The Labour Party’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s nationwide security emergency, arguing that the Federal Government’s strategy overlooks the core issues fuelling insecurity.
Speaking on Arise News on Thursday, Baba-Ahmed said the administration had “missed the point” by focusing on massive recruitment into security agencies instead of addressing entrenched corruption within the system.
President Tinubu had recently declared a security emergency following rising cases of banditry, kidnappings and rural attacks.
He also directed the Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police Force to recruit thousands of additional personnel, including a fresh intake of 20,000 police officers, to strengthen counter-terrorism and public safety efforts.
But Baba-Ahmed dismissed the emphasis on numbers as misguided. According to him, Nigeria’s insecurity persists not because of manpower shortages, but because corruption and political interference undermine operations and weaken institutions.
“It’s not about increasing personnel. The real issue is corruption within the security architecture. How much of the security budget is actually used to fight insecurity? How much ends up in private pockets or for political purposes? That is the problem, he said.
He further argued that a reformed and fully empowered police force could tackle banditry and terrorism without reliance on the military.
“If you remove corruption and political interests, the Nigerian police can wipe out insecurity in two months,” he asserted.
Baba-Ahmed also faulted Tinubu’s advisory urging state governments to reconsider building boarding schools in remote or poorly secured areas. The President had issued the warning after recent mass abductions of students and teachers in Niger, Kebbi and other states.
Describing the directive as dangerous, Baba-Ahmed said restricting rural school development would embolden criminals and hinder national growth.
“Discouraging education in vulnerable communities is wrong. We should be expanding access, not reducing it,” he said, adding that educators already operate under enormous pressure in high-risk areas.
The comments come amid growing national anxiety over escalating attacks, renewed mass kidnappings and the broader direction of the government’s security strategy.
VANGUARD.
