The Federal Government should map out ways to secure the porous borders. Some of these jihadists infiltrate Nigeria through neighbouring countries and then settle in some forests to terrorise Nigerians.

There has been a Joint Multinational Task Force fighting Islamic insurgents in West Africa’s Lake Chad region since 2015. It includes soldiers from Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon. Today, all is not well with the task force.

Last year, Chad threatened to withdraw after an attack on a military base left 40 of its soldiers dead. In March, Niger Republic pulled out of the international force. This has left the region porous and prone to attacks by terrorists. Efforts must be made to fully restore the joint patrol force.

The economy is another elephant in the room. Farming has become a dangerous enterprise in Nigeria. Terrorists routinely kill farmers and scare them away from their farms. In the North-West, farmers paid N140 million to bandits between 2020 and 2023 as levies to plant or harvest. This has partly engendered high food prices. These farmers should be protected.

The country needs a national dialogue on insecurity. It is obvious that the government lacks ideas on how to tackle the problem. Communities, traditional rulers, and citizens should be involved in the efforts to combat insurgency.

Besides, the military needs to study how Somalia, Israel and some others battle terrorism. Although al-Shabaab often stages a comeback, Somalia combines military operations, international support, and collaboration with local militias to counter the terrorist group.

On its part, Israel does not waste time. Its forces respond with severe strikes whenever Hezbollah and Hamas launch any attack on the country. This was what happened in October 2023 when Hezbollah fired rockets over the frontier in solidarity with Hamas after the start of the Gaza war. The Israeli air strikes and the ground invasion of southern Lebanon have left Hezbollah severely weakened.

The President should declare a mass war on insecurity and redouble his efforts to tackle the monster. He should unearth the source of funding for terrorist groups.

He should order troops to clear areas occupied by terrorists, expand international cooperation, and provide effective governance in crisis-prone areas.