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Insecurity: Situating Buratai’s ’COVID-19 Style Lockdown’ Proposal
Insecurity: Situating Buratai’s ’COVID-19 Style Lockdown’ Proposal
By Louis Achi
Last week, Nigeria’s former Chief of Army Staff, and ex-Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, Lt. General Tukur Buratai (retd.), proposed the urgent adoption of strategic, intelligence-driven lockdowns as part of a new framework to counter terrorism, banditry, and other forms of violent criminality threatening national stability.
The former Army boss urged the federal government to consider a nationwide mobilisation similar to the COVID-19 lockdown to defeat terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping feeding the bloody infamy ravaging the nation.
Buratai who spoke in a candid interview with Channels Television last Friday, argued that insecurity should not be left to the military alone but treated as a national crisis requiring collective sacrifice. His words: “When there are national crises, we need to mobilise everybody, not just the military alone. Look at COVID-19 – how much was spent, how much was invested into information, communication, advertisement, palliatives, and preventive measures.
“The whole nation was locked down because of COVID-19. We can do the same thing. We can lock down this country to make sure that everybody concentrates and deals with this cankerworm of so-called terrorists and bandits.”
General Buratai further noted that before leaving office as Chief of Army Staff, he had warned that the insurgency could last longer than expected if a long-term strategy was not adopted. “Just before I left office, and immediately after I was appointed ambassador to the Republic of Benin, I sent a note of warning that this insurgency may last longer. It is not something that you just wish away. We really need to have a long-term plan.”
In summation, Buratai maintained that beyond military campaigns, citizens must be mobilised “psychologically, through social media, press, and community support” to overcome what he described as the “so-called terrorists and bandits.” Understandably, Buratai’s position has provoked considerable debate among various stakeholders.
The battle-scarred General’s novel proposition provides a new discursive lens to stimulate new modes of analysis on effective strategies to cage violent extremism. His unconventional position fundamentally represents a concept note that should transition to a detailed, actionable engagement strategy for the federal government to fast-track a valid response leading to the erasure of the reign of bloody infamy and destructive erosion of Nigeria’s sovereignty.
This quirky scenario has perhaps understandably eroded public trust in state authority and demands an urgent, coordinated, effective, disruptive strategy that can destroy criminal networks – simultaneously safeguarding civilian lives. There is more.
It is beyond dispute that Nigeria currently faces an overlapping mosaic of extreme, regressive violence. These include Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgency in the Northeast; banditry, mass kidnappings, and illegal mining in the Northwest; farmer–herder clashes and communal violence in the North Central; separatist-linked attacks in the Southeast; oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and cult-related violence in the South-South; and rising cases of kidnappings and armed robbery in the Southwest.
But first, to highlight the urgency of Buratai’s proposal, it would be germane to provide some context in terms of very recent informed positions on caging insecurity in Nigeria and Africa at large. Just this week, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, called on African defence leaders to take decisive ownership of the continent’s security challenges during her address at the inaugural African Chiefs of Defence Forum in Abuja on Monday.
Mohammed, a former Nigerian Minister of Environment, accurately painted a stark picture of Africa’s security landscape, stating, “The continent accounts for the majority of global terrorism deaths, with attacks in West Africa’s coastal states surging by 250% in just two years. In the Sahel, 14,000 schools were shuttered by conflict last year, threatening an entire generation’s future.”
Lansana Kouyaté, former Prime Minister of Guinea, who proposed innovative security financing through public-private partnerships during the forum, echoed Mohammed’s call for collective action, stating, “This historic gathering of defence chiefs from all 54 African nations underscores that without peace, there is no development.”
While speaking at the 50th anniversary dinner of the Nigerian Defence Academy’s 18th Regular Course in Abuja last month, the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, revealed that over 47,000 lives were lost to insecurity in northern Nigeria before President Bola Tinubu took office in May 2023. He stated that the country was on the brink of collapse at the time, grappling with multiple crises that threatened its cohesion and survival.
He said, “The security landscape we inherited as a government in 2023 was a sobering reality. It was threatening the very cohesion, stability, and integrity of our Nigerian state. We inherited five intractable security challenges that had brought our nation to the brink.” These include Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West and North-Central, separatist agitations in the South-East, economic sabotage in the Niger Delta, and communal conflicts in states like Benue and Plateau.
The NSA went on to paint a positive, if not outright rosy picture of the security situation under his principal, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Although it could not be denied that nine efforts are being made by the current administration to reinstate widespread infamy, Nigeria is far from the safe, progressive haven its citizens are entitled to.
On his part, former Minister of Aviation Osita Chidoka recently weighed in on the ravaging insecurity, claiming that Nigeria’s situation is even more dire than that of countries embroiled in war. Chidoka expressed deep concern over the rampant insecurity, widespread hunger, and severe economic struggles plaguing the nation, emphasizing that citizens are enduring daily hardships as if the country is under siege. He cautioned that if immediate action isn’t taken, Nigeria could face total collapse.
General Buratai’s proposal, not surprisingly, spawned several responses from different concerned stakeholders. The most notable and informed reaction perhaps, is that from the Crest Research and Development Institute (CRADI) and authored by conflict and security expert, Isa Mohammed.
CRADI had responded by convening a Policy Lab under its Co-Creation and Innovation Lab (CCIL), bringing together security practitioners, conflict analysts, governance experts, humanitarian actors, and community stakeholders.
The Lab drew lessons from Nigeria’s COVID-19 lockdown, at the core of Baratai’s proposal which, despite its economic costs, succeeded in reducing certain forms of crime and giving security forces a clearer view of population movements. Participants agreed that lockdowns can be effective, but only if targeted, intelligence-driven, and sensitive to humanitarian needs.
According to CRADI’s Isa Mohammed, “Conventional military campaigns alone cannot address these overlapping threats. Strategic lockdowns, when carefully designed, can restrict terrorist mobility, cut off supply lines, and create the operational space for intelligence-led security operations.”
The body strongly cautioned against a nationwide shutdown, arguing it would cripple livelihoods without delivering sustainable security. Instead, CRADI recommended zonal lockdowns tailored to local dynamics:
Northeast: Seal borders with Niger, Chad, and Cameroon; enforce curfews around the Lake Chad Basin and Mandara Mountains; Northwest: Impose lockdowns in forest belts such as Rugu, Kamuku, and Birnin Gwari; ban illegal mining; restrict rural mobility; North Central: Enforce lockdowns in conflict flashpoints; secure farmlands with patrols; regulate grazing routes to reduce clashes; and Southeast: Introduce night curfews; restrict unauthorized assemblies; secure major highways against attacks.
For South-South C, RADI recommended the implementation of surveillance lockdowns along pipeline corridors and waterways to combat oil theft and cult-related violence; and Southwest: Apply tactical restrictions in forest reserves, especially the Ondo–Ogun axis, which has become a haven for kidnappers.
Strategy and security are core elements for achieving sustainable peace, especially for a developing country like Nigeria. Cut to the bone, when security is absent, it validly suggests the strategies adopted are faulty and need to be reviewed. As Nigerians seek to achieve sustainable growth and development, the citizens must have the requisite state of freedom and peace, amongst others, to lead meaningful and productive lives.
CRADI’s Mohammed succinctly cut to the heart of the debate when he asserted that, “General Buratai’s call for a strategic lockdown is an urgent reminder that Nigeria must rethink its approach to insecurity. If implemented with strong oversight, humanitarian sensitivity, and clear timelines, strategic lockdowns can help restore state authority, protect vulnerable communities, and lay the foundation for peacebuilding and long-term stability.”
The foregoing scenario can fundamentally validate General Buratai’s proposition to the federal government, especially when international partners such as the United Nations, African Union, and ECOWAS play an imperative role as potential providers of technical and logistical support.
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President Tinubu in Turkey: Guard of Honor and Strategic Agreements Signal New Era in Bilateral Relations
By Prince Adeyemi Shonibare
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, was accorded a full guard of honor during his official state visit to Turkey, a ceremonial reception reserved for world leaders and a strong signal of the respect Nigeria commands on the global stage.
The ceremony, held at the Turkish Presidential Complex in Ankara, featured military pageantry, national anthems, and formal protocol before high-level bilateral talks commenced.
The Presidency confirmed that President Tinubu briefly stumbled due to a camera cable while proceeding to the presidential lodge but stood up immediately and continued his engagements without interruption, stressing that the incident had no impact on the visit or his health.
More importantly, the visit delivered substantive diplomatic and economic outcomes. During talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on January 27, 2026, Nigeria and Turkey signed nine cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding, covering military cooperation, higher education, diaspora policy, media and communication, halal accreditation, diplomatic training, and the establishment of a Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO).
At a joint press conference, President Tinubu emphasized the need to deepen cooperation in security, trade, and economic development, while President Erdoğan reaffirmed Turkey’s support for Nigeria’s fight against terrorism and commitment to strengthening strategic ties.
With Turkey’s strengths in defense technology, intelligence, education, and industrial capacity, the agreements open new opportunities for technology transfer, security collaboration, trade expansion, and human capital development.
In essence, the Turkey visit stands as a diplomatic success, defined not by a fleeting moment, but by honor, respect, and concrete agreements that advance Nigeria’s security, economy, and international standing.
By Prince Adeyemi Shonibare
Preface: The Necessity of Historical Context
Every generation seeks its heroes. In music, this instinct often manifests through comparison—an exercise that frequently reveals more about contemporary taste than historical contribution. In recent years, public discourse, amplified by social media, has juxtaposed Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti with global Afrobeats icons, most notably Wizkid, provoking the recurring question of “greatness” in Nigerian music.
This essay does not diminish the accomplishments of Nigeria’s contemporary stars, whose global visibility is unprecedented. Rather, it offers a scholarly contextualization—one that distinguishes between musical origination and musical succession, and between cultural architecture and commercial dominance—while situating Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti firmly within the category of historical inevitability.
The Problem with Simplistic Comparison
Comparing Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti with contemporary Afrobeats performers is, by scholarly standards, inherently flawed.
Fela’s work transcended performance. He engineered an entire musical and ideological system, fused political philosophy with sound, and permanently altered the trajectory of African popular music. His output represents cultural authorship, not entertainment calibrated to market demand. Fela’s music is timeless precisely because it was never designed to be fashionable.
A Yoruba proverb captures this distinction with enduring clarity:
“Ọmọ kì í ní aṣọ púpọ̀ bí àgbà, kó ní akísà bí àgbà.”
A child may own many clothes, but he cannot possess the rags of an elder.
The proverb is not dismissive. It is instructive. It speaks to accumulated depth—experience earned, systems built, and legacies forged through time rather than trend.
Musicians and Artistes: A Necessary Distinction
A rigorous analysis requires conceptual precision. Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti was a musician in the classical and intellectual sense: a composer, arranger, bandleader, employer of musicians, multi-instrumentalist, theorist, and cultural philosopher. His work demanded mastery of form, orchestration, ideology, and discipline.
Fela composed extended works, trained orchestras, performed entirely live, and embedded African political consciousness into rhythm, harmony, and structure.
By contrast, many contemporary stars—though exceptionally gifted and globally successful—operate primarily as artistes: interpreters of sound whose work prioritizes studio production, performance aesthetics, and commercial reach. This is not a hierarchy of worth, but a distinction of function. Fela’s music demanded study and confrontation; contemporary Afrobeats prioritised accessibility, pleasure, and global circulation—often without courting antagonism.
Afrobeat: An Ideological Invention
Afrobeat, as conceived by Fela, was not merely a genre. It was an ideological framework. Jazz, highlife, Yoruba rhythmic systems, call-and-response traditions, and political chant were fused into a resistant, uncompromising form.
Modern Afrobeats—by Wizkid, Burna Boy, and others—are adaptations and descendants, not replicas. They have expanded Africa’s global cultural footprint, but expansion does not erase origination. Fela’s Afrobeat remains the undiluted prototype upon which contemporary success rests.
Enduring Legacy Beyond Mortality
Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti passed in 1997, yet his influence has intensified rather than diminished. His legacy is evidenced by:
– Continuous academic study across global universities.
– International bands, many formed by people not alive at the time of his death, performing his works.
– FELABRATION, now a global annual cultural event.
– Broadway and international stage adaptations inspired by his life and music.
– Lifetime achievement and posthumous recognition by the Grammy Awards.
– Cultural centres, festivals, and scholarly conferences generating lasting intellectual and economic value.
This constitutes cultural permanence, not nostalgia.
Reconsidering Wealth and Sacrifice
Measured monetarily, Fela was not among the wealthiest musicians of his era. His radicalism came at an immense personal cost. He was beaten repeatedly. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, was killed. His home was burned. Original artistic archives were destroyed during state-sanctioned violence by unknown soldiers, even though history records who authorised the actions.
Yet Fela gave voice to generations—from Ojuelegba to Mushin, Ajegunle to Jos, Abuja, and even the privileged enclaves of today’s ọmọ baba olówó. He toured globally with an unusually large band long before satellite television or social media could amplify his reach.
Like Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe, Fela’s wealth exists beyond currency. It resides in influence, citation, adaptation, and endurance.
National and Global Recognition
Fela received a state burial in Lagos—an extraordinary acknowledgment from a military government he relentlessly criticised. Nations rarely honour dissenters so formally.
Globally, his stature aligns with figures such as James Brown, Elvis Presley, and the Rolling Stones—artists whose music reshaped identity, politics, and social consciousness.
The Crowned Princes: Wizkid and the Ethics of Reverence
Nigeria’s modern stars—Wizkid, Burna Boy, 2Face Idibia, Davido, Tiwa Savage, Tems, Olamide, among others—have achieved extraordinary global success. They are wealthier, more mobile, and more visible internationally than previous generations, and they deserve their accolades.
Wizkid, in particular, has consistently demonstrated reverence rather than rivalry toward Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti.
Femi Aníkúlápó Kuti has publicly stated:
“Wizkid loves Fela like a father.”
Wizkid has repeatedly supported FELABRATION, never demanding performance fees. The only times he has not appeared were occasions when he was not in the country. He has remixed Fela’s music, bears a Fela tattoo on his arm, and openly acknowledges Fela’s primacy.
A senior associate and long-time friend of Wizkid has affirmed that Wizkid adores Fela, would never equate himself with him—“in this world or the next”—and that recent tensions were reactions to provocation rather than assertions of equivalence.
This distinction matters. Wizkid’s posture is one of inheritance, not competition.
Seun Kuti and the Burden of Legacy
Seun Kuti is a musician of conviction and lineage. Yet relevance is best secured through original contribution rather than reactive comparison. Fela’s legacy does not require defence through controversy; it is already settled by history.
As William Shakespeare observed:
“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
—Julius Caesar
The weight of inheritance can inspire greatness or provoke restlessness. History rewards those who build upon legacy, not those who contest it.
The Songs That Made Fela Legendary
Among the works that cemented Fela’s immortality are:
– Zombie
– Water No Get Enemy
– Sorrow, Tears and Blood
– Coffin for Head of State
– Expensive Shit
– Shakara
– Gentleman
– Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense
– Roforofo Fight
– Beasts of No Nation
These compositions remain sonic textbooks of resistance.
Fela in the Digital Age
Had Fela lived in the era of social media, his voice would have resonated far beyond Africa. His music would have found kinship among global movements confronting inequality, oppression, and social injustice.
“Music is the weapon.”
—Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti
Weapons, unlike trends, endure.
Placing Greatness Correctly
Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti’s greatness does not require comparison. He is the great-grandfather of Afrobeat—the musical and cultural architect who cleared the roads upon which today’s Afrobeat princes now travel.
Honouring contemporary success does not diminish historical achievement. To understand Nigerian music’s global relevance is to understand Fela. History, when read correctly, is both generous and precise.
Prince Adeyemi Shonibare writes on culture, music history, and African creative industries. He is a media and events consultant based in Nigeria.
Years after a petition alleging abuse of office, intimidation and institutional misconduct was submitted against operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Hajia Mazangari has drawn public attention to the matter once again, expressing concern over what she described as prolonged institutional silence and the absence of any known resolution.
The controversy arose from a bank draft transaction involving a sum running into several millions of naira, reportedly issued in the name of “EFCC Clients Account” and handed over to one Habibu Aliyu.
According to the account contained in the petition, Hajia Mazangari was later contacted by her bank and informed that an EFCC operative allegedly approached the bank, requesting that the draft earlier issued by her be cashed into another personal account.
The bank reportedly declined the request, insisting that the draft could only be re-issued in the name of a new beneficiary in compliance with established banking regulations. Attempts by Hajia Mazangari, through her solicitor, to retrieve the original bank draft allegedly resulted in hostility from Habibu Aliyu and Ruqqaya Ibrahim, with the situation escalating into what the petition described as sustained malice, intimidation and humiliation.
“It is as a result of this unending malice, torture and humiliation that we passionately plead to you, sir, to save our client who has been run aground by people with personal vendetta disguising as public officers,” the petition read.
In a further petition dated 14 January 2020 and addressed to the then Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, through her counsel, Ibrahim Salawu, Esq., Hajia Mazangari alleged that Habibu Aliyu (a former staff of the EFCC), Ruqqaya Ibrahim (a serving EFCC staff), Mohammed Goje (a serving EFCC staff) and one Mustafa Gadanya (a former staff of the EFCC) had, on various occasions, stormed her family residence in Kaduna.
According to the petition, copies of which were obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, the individuals allegedly accused her, her son and his associates of being involved in a pension scam, insisting that they were “neck-deep” in the alleged fraud and would be dealt with and made to face prosecution.
Hajia Mazangari maintained that the accusations were unfounded and that the repeated visits amounted to intimidation and abuse of authority.
In a related development at the time, counsel to Ahmed and Fatima Mazangari, Barrister Ibrahim Salawu, also wrote to the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court seeking the reassignment of their case to another court, following the elevation of the presiding judge to the Court of Appeal and the resultant irregular sittings of the court.
Despite the seriousness of the allegations contained in the petitions, efforts to obtain an official response from the EFCC at the time reportedly proved abortive.
Years later, Hajia Mazangari maintains that the institutional silence that greeted her complaints has persisted. She faulted the former Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, for allegedly failing to address the concerns raised in the petitions.
She further accused the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, of failing to intervene or cause a review of the matter despite being formally notified.
According to her, the situation has not changed under the current leadership of the EFCC, which she claims has continued in what she described as the same pattern of silence and inaction, leaving the issues raised unresolved several years after the petitions were submitted.
She also raised concerns over the continued service of an officer identified as Mohammed Goje at the EFCC office in Gombe, noting that other officers of similar standing were reportedly dismissed in the past for corrupt practices. She questioned why no publicly known disciplinary or investigative outcome has emerged from her complaints.
Hajia Mazangari stressed that her decision to speak out again is not based on any fresh incident, but on the need to draw public attention to an unresolved matter which, in her view, underscores broader concerns about institutional accountability. She called on relevant authorities and oversight bodies to revisit the petitions and ensure that the issues raised are conclusively addressed in accordance with the law.
When contacted for comments on the allegations and the renewed public attention surrounding the matter, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had not responded as at the time of filing this report.
However, the Commission is hereby afforded the right of reply and is free to present its position or clarifications on the issues raised.
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