And band-aids are why Nigeria has failed to launch since independence, with the political elite content with the glitter and glamour of office rather than service or governance. Remember the Nigerian military announcing last year the deployment of “special forces” across the country in a “renewed onslaught” on the insecurity? Another declared that the insecurity needed not the military or intelligence, but a spiritual response. In that calendar year, Nigeria changed some military chiefs, but nothing significantly improved in Nigeria’s security response. That included suggestions of a potent intelligence schema, which Nigeria has not demonstrated in the 16 years we have contended with insecurity.

Source: Punch December 28, 2025 12:46 UTC