By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

The Eselu of Iselu Kingdom in Yewa North local government area of Ogun State, Oba Ebenezer Akintunde Akinyemi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to consider hiring foreign mercenaries to fight and end the protracted wave of terrorism, banditry and kidnapping currently plaguing the country, particularly in Plateau, Benue, and other northern states.

The traditional ruler, who made the call in an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, said the persistent bloodshed, which has become a national tragedy that has become a booming “industry” for some, warning that continued inaction could spell grave consequences for Nigeria’s unity and stability.

The letter reads, “Mr. President, it is disheartening to see that human lives are no longer valued in some parts of our country despite the frantic efforts your administration has been making to secure all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria”.

“This country that we all grew up to know to be a peaceful nation some decades ago has now become a country where bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and foreign Fulani herdsmen operate and cause calamities in communities, and it is evident that these destiny killers are not ready to sheathe their swords”.

“The recent devastating happenings in Plateau and Benue States are so humongous that hundreds of human beings (old and young) were killed, slaughtered and displaced from their ancestral homes by the daredevil and marauding criminals who want to bring Nigeria on its knees. My condolences to the families of the innocent citizens who lost their lives in the dastardly acts perpetrated by the enemies of Nigeria”.

“In my opinion, Mr President needs to take very decisive action to end this madness because the insecurity we are experiencing in Nigeria has now created an industry for some practitioners who will want the madness, killings and maiming to go on till eternity”.

“Despite investing in military equipment and recruiting Nigerians into the security forces, the perpetrators of these heinous crimes have constantly become emboldened. If Mr President does not end this madness, which started many years before he assumed office in May 2023, the industry that the insecurity has

The created will continue to gulp a chunk of our national budget and allow importers of military equipment and weapons to remain in business. “

“It will encourage managers and contractors for internally displaced persons (IDP) camps to be in business; make provisions of dividends of democracy difficult in view of the huge funds that government will be spending to secure the country; and as well continue to embolden opposition figures to use the insecurity as an avenue to change government”.

“Sadly, insecurity has now become a weapon in the hands of politicians. This same insecurity was used to oust President Jonathan in 2015. The Buhari government who succeeded him promised to end the insecurity in some months, but failed woefully”.

“To me, some actions that we have always taken as a country will continue to encourage the

Bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and foreign Fulani herders wreak havoc in our country. Lots of the recruitment we do into the armed forces in Nigeria do not follow federal character”.

“The numbers of northerners in the Nigerian Army and other security agencies are so huge that majority of them will always find it difficult to kill some of the terrorists at war fronts because they see the criminals as their kinsmen”.

“We have watched many videos showing us where some security personnel fighting the terrorists, bandits, foreign Fulani herdsmen, complain of lack of motivation. The dogs that some people have in their homes are well-fed, even more than our security men. Can we really end insecurity with this approach? My answer is no!”

“All manners of sentiments are deployed whenever there are calls to wipe out the bloodsucking criminals. As alleged, the complicity of many people in and outside government also encourages madness to persist.”

“Mr President, as a stakeholder in the ‘project Nigeria’ and as a patriotic citizen, I believe it is high time we changed the approach we are using to tackle the unending terrorism”.

“I want to suggest that Mr President should open a debate in the National Assembly on how to invite mercenaries into Nigeria for the purpose of wiping out the terrorists. This measure will prevent our countrymen and women from taking sides with the perpetrators of the criminality whenever there are plans to get them killed at war fronts.”

“It is evident that governments across the globe invest in the importation of sophisticated weapons and vehicles to protect their countries and their managers, so there is nothing wrong with bringing in professional mercenaries to assist us in wiping out the madness and bringing peace back to our dear country, Nigeria. “

“We cannot be complaining about the problems and also be complaining about the solutions. If our security agencies cannot stop this calamity for three administrations, there is no point putting fresh soup in the old pot.”