The former Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabo, has said that the rising killings, kidnappings and attacks across Nigeria are not new threats but the result of many years of government failure at all levels.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Tuesday, he said the issues he wrote about in his book are now becoming clear to everyone, and he feels “vindicated”.
He explained that the book was meant to start a national conversation on security, and he is happy that the discussion has begun with some positive steps already being taken.
Speaking on the recent surge in attacks, he explained that insecurity worsened because many communities have been abandoned for years, especially in some parts of the Northeast and Northwest.
“When I also got exposed to the issues in the Northwest, it was quite mind-blowing for me. Wherein, some local governments have no representation in governance.
“So sometimes, you see that, oh, this local government is just by name, as you don’t have local government officials at that level to mitigate crises. So no water, no roads, nothing. Nothing that makes any human being function.
“Completely absent. Meaning that over a long period of time, we have neglected these people. We are actually perhaps taking the people for granted, and I think that is something that everybody in Nigeria must understand and contribute to.
“Not to apportion blame, not to point fingers, because pointing fingers will certainly not solve the problem. A problem that you do not know is a problem you can never solve. So if you have that in the back of your mind, the next question to ask is, What then do we do?
“Getting to know what you would do is to begin to talk about what resources are necessary to be able to do that. So for me, it’s a failure of governance over a long period,” he explained.
According to him, this long neglect allowed ethnic, religious and economic problems to grow into violence, with the current economic hardship pushing some people into crime.
Reacting to claims that recent attacks are politically motivated, he said Nigeria’s security problems come from many sources.
He noted that while some attackers have religious motives, some want to take over communities, some simply want money, and some may be influenced by foreign narratives.
He admitted that some politicians have taken advantage of the insecurity in the country under President Bola Tinubu’s governance to perhaps gain some form of leverage, to give the impression that they can do better, but said it is wrong to blame all politicians or assume all attacks are political.
“Some of them perhaps want to give the impression that there’s poor governance. In order to score points, they could also instigate certain crises in one way or the other,” he said, further admitting that Christians have indeed been targeted in some cases.
When asked about why politicians funding terrorism are yet to be captured, he said some people have faced questioning in the past, but he could not discuss details since he is no longer in active service, further urging Nigerians to trust the agencies responsible for handling such cases.
He maintained that not everyone in government is dishonest or unserious, and many are genuinely working for the good of the country. He also expressed hope that ongoing discussions and new efforts will soon lead to better security for the country.
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