My dear President Tinubu, as usual, you must have received security briefings on the April 25 Boko Haram attack in Pulka, Gwoza LGA of Borno State. It left 10 hapless Nigerians dead. Two of them, who were members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), were killed in an ambush along Kirawa Road, while the other 10 were firewood scavengers who were also ambushed and killed in Pulka.
The tears in many homes in Pulka will probably never dry, having lost breadwinners and loved ones. Just last Monday, April 28, in this same Borno State, the terrorists killed 15 mourners and abducted many in Kwaple, a village near Chibok.
Mr. President, the security situation in Borno State is heart-wrenching. In this state, four local government areas – Guzamala, Marte, Abbadam and Mobbar are under the total control of Boko Haram. Yes, Nigerian territories are truly under the control of terrorists. Forget about all the lies by your security chiefs. Mr. President, when will you recover Nigerian territories from terrorists? This is the big question. Sixteen other LGAs in Borno State are largely unsafe. This epicenter of Boko Haram has never for one day stopped bleeding. Daily, scores of people are sent to early graves. According to Senator Ali Ndume, 252 attacks carried out by Boko Haram between November 2024 and April 2025 resulted in the deaths of 100 soldiers and 280 civilians. What a calamity!
Mr. President, under your watch, thousands of Nigerians have also been killed by terrorists in Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Imo, Anambra, Yobe, Benue, Plateau, Sokoto, Kebbi and Kwara states. The carnage is still on. For example, the latest figures from the ongoing killings in Benue and Plateau states show that no fewer than 150 people have been slaughtered. Zamfara and Katsina states are still bleeding.
Mr. President, these are just a few recent pieces of evidences showing that terrorists are still very much active nationwide. They are moving around freely in the South-east, North-west, North-east and the North-central, killing, abducting, and maiming, notwithstanding the emergence of your government that promised to tame terrorists. It is irksome that these killings are going on without penalties.
Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, in his Easter 2025 message, aptly captures the trauma of the endless killings in Nigeria thus: “These sufferings have been marked by a culture of brutality and savagery never witnessed in the history of our dear country. Taken together, they have placed our country outside the purveyor of human civilization. Across the entire country, every day, innocent citizens are kidnapped and held under the most inhuman conditions. A dark pall of death hangs languidly from north to south. It is impossible to find a home, a family, or a community that has not been caught in the cusp of this savagery. Now, Mr. President, Nigeria is reaching a breaking point. The nation is gradually becoming a huge national morgue.”
Mr. President, Kukah’s submission is the whole truth. I’m worried that within 23 months of your government, an estimated 6000 persons have been killed in different attacks across the country by terrorists. These are the reported cases. There are scores of unreported cases during this period under review. Mr. President, I can’t remember seeing you visiting ravaged communities and families in Borno, Yobe, Niger, Kaduna, Katsina, Plateau, Sokoto, Zamfara and the rest. This is sad. It is also very sad that under your leadership, two new terror groups emerged in Nigeria. I’m talking about Lakurawa in Sokoto State and Mahmuda in Kwara State. Mr. President, the emergence of these new terror groups is a result of your weak response to the old ones.
Mr. President, the biggest drawback to the war against terrorism in the last 16 years is the unending lies by security chiefs. These people, whose opinions and actions could have helped this country to tackle terrorism, have become merchants of lies, rolling out imaginary security achievements. It is also happening in your government. The deceit and ineptitude of your security chiefs are frightening. This is why killings and abductions by terrorists have become a daily occurrence with no part of Nigeria spared.
I am not sorry to say that your security chiefs are clueless. They lack the capacity to end insecurity and must give way to result-oriented people. You must regularly sack security chiefs that can’t deliver. This is the only way to get people that can deliver. The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; the Chief of Army Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; the Chief of Air Staff, Hassan Abubakar; and the Chief of Naval Staff, Emmanuel Ogalla, have no business remaining in office a day longer. The police chief, Kayode Egbetokun should also go.
And then, Nuru Ribadu, the man called National Security Adviser. He is the weakest link in Nigeria’s security architecture. Ribadu’s incompetence is legendary. He is always economical with the truth. This sycophant hardly behaves like a man in charge of a sensitive office. Ribadu spends the bulk of his time praise-singing Mr. President. This man has no business in this office. Ribadu should not be there in the first place.
Mr. President, the advanced world is in an era of fighting with drones. Our security agencies are not in any way close to this fighting capability. Our gallant soldiers are doing their best, but they need to be assisted. So, this country needs help from climes that can provide these military necessities and manpower. Your security chiefs won’t admit this because of ego and personal gains. They often leave me depressed with their rejection of the clamour for the engagement of foreign military contractors (mercenaries) to support the military in the fight against the terrorists.
Your security chiefs, just like their predecessors, present mercenaries as an army of occupation. This is not true. Mercenaries are engaged by countries for specific purposes, with deadlines. It is not a crime to have military contractors joining a standing army to tame terrorists. Even the United States engaged military contractors for its war in Iraq and some other locations. Mr. President, a people-oriented government will seek help from anywhere to protect its people against terrorists. We can all see the sloppy result of claims that Nigeria’s military can do the job alone.
Technology, intelligence, quality equipment and quality manpower are modern necessities for taming terrorists. Our security agents lack these. They obviously lack the capacity to effectively monitor the movement of terrorists. They also lack effective leadership. This is why guerrillas move around in hundreds undetected. In this modern era, the military should be talking about dealing with terrorists with drones from preemptive and properly-staffed control centres.
Use of drones for intelligence gathering and attacks is vital in modern warfare. Also, emphasis is always on the use of bulletproof attack helicopters instead of the vague air strikes by our security agents. With steel-clad attack helicopters that can go as low as 50 metres to the target, precision is guaranteed. Mr. President, our security agents lack all these.
Mr. President, your much-talked about “change” in the war against terrorists remains an illusion. Nigerians are sick and tired of endless killings by terrorists. You must fix insecurity. You must fulfill the commitment you made to Nigerians in your May 29, 2023, inaugural address to frontally and courageously tackle insecurity.
Your promise to tackle insecurity inherited from “calamity Muhammadu Buhari” and reform Nigeria’s “security doctrine and its architecture” is still a subterfuge. You said security shall top the priority of your administration “because neither prosperity nor justice can prevail amid insecurity and violence.” Honestly, I have not seen any reform in this country’s security doctrine and architecture in the last 23 months that is yielding results.
The truth is that nothing has changed regarding carnages nationwide. Mr. President, you must seek help from climes that have successfully tamed terrorists if you truly desire to end the killings, maiming and abductions across Nigerians. You must seek assistance from private military contractors from these climes. They will come with their manpower and equipment and get the job done.
Mr. President, you must provide a leadership that will swiftly end the slaughtering (daily) of innocent Nigerians across our cities, towns and villages. This is the true meaning of being “Commander-in-Chief.” Clearly, you have failed to face terrorism head-on in 23 months of your government. This is the truth that must be told. All the lies by your aides that the terrorists had been degraded must be pushed aside. Only this truth can set Nigeria free from the servitude of terrorists.
RingTrue with Yemi Adebowale, April 29, 2025. yemiadebowale@yahoo.com; 08054699539 (text only)
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16YAz3eXR4/
