A former presidential aide and Senator representing Ekiti Central, Babafemi Ojudu, has sounded the alarm over Nigeria’s escalating security crisis.
He warned that the country’s democratic stability was under threat if the government failed to address the issue urgently.
Senator Ojudu who made these remarks on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, on Tuesday criticised the administration’s response as inadequate.
Ojodu said, “I’m a member of the APC [ruling party] and I shouldn’t be seen to be deliberately going out to criticise a president elected on the platform of my party. But let me just say a bit of the truth here, even if I’ll be condemned by members of my party.
“I think the security situation is worrisome, and I’m not happy with the way it’s being handled. It is being treated as if it’s a skirmish between two policemen or some bad boys on the street.
”The President must sit up. This is a serious challenge to the existence of this country, ” he said.
Ojudu urges President Bola Tinubu to issue direct orders to the military and security agencies to develop a coordinated plan to tackle insecurity.
“He should hand a marching order to military officials, police hierarchy, the army, navy, air force, and intelligence agencies to come together and come up with a master plan to quickly solve these problems,” he said.
He emphasised the need for a more comprehensive approach to address the root causes of insecurity, rather than just providing palliatives.
He warned that failure to act on insecurity could threaten democracy and risk a return to military rule.
“His advisers should tell him plainly. If he doesn’t, it will threaten democracy.
”We don’t want to go back to a military era. We don’t want to start running into exile or being jailed. Let him quickly solve this problem before it destroys our democracy,” he said.
Ojudu warned that the security situation, if left unchecked, could be manipulated for political ends as the 2027 elections approach.
“If these things continue until the election, we don’t know what use those people (violent actors) might be put to. That, in itself, threatens the very fabric of our society. I’m worried—very, very worried.
“The way things are going—people being slaughtered, kidnapped it’s not by sitting in Abuja and pretending all is well. Something has to be done. Things are not going well, ” he said
Asked to react to a statement by legal luminary Olisa Agbakoba, who questioned the feasibility of recent reforms within Nigeria’s centralised governance structure, Ojudu expressed agreement and concern.
“I agree. We have to think within the context of our structure. My surprise is that knowing President Tinubu to be a believer in restructuring—the way things are being run now, it seems power is being further consolidated at the federal level.
“Development commissions are springing up everywhere. We don’t need all of these. Instead, we are again putting more power in the hands of the federal government,” he added.
