President Bola Tinubu’s special assistant on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga has said that Nigeria is still one of the safest places to live in the world.
This he stated in an opinion piece he released on Wednesday, saying that going by figures and data available, Nigeria is safer than South Africa and the United States of America.
He further rationalized the situation in Nigeria, saying it is not among the top 10 countries with the worst cases of abductions globally.
The presidential aide urged the citizens to stop underrating the efforts of the government so far in in fighting insecurity.
Recall that a coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) under the aegis of the Civil Society Joint Action Group had earlier stated that at least 2,423 people had been killed, while 1,872 had been abducted within the first eight months of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
This was revealed by the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani while he was addressing a press conference on Monday in Abuja on behalf of the coalition. This is even as Rafsanjani went ahead to urge the President to declare a state of emergency on the current security situation in the country.
In reaction to the present security situation in the country, the presidential aide said that our security agencies deserve society’s appreciation for their efforts so far, in trying to nip in the bud the evils of kidnapping, banditry, communal killings and terrorism in our country.
In his words; “Their efforts, most often understated, have made our country safer at least than South Africa or the United States, where 44,310 people were killed last year in gun violence.
“South Africa faces a worsening insecurity than Nigeria. In 2023, 15,343 people were kidnapped, with Gauteng Province, where the City of Johannesburg, the commercial capital, is located recording 7,818 cases of kidnapping for ransom. Ten years ago in 2013, there were only 3,822 cases of kidnapping. They jumped to 11,000 in 2021 and have been on the upward curve since then.
“Gun-related killings or murders are also high in South Africa. They increased by 35 percent between 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. In the fourth quarter of 2023, 6,289 people were killed in South Africa.
“An average of 70 killings occurred per day between January and March 2023. Within a more extended period, between April 2022 and March 2023, the killings were 75 per day. According to official statistics, 27,272 people were killed during this period, with 11,347 shot dead.
“South Africa also leads the world in carjacking, with 18,000 cases reported in 2020 and 22,742 cases reported last year, an increase of eight percent over 2022 figure.
“Nigerians will appreciate our security agencies better with the comparative figures about our country. Between July 2022 and and June 2023, Nigeria recorded 3,620 people kidnapped for ransom, in 582 kidnapping incidents. In 2022, 4,616 people were kidnapped. The same year, 4,545 people were killed by criminals in our midst.
“In a report by the World Population Review, Nigeria is not among the top 10 countries in the world, with kidnapping ‘epidemic’.
“Turkey leads with 42 people kidnapped out of 100,000 people. Lebanon is second with 15 people out of 100,000 and Kuwait is third with 12 out of 100,000 held in captivity. Canada, Belgium, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan, Eswatini and the United Kingdom make up the remaining top 10. Kidnapping in Nigeria is 0.334 per 100,000.
“Surely, every life matters. Surely, any of our compatriots kidnapped by criminals must be a matter of concern to the government as it has always been a matter of concern to our security agencies and the leadership, whose job is to keep all of us safe.”
“In my view, they have all been playing a salutary role. Contrary to the uncharitable comment that President Tinubu has been fiddling while incidents of kidnapping or killings occur, as commander-in-chief, he has been providing material support to security agencies to discharge their duties.”
He also added that in recent weeks, that the police has set up a Special Intervention Squad, equipped with drones. The DSS has also stepped up its anti-kidnapping act, rescuing 154 abducted people in the last few days.
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