Former Chief of Army Staff and ex-Nigerian ambassador to the Republic of Benin, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.), has urged President Bola Tinubu to declare insecurity a national emergency.
He warned that insurgency and banditry in the country might last longer than expected if the government failed to adopt a long-term strategy.
His warning comes amid heightened apprehension across the country, especially in the North, following a wave of resurgent attacks that have claimed dozens of lives in recent days.
The deadliest of the incidents occurred at a mosque in Unguwar Mantau community of Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State, where at least 50 worshippers were killed on Monday.
In Plateau State, about 15 people were also reportedly killed during fresh raids on seven villages of Manden, Jibin, Tim, Jiblang, Koppang, Mihdihin, and Jilem in the Chakfem district of Mangu Local Government Area.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, linked the recent surge in killings to the build-up to the 2027 general elections.
According to him, some politicians are deliberately fuelling violence to discredit the government’s security record and campaign on the back of chaos.
“Criminals, both bandits and terrorists, work together. They have a common goal to make money and destabilise communities. But there is also a political angle. Some individuals don’t want peace because when there is peace, the government is seen to be doing well.
When there is no peace, the government is seen to be failing,” Musa said.
However, Buratai, speaking on Friday during Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, insisted that the country must prepare for a protracted fight against terrorists.
He recalled issuing a note of warning before leaving office, stressing that the insurgency would not be a short-term affair.
“I said this insurgency may last longer. I don’t want to quote the number of years I mentioned, but it was a sort of warning that we really need to have a long-term plan. It is not something that you just wish away,” he said.
The former Army chief emphasised that defeating terrorism required the mobilisation of the entire country, not just the military.
Drawing parallels with Nigeria’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted that government invested heavily in information, communication, palliatives, and preventive measures that involved all citizens.
“But we can do the same thing. We can lock down this country to make sure that everybody concentrates and deals with this concoction of so-called terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers. It is very fundamental, it’s very important,” Buratai stated.
He also cited the nationwide support that followed the Maiduguri flood, where government and citizens rallied to provide relief and rehabilitation for victims, saying such collective action should be replicated in the fight against insurgency.
“The same thing can be done to mobilise everybody to the North-West, psychologically through social media, through the press and so on. Individuals can also support communities,” he added.
Buratai maintained that Nigeria must treat the fight against insecurity as a national emergency requiring the same level of urgency and collective mobilisation as past crises.
