From Chaos to Coordination: The Case for Veteran Security Leaders in Nigeria

FEMI OYEWALE

As Nigeria grapples with a fresh and more diffuse wave of violent attacks—from mass abductions and jihadist offensives in the northeast to rising banditry and communal violence across the North and Middle Belt—citizens and policymakers are asking a pressing question: who is fit to lead the country out of this security quagmire? For many, the answer is clear: experienced security professionals who combine operational expertise, institutional memory, and political acumen—traits embodied by former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai.

A deteriorating security landscape

This is no rhetorical problem. In recent months, insurgent activity has surged: mass kidnappings of schoolchildren, renewed offensives by IS-affiliated factions in the Lake Chad Basin, and a humanitarian fallout that has pushed millions toward food insecurity. United Nations and humanitarian assessments warn that escalating attacks and aid shortfalls may leave record numbers of Nigerians vulnerable to hunger.

The federal government has responded with declarations and expanded recruitment. President Bola Tinubu declared a nationwide emergency and moved to increase policing and security deployments following high-profile kidnappings. But analysts argue that while necessary, these steps are insufficient without a deeper overhaul of strategy, intelligence, and civil-military coordination.

What experienced security actors bring

Supporters of involving seasoned security leaders point to several complementary strengths:

1. Operational know-how and strategic continuity

Career generals like Buratai have overseen complex counter-insurgency campaigns and institutional reforms. Their experience—ranging from combined-arms operations and logistics under duress to theater-level coordination with regional partners—is not easily replaced. Buratai himself has argued that simplistic personnel changes will not end insurgency without properly understood strategies.

2. Intelligence and information integration

Modern insurgencies thrive on intelligence gaps: porous borders, weak human networks, and poor data-sharing between military, police, and civil authorities. Experienced security professionals are better positioned to rebuild intelligence architectures, including cross-border liaison in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, where jihadist groups operate across borders. Recent analyses highlight this cross-border threat environment and stress the need for coordinated military and intelligence responses.

3. Institutional reform and troop welfare

Studies of Nigeria’s fight against Boko Haram highlight recurring problems: low troop morale, logistical shortfalls, intelligence leaks, and strained community relations—all of which blunt operational effectiveness. Experts with institutional experience can advocate structural reforms—improved supply chains, training, and rules of engagement—that strengthen forces without alienating civilians.

4. Political navigation and credibility

Security solutions in Nigeria require buy-in at federal, state, and local levels. Former service chiefs often retain connections inside government and among regional partners and can serve as intermediaries between uniformed forces and civilian authorities—a role proven critical in past crises. Buratai’s recent public interventions on national security issues demonstrate how ex-service chiefs continue shaping public debate and policy.

Acknowledging risks and criticisms

Inviting former generals into leadership roles is not a panacea. Critics cite potential issues: militarization of civilian governance, heavy-handed tactics that alienate communities, and insufficient focus on root causes such as poverty, governance gaps, youth unemployment, and communal grievances. Military success must be paired with governance, development, and reconciliation for durable peace.

There is also a political dimension: using high-profile military figures risks politicizing security campaigns if appointments are perceived as partisan or operational freedom is constrained. Transparency, clear legal mandates, and civilian oversight are essential safeguards.

A pragmatic middle path: experts as partners, not replacements

The most defensible approach is hybrid: appoint or empower seasoned security experts as advisers and architects of reform while ensuring civilian control and robust safeguards. Key policy measures include:

Integrated intelligence reform: Build interoperable systems fusing military, police, and domestic security data; strengthen cross-border intelligence sharing in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions.

Focused professionalization of forces: Prioritize logistics, asymmetric warfare training, troop welfare, and clear rules of engagement to reduce abuses and improve morale.

Community-centered stabilization: Pair operations with local security committees, humanitarian access, agricultural support, and reconciliation to deny insurgents social support.

Regional and international coordination: Work with neighboring states, ECOWAS, the African Union, and partners to close safe havens and cut finance and supply lines for extremist groups.

Clear civilian oversight and legal frameworks: Ensure any role for former senior officers is defined by statutes, reporting lines, and parliamentary oversight.

Nigeria’s security challenge in 2025 is complex and urgent: the country faces a resurgent, adaptive insurgency network with severe humanitarian consequences. Discarding institutional know-how is a luxury Nigeria cannot afford. Experienced security professionals like Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai are not magic bullets—but they bring operational experience, institutional knowledge, and networks that, when embedded within a framework emphasizing civilian oversight, development, and regional cooperation, can materially improve Nigeria’s chances of restoring security.

The essential test will be whether policymakers pair expert military advice with meaningful reforms in intelligence, governance, and community engagement—otherwise, the cycle of violence and humanitarian suffering will continue.

Time is the One Enemy That Cannot Be Bought or Bargained With

By Femi Oyewale

We write not as antagonists but as patriots stirred by a profound and urgent alarm for our nation. The headlines that scream from our pages and screens are more than mere news; they are a symphony of distress from a people whose faith in the foundational covenant of governance—their security and welfare—is fraying towards breaking point.

Nigeria’s security crisis is not merely challenging; it is a fabric unravelling in real time. The brazen abduction of our children, the resurgent fury of jihadist factions in the Northeast, and the metastasizing cancer of banditry and communal violence represent the most clear and present danger to the Nigerian ideal since our civil war. With each passing day, trauma deepens, a humanitarian catastrophe widens, and millions of our compatriots are pushed to the grim precipice of hunger and despair.

Your declaration of a nationwide emergency and the bolstering of our security forces were necessary, even commendable, first steps. But the unvarnished truth, Your Excellency, is that the clock is ticking, and time is a luxury you do not have. The velocity of this collapse demands more than declarations; it insists upon a fundamental and immediate strategic rebirth. The Nigerian people are not just watching; they are suffering. And in a true democracy, their welfare—their simple safety—is the sole, non-negotiable measure of a government’s legitimacy.

In this most critical hour, to ignore the nation’s deep bench of battle-hardened, experienced security professionals would be an act of strategic negligence. We speak of leaders like former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd), who embodies a trifecta of assets we can not afford to leave sidelined: deep operational knowledge, invaluable institutional memory, and the political acumen to navigate a complex war.

Consider what such expertise offers at this precipice:

Operational Wisdom, Not Just Force: This is not about reliving past campaigns but about applying their hard-won lessons. Experts like Buratai possess a nuanced grasp of asymmetric warfare, cross-border coordination, and logistical mastery that can prevent our efforts from being blind, costly, and futile.

A Cohesive Intelligence Architecture: Our enemies feast on our disunity. A seasoned security leader can dismantle bureaucratic inertia to fuse our fractured intelligence efforts—military, police, and civilian—into a single, sharp instrument. This is critical in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, where threats respect no borders.

The Reform Our Gallant Forces Deserve: Our troops are consistently let down by systemic failures—poor logistics, sapped morale, and fatal intelligence leaks. Who better champion the urgent reforms in training, welfare, and accountability than those who have commanded these institutions from the inside?

Credibility and Critical Coalition-Building: Decisive victory requires buy-in from every tier of governance and from our international partners. A respected former service chief can be the credible intermediary, bridging the dangerous gap between uniformed forces and civilian authority and rallying regional allies with a voice they know and trust.

We are not naive to the risks. The path forward can not be a mere militarization of the state. Any role for such experts must be framed within a broader, non-negotiable commitment to attacking the root causes: poverty, hopelessness, and the cavernous gaps in local governance. Civilian oversight, transparency, and a parallel surge in development and reconciliation are the essential safeguards.

Thus, we propose a pragmatic and urgent middle path:

· Empower Security Experts as Strategic Architects: Integrate them formally as chief advisers and task them with designing a unified, actionable counter-insurgency strategy.

· Fast-Track Intelligence Integration: Mandate the creation of a single, interoperable intelligence framework with a brutally short deadline.

· Pair Security with Sustenance: Every military advance must be accompanied by an immediate, clear plan for humanitarian access, agricultural revival, and community reconciliation.

· Activate Regional Diplomacy with Immediacy: Leverage their networks to secure concrete, actionable cooperation from our neighbours and international partners—now.

Your Excellency, the legacy of your administration, is being written daily in the blood and tears of Nigerians caught in the crossfire. The institutional knowledge possessed by leaders like General Buratai is not a magic wand, but it is a decisive force multiplier we can no longer afford to discard. It is the vital ingredient in a comprehensive strategy that must marry security with governance, development, and dialogue.

The hour is late. The nation’s patience is exhausted. The world is watching. We urge you to act with the historic courage and decisiveness this moment demands. Bring in the experience, empower the knowledgeable, and marry their expertise with an unrelenting focus on the welfare of the people. This is the only way to secure not just the nation’s borders but the very soul of our democracy.

The choice is stark: a legacy of restored security and national gratitude, or a descent into a chaos from which we may not return. For the sake of Nigeria, we pray you choose wisely.

And we pray you choose now.

THE CITY OF ERUKU ON THE WORLD MAP
~BY JIDE J. OMOTINUGBON

Growing up in the City of Eruku in the sixties, (well, we call our town Eruku City) we knew of no other world beyond what life bestowed on us. We went to the stream to fetch waters and to swim. We went to the farm to cultivate the farmland. We hunted for rodents and crickets. We rolled the bicycle tires around. We rode the rented bikes. We participated in the local wrestling competition. And as times went by, we started going to school. I, as with most of my mates, did not start elementary (primary) school until the age of eight. We knew of no other world. As time passed, we began to realize that there were other worlds beyond the city of Eruku as evidenced by the commercial lorries bringing strangers in on market days to sell and buy things. The market days back then were held nine days interval. We saw new faces and new things. We began to realize that there were other things around the world beyond our town. While still in elementary school, we travelled to Koro and Oke-Opin for inter-house sports competitions including games of soccer and athletics. Those were the worlds we knew. The first time I had the “luxury” of going beyond the vicinity was my final year in elementary school when I travelled to Zaria en route Ilorin.
During the major festivals, we saw the whole town filled up with indigenes based outside the town. We heard stories of towns where they were, to make money. We heard of Ilorin, Zaria, Kaduna, Lagos, Ibadan and some other places. We heard stories of tapped water, electricity, tarred roads and other exotic things. We learned in social studies and later, in geography, the names and location of places on the map. Big towns within and outside the country but Eruku was never placed on any of those maps. We began to dream. We were wondering when and if ever our town would develop and be renowned. Just dreaming. No sooner, we had a secondary school built through communal efforts. That was in 1969. Students came from all over even people who did not speak Yoruba – all the way from Ebira-land and Igala-land which used to be part of the then Kwara State.
Dreams. Our dreams remained on what could we do to place the name of our town on the map. We read and studied some books. We listened to radio. Heard the names of some political leaders (mainly military.) We dreamt of joining the military when we grow up. Dreamt of reading law. Or become engineers. Do whatever it takes to get the name of our town on the map. It was slow. Painfully slow. Until now, it was like the town did not exist. Everything we have in the town was mainly through communal and church efforts: elementary schools, secondary schools, cottage hospitals etc. Whenever the government decides to intervene, it would put up some structures with no human to man them. We were, for example, once promised tapped water and a dam was to be built and before we knew what was happening, the bridge connecting our town to the next one, Koro, was blown off the river that was to be dammed! That created some enmity between us and our next-door township neighbor who thought the Eruku people did them bad.

We did not do really bad in terms of efforts at growing and developing our town. We are educated. We had scholars and professionals in every field of life. A few of them found their ways into government and governance which raised our hopes that, finally, our dreams were coming through. Not exactly. Because they still did not put the name of our town on the world map.
The most common trait of anyone born or raised at Eruku is resilience. The cognomen and clarion call of every Eruku born and bread is as follow:
Eruku Nain o! Eh O! (All true born of Eruku! Yes! We’re here!) Aru bain boo? (Are you scared?) Aru e b’eiye oko! (The bird is not scared of the wilderness!) Omo Eruku Mesi – (The true son of (Oyo) Mesi) Yi kee s’aru l’Oyo (Who is not a slave in Oyo) Omo Eruku ba ti woo ko l’are, ija mon rii da! (When anyone from Eruku tells you that an issue is no longer a joking matter, then the next step is to fight!)

Fast forward to the 21st century when street names and names of towns and individuals can be easily located through google and artificial intelligence. Every once in a while, when we type in the name of our town, a thing or two pops up. Now, it is more than that!

Tuesday, November 18, 2025 finally was the day that the name of Eruku made it to the world map. Not in the best way we have been hoping. If not for an innocuous livestreaming of the church program, showing people being herded including Mama Emiola, (Iye Ade whose residence is directly in front of our family house) the event of that day would have passed like any other and just adding to the statistics of the rampant kidnappings going on in the country. But not when Eruku was about to be put on the world map. It touched everyone’s nerves, nationally and internationally more so those of us who have family members among those that were kidnapped.

First, it was my spouse’s home church, the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC Oke Isegun) where her late mother was the choir’s matron. Everyone calls her Iye Akorin (choir’s matron.) Then her aunt (the one following Iye Akorin) was at the church service but released by the bandits after a short walk apparently due to old age. Then my niece, Titilayo Balogun (Nee Omotinugbon.) Then another niece’s son, Ebenezer Aina. Then Grace Moyeni Balogun, my spouse’s classmate in high school. Then, two Iyabo’s related to my spouse through marriage. Then ‘Molola my brother-In-law’s niece and her son. ‘Molola’s older sister was killed in an earlier attempt at abduction while coming from a wedding. At that time, ‘Molola was shot in the arm and was still recuperating from that dastardly event when she was kidnapped with the others right inside the church. There were two high school teachers among those that were kidnapped. I did not know all the thirty-eight now free abductees but I do know someone who knows someone who knows someone. Not to forget that three of the church attendees were killed and among those that were killed was the spouse to one of the abducted women who would only be learning of her spouse’s death on her release.

I am a psychotherapist listening almost on a daily basis to the traumatic experience of individuals. I have had patients whose stories cannot be retold anywhere because they were not believable. They are better imagined. And one of the freed abductees said as much in a TV interview when he said that their experiences were unimaginable. What gave me sleepless nights were how these victims would deal with the trauma. Is it the fear of going to church? The fear of hearing sounds that remotely sounds like a gun? Fear of being in a crowd or being alone and isolating? And we have not even heard their stories. The experience a seven-year old or a sixty-four-year-old went through. (The age-range of the abductees was seven to sixty-four.) And we are not even used to being in therapy in our environment. Sad.

I tried not to dwell into the politics but taking politics out of governance is like (as someone once remarked) taking mathematics out of physics. The only representative we have in government is the ward councilor! No board member of any parastatal. No commissioner. No adviser. No member of the state or federal assembly. In other words, we do not have anyone close enough to talk to those governing us. And yet, every election cycle, they seek for votes and the community is always divided about which of the major parties to support. Not until the incident, I have never heard of any visit made to the community by any top government official including the governor. Now, those of us not living in the community are advised not to come home due to “security reasons.”

And talking of security, why has it been difficult for the Nigerian government to devolve the security apparatus? How can someone from the Northern or Eastern part of the country be made the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of a remote town in Kwara State? How much is the remuneration of a police officer that would require him being transferred from Adamawa to Enugu? It does not make any sense. None whatsoever. What we know of in normal clime is county (local) police where those recruited into the force are from or reside in the areas where they are policing. They know the terrain. They know the people. Intelligence gathering would be easier. I have never heard of the Inspector General of Police in United States of America! Not even in Britain, our colonial lord. There are other security arms that could be federalized like the department of state security (DSS.)

I am really veering off. I hope the Kwara state government would be kind enough to give us, the people of Eruku, some hearing by putting one or two members of our community close enough to the process of governance so we will have the opportunity to whisper our demands to the government. At the expense of repeating ourselves, we have professionals across the board. We also have political gladiators that would fit in anywhere. Now that our beloved Eruku is now nostalgically on the world map, we are appealing that we be given the opportunity to have a sense of belonging.