From the North-East to the Niger Delta, Nigeria has officially unlocked a new level of national anxiety. Security breaches aren’t just occasional headlines anymore; they are a daily routine carried out with breathtaking impunity.
Whether you are in your living room, a classroom, a place of worship, or just trying to navigate a highway without praying for divine intervention, lives are being lost to blood-thirsty bandits. Thomas Hobbes once described life in the state of nature as “short and brutish.” If he were alive today, he’d probably look at Nigeria and say, “See? I told you so.”
Here is the kicker: we actually have a government. One that swore a very loud, very public constitutional oath to protect the lives and properties of all Nigerians.
To the current administration, we have a simple message: Please fulfill your mandate before there is no country left to govern.
The Reality on the Ground: “Nobody is Safe”
A traditional ruler summed it up perfectly recently: nobody is safe anywhere. Farmers are abandoning their lands out of sheer terror, choosing hunger over the very real threat of being kidnapped or killed. And when people can’t farm, a food crisis isn’t far behind.
“Failure of government to act against the breakdown of law and order isn’t just bad governance—it is a total desertion of duty. It’s the kind of failure that should make leaders cover their faces in collective shame.”
But hey, the President ordered the security chiefs to “arrest the situation.” Color us unimpressed. This lackluster, better-late-than-never intervention feels a bit like throwing a cup of water on a house fire. It certainly didn’t help public morale when the Commander-in-Chief jet-setted off on a “private visit” abroad while the homeland was actively burning. Talk about impeccable timing.
By the Numbers: Math That Doesn’t Math
Let’s look at the logistics of our safety. The Nigeria Police Force is constitutionally tasked with internal security.
- The Population: Roughly 200 million people.
- The Police Force: Fewer than 500,000 officers.
- The Catch: A massive chunk of these officers are currently moonlighting as private bodyguards for politicians and VVIPs.
Do the math, and the average citizen is left holding the bag.
Worse still, the average Nigerian cop is severely lacking in training, modern equipment, and morale. It is an open secret that corruption is deeply entrenched from the high command down to the rank and file. When promotions are based on “who you know” rather than merit, and senior army officers complain about a lack of operational orders to fight Boko Haram, you know the system is glitching.
Meanwhile, the Air Force is reportedly flying missions without proper ground data. We are essentially fighting a high-stakes war on vibes.
The Architecture of Impunity
If you commit a crime in Nigeria, the odds of getting away with it are dangerously high. No one has been meaningfully prosecuted for the massacres in the Middle Belt. Even individuals arrested for the Abuja bombings were later released without real consequences.
Then there is the bizarre strategy behind the security apparatus itself. Having all major security chiefs hail from one single section of the country isn’t just poor management; it violates the very federalist principles meant to hold this multi-ethnic nation together. It breeds distrust, kills national cohesion, and leaves everyone asking: Is there more to this breakdown of law and order than meets the eye?
The Insecurity Industry
Let’s follow the money. There is a palpable fear across all social classes, but while the poor are suffering and the rich are paying ransoms, a select few are smiling all the way to the bank.
The fight against these marauders has morphosed into a booming, highly lucrative industry. For certain individuals in and out of government, peace is bad for business. Why end a war when the conflict itself makes you stupendously wealthy?
Meanwhile, the actual cost of this forever-war is staggering:
- Investor Flight: Foreign investors are treating Nigeria like a biohazard zone.
- Brain Drain: A permanently unsettled population is packing their bags for anywhere else.
- Identity Crisis: We still don’t even officially know who these marauders are. Are they locals? Are they foreign invaders? Is there a risk they will completely overrun the South as they have parts of the North?
The Bottom Line
Deep concern for national survival has been completely overtaken by political games. The entire security system doesn’t just need a tune-up; it needs a complete, aggressive overhaul.
Nigerians are in danger. The nation itself is on the brink. It’s time for the government to stop playing politics and start saving the country that once proudly called itself the beacon of hope for the Black race.
Centre for Nigeria Progress 