Nigeria's Security Crisis: Olawepo-Hashim Demands Radical Overhaul Amidst Killings

Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, the Presidential Candidate of the Accord Party, has issued an urgent call to the Federal Government for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s security architecture. He emphasized the critical need to reclaim the strategic initiative from terrorists and adopt a proactive doctrine that prioritizes preventing attacks over merely responding to them. Olawepo-Hashim unequivocally declared that Nigeria is currently engaged in a war, asserting that the nation is being led without a coherent strategy to effectively defeat terrorism and restore national security.

In a statement released on Monday, Olawepo-Hashim strongly condemned the recent surge in killings witnessed in Kaduna, Zamfara, and Plateau states. He also highlighted the alarming abduction of innocent citizens in Kebbi State, which notably included a High Court judge. He criticized the persistent pattern where "everyday, terrorists retain the initiative while innocent Nigerians pay with their lives," stressing that "the time has come to stop managing insecurity and start a real offensive aimed at winning the war."

Olawepo-Hashim further elaborated that the relentless attacks across the country serve as undeniable proof that terrorists and armed criminal groups continue to dictate the pace of the conflict. They choose when, where, and how to strike, thereby maintaining the strategic upper hand. He asserted, "Nigeria is under attack. This is war, yet, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has no strategy to end it. As long as terrorists determine the time, place and intensity of attacks, they, and not the government, retain the strategic initiative." He cited grim statistics, including over 30,000 innocent people killed in the first three years of the administration and more than 3.7 million people living in IDP camps unable to return home, to underscore that "the scale of this conflict qualifies for the textbook definition of war."

He described the persistent bloodshed as a grave national emergency that is actively eroding national unity, exacerbating poverty, directly threatening food security, discouraging much-needed investment, and significantly damaging Nigeria’s international reputation. Olawepo-Hashim reminded the government that "the first responsibility of any government is the protection of lives and property. No nation can prosper while its citizens live in fear and entire communities remain at the mercy of terrorists and criminal gangs."

Arguing that Nigeria’s current security response has become "largely reactive," he insisted on the urgent need for a comprehensive national security strategy. This strategy, he proposed, must be fundamentally built on intelligence superiority, fostering a military force highly motivated to maintain an offensive posture against forces of terror throughout the country, implementing precision military operations, ensuring effective border security, establishing community-based policing, leveraging modern surveillance technology, actively disrupting terrorist financing networks, and developing a swift, credible criminal justice system. Additionally, he emphasized the importance of integrated Defence and Security Cooperation with neighboring countries. Olawepo-Hashim concluded by stating, "Wars are not won by reacting to attacks after they happen. They are won by denying the enemy the capability, freedom and confidence to launch them in the first place."

Olawepo-Hashim maintained that Nigerians deserve leadership possessing the vision, competence, and unwavering determination required to win the war against terrorism. He stressed that a robust strategy and the bold implementation of well-defined plans, rather than mere condolences after every massacre, are the true keys to restoring peace and security. While offering his condolences to the affected communities and families of victims, he noted that "condolence is becoming a ritual proving too inadequate to stop the killings," adding that "proper care for the displaced and distressed is what is immediately needed."