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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been advised to work more on the root causes of the security challenges in Nigeria rather than relying on military actions to end growing insecurity across the country.
Professor Christopher Chinedumuije, Country Director, GOALPrime Organization Nigeria, in an open letter to President Bola Tinubu stated that insecurity is not primarily a military problem but the cumulative result of years of governance failures, economic exclusion, poor social investment, weakened local institutions, and the erosion of civic trust.
Chinedumuije, who is a Professor of Disaster Management & Humanitarian Studies, said that “I write once again to express a growing concern that sits at the heart of Nigeria’s struggle for peace and stability — the persistent misconception that military action is the answer to insecurity.
“It is regrettable that whenever the issue of insecurity arises in our national discourse, the default response is to deploy the military, as though the solution to every internal challenge is force.”
Chinedumuije added that “Nigeria’s insecurity is not primarily a military problem. It is the cumulative result of years of governance failures, economic exclusion, poor social investment, weakened local institutions, and the erosion of civic trust.
“The insurgency in the North East, banditry in the North West, herder–farmer conflicts in the North-Central, militancy in the Niger Delta, secessionist agitations in the South East, and cultism and kidnapping in the South West all have one unifying root — injustice, poverty, and neglect.”
According to him statistics are grim as over 63% of Nigerians are multidimensionally poor, more than 20 million children are out of school, and youth unemployment stands at over 42%, adding that “These figures represent not just numbers, but the silent army from which future insurgents, bandits, and kidnappers are drawn. Poverty is the factory; insecurity is the finished product. And no nation wins the war against insecurity by merely attacking its products while leaving the factory running.”
While acknowledging the fact that the military has fought valiantly and continues to do so, stating that “Yet, insecurity festers because guns cannot kill poverty, bombs cannot silence hunger, and bullets cannot stop desperation. The current approach treats symptoms while ignoring the source.”
Chinedumuije said that every region’s insecurity in the country has its own ecosystem — rooted in local realities of deprivation and anger.”
“It must be said clearly and without diplomacy: if the underlying causes of insecurity are not addressed decisively, insecurity will continue to increase. Even if Mr. President changes Service Chiefs every quarter, or doubles the military budget every year, the situation will only worsen. Because what Nigeria faces is not a war of weapons but a war of survival — and survival is won through development, not through defence alone.”
He noted that “Nigeria’s insecurity has become an industry of despair — driven by joblessness, injustice, and the failure of the state to provide legitimate alternatives. Every uneducated child is a potential weapon; every hungry family is a security threat; every ungoverned community is a breeding ground for violence.
“The military can capture territories, but only good governance can capture hearts. Peace is not the absence of war; it is the presence of justice, opportunity, and hope,” he stated.
To end insecurity sustainably, Chinedumuije advised that “Nigeria must replace reaction with strategy and replace militarization with transformation.”
He urged Tinubu to
adopt a Human Security Framework that must be redefined beyond arms to include food, education, health, jobs, and justice. Every ministry must understand that it is part of the national security architecture.”
He also advised the president to strengthen community policing and intelligence, and “build trust with communities, traditional rulers, and local vigilante structures. Intelligence, not intimidation, is the true power of modern defence.”
He also advised that President Tinubu should create a national livelihood and resilience fund for at-risk youths with vocational training, enterprise grants, and agricultural empowerment — turning potential threats into productive citizens.
He said the country needs massive investment in education while prioritizing “the reintegration of out-of-school children and the implementation of Safe School Minimum Standards. Education is the most potent weapon against insecurity.”
