Vanguard Editorial, May 23, 2025
The recent announcement by the Presidency of President Bola Tinubu’s intention to establish a national Armed Forest Guard, AFG, was received with mixed feelings, and for obvious reasons.
The unveiling of such an all-important security outfit by a presidential aide, Sunday Dare, on his “X” handle, did not garb the programme with enough seriousness of intention by an administration which has pandered to one of the greatest sources of forest insecurity in Nigeria – armed herdsmen and their organised interest groups. The scepticism is not helped by the fact that the outfit has yet to be packaged through an act of the National Assembly.
However, based on what the public has so far been told of this proposed outfit, it could be a bold step in the right direction if the president really wants to wipe out criminality and insecurity in our forests, farmlands and wildernesses.
It is heartening to note that the Federal Government intends to recruit at least 130,000 personnel into the corps. This number will be a huge boost to the total of 230,000 officers and men of the Nigerian Army which are finding it difficult to properly defend the country and protect its citizens. This number is low compared with our 230 million citizenry, 1,129 forest reserves and almost one million square kilometres landmass.
Another cause for optimism is that the Guards will be “adequately” trained and armed.
Yet a third attribute of the proposal which makes it sound so promising is the fact that it will be a joint partnership between the Federal and 36 State Governments. We strongly advocate for the recruitment of indigenous volunteers and certified loyal residents in each state for the Guards. Only people who have primordial connection will have the burning zeal to battle hardened, invasive criminals and terrorists illegally inhabiting our forests and farmlands.
If properly handled, the Forest Guards will be far more effective than the existing communal and state-owned vigilante outfits such as Amotekun, Ebubeagu and others which have failed because they are not allowed to carry arms. We hope they will be equipped with military-grade assault weaponry, such as AK-47 rifles and technologies such as drones and satellite surveillance.
Most importantly, we hope the Federal and State Governments will have the patriotism, courage and willpower to allow the Guards, working with the Armed Forces, Police and Security Agencies, to carry out their mandate of fully recovering all ungoverned spaces from criminals and terrorists. All displaced persons must be restored to their ancestral communities.
We caution that our security architecture is still mottled by terrorism enablers who have openly betrayed their soft spot for the rampaging bandits and killer herdsmen attacking, displacing, occupying, destroying farms, kidnapping and raping.
They should be purged from the system and dealt with.
