and other victims of outrages in their domain. The greatest service to the both the living and the departed however is to map out strategies to quickly defeat terrorism totally and make the country safe again. The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and the state governors should rise to this challenge.

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