Emergency rule: It’s not yet uhuru.

[FMINigeria]

By Tine-Iulun, M.A.

The state of emergency declared in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States by President Goodluck Jonathan on 14th May, 2013 came at the right time, if not a little late, considering the damages already caused. Many innocent Nigerians were already killed including those of security agents and properties running into billions of naira have been destroyed through the insurgency which warranted the declaration of the emergency.

Even though many people have said that this declaration is a right step in the right direction, it is however, not yet uhuru (freedom). The Government and Military should not be deceived into believing the battle is over. Such anti-terrorism policies often meet with initial withdrawal by the insurgents who could later re-group to cause pockets of violence in different parts of the country, using various methods and means.

The events of 11th September 2001 – the bombing of the World Trade Center in the United States of

America changed the way the World viewed terrorism. The attacks resulted in the deaths of almost 3, 000 persons. As a result of the attacks, many Governments across the world passed legislations to combat terrorism.

In Germany, where some of the 9/11 terrorists had resided; it was detected that they had taken advantage of the country's liberal asylum policies; even there in Germany, two major anti-terrorism legislations were enacted.

Canada also passed its anti-terrorism Act; the country's first anti-terrorism law.

The United Kingdom passed the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act, 2001 and Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2005.

In the United States, the Department of Homeland Security was created to coordinate domestic anti-terrorism efforts.

The USA Patriot Act gave the Federal Government greater powers to detain foreign terror suspect for a week without charge; to monitor telephone communication, e-mail and internet use by terror suspects and to prosecute suspected terrorists without time restrictions.

Further, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act made the Federal Government in the US, rather than airport management authority, the responsibility for airport security.

Despite all these measures taken by Governments to combat terror, terrorists have not ceased attempting and or carrying out terror attacks. The Nigerian Government should therefore, not relax merely because the insurgents in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe for now are on the run. Attention should be focus on how to stop them from re-grouping so that they are not able to cause further attacks on those States.

Efforts should also be made to prevent the terrorists from spreading terror to other parts of the country like it was witnessed in the US; calling to mind, the Boston bombing of 15th April, 2013, where foreign nationals described as "very religious" detonated two bombs parked with ball bearings at the Boston Marathon, killing three people and causing several more to lose limbs; and the May 22nd Woolwich attack, in Southeast London, where a terrorists shouting "Allahu Akbar" hacked a British soldier to death.

All hands must be on deck to stop the menace of terror attacks in the country until it is completely wiped out.

Ensuring the safety and security of its citizens should be a key priority for Government.

However, one should quickly add that security should not be the business of government alone. Partnership is key at ensuring this. Only through effective cooperation of all levels of government, civil societies, traditional rulers and individuals, can we achieve this goal. We should all understand the terrorism threat and the strategy for controlling it.

TINE-IULUN, M.A., a Senior Information Officer sent this piece in from the National Press Centre, Abuja.

Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria