Former Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Chief Nduese Essien, has raised alarm over the worsening state of insecurity in Nigeria, warning that the country is “dangerously close to normalising terror.”

Essien, in a statement, describes the wave of killings, kidnappings, and terrorist attacks as a national emergency demanding clarity of leadership. He has therefore advised President Bola Tinubu to take decisive and urgent action.

The elder statesman recounted a string of violent incidents in the last few days, including the abduction and execution of Brigadier General Musa Uba and three soldiers in Borno; the kidnapping of over 64 persons in Tsafe, Zamfara; the abduction of 25 female students and school officials in Kebbi; and the killing of a police officer in Yobe.

He also referenced attacks on Christian worshippers in Kwara and the abduction of more than 300 students from a Catholic school in Niger State.

“These tragedies are no longer isolated events. They are now daily realities in many parts of Nigeria, and the pattern of attacks shows a frightening level of coordination and brutality,” he noted.

He warned that communities were shutting down, farmers were abandoning their fields, and worshippers no longer felt safe in their own sanctuaries.

The former Rep accused the Federal Government of not demonstrating the urgency required to confront the escalating crisis. He recalled that President Tinubu was once among the strongest critics of the Jonathan administration on security lapses, yet the insecurity he condemned had worsened significantly under his watch. Essien insisted that the leadership Nigerians were promised during the campaign “has simply not materialised.”

Expressing concern over the calibre of personnel appointed to strategic security positions, the former minister said the defence sector required expertise, not political compensation. He argued that highly adaptive terrorist networks could not be defeated by leaders without deep knowledge of defence matters. “Defence is not a political reward; it is the backbone of national survival,” he stated.

Essien went further to criticise claims that some individuals within government may harbour sympathies for terrorist networks or maintain questionable links with them. According to him, no nation can win the war against terror when elements within its own security architecture may be compromised or conflicted in loyalty.

He called for a comprehensive security strategy anchored on intelligence-led operations, strengthened community security networks, better-equipped armed forces, and a renewed commitment to accountability.

Essien stressed that collaborators, funders, and protectors of terrorists must be identified and prosecuted, regardless of their political or social standing.

Addressing socio-economic drivers of terrorism, the elder statesman lamented the rising population of underage, uneducated children roaming the streets, saying the situation had created an endless pool of recruits for banditry and extremism. He urged the federal government to adopt policies that restore hope, opportunity, and dignity to vulnerable groups who are easily exploited by criminal networks.

Speaking on corruption, Essien, who once served as Chairman of the House Committee on Anti-Corruption, National Ethics, and Values, described graft as a “cancer eating deep into the foundation of Nigeria’s security architecture.”

He said the country remained perpetually short of funds because of massive leakages, diversion of public resources, and the failure of the government to act on investigative reports.

“The politicisation of security is becoming more dangerous than the terrorists themselves. If this trend continues, Nigeria risks losing public trust, experiencing mass displacement, and sliding into deeper ethnic and religious conflict.

Propaganda and political scheming must not overshadow the urgent need for decisive security reforms,” he said. (The Guardian)

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