Opinion
Kuje: Did we hand over Nigeria to terrorists in 2015?
For those who watch the complicated Nigerian security mess from afar, the killing of Japanese ex-Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe in Nara, Japan last Tuesday and the ambushing, same day, of President Muhammadu Buhari’s advance convoy in Dutsinma, about 152 kilometres from his hometown of Daura, Katsina State, both speak to rising global insecurity. A few hours after on that same Tuesday, that joke went burst. Approximately three hours after shelling the president’s advance convoy with an assortment of bullets, killing two people in the process, around 10pm, terrorists stormed the Kuje Custodial Centre in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, in a night-time attack that left a security personnel and six inmates dead, with about 600 inmates, 65 reported to be detained Boko Haram inmates, at large. Arriving the prison in a convoy of motorcycles, the terrorists detonated several bombs and deployed Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPGs), General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs) and a profusion of AK-49 assault rifles, AK-47 assault rifles, as well as service pistols to aid their penetration of the prison.
Once inside the prison, the terrorists had what looked like a saturnalia. First was that they reportedly entered the Kuje prison facility through the bush and from its backend. This path was where the Nigerian military armoured tanker guarding the facility was stationed, with its dilating-eyed, readied platoon of sharp-shooters. So they drove in, unchecked and without any shred of resistance. Reports had it that this area that the terrorists trod into the custodial centre was usually manned by army officers who the Army authorities deployed about 12 hours before the attack took place. This location is the first contact of anyone meandering into the facility, which the terrorists also did as they arrived the facility. Strolling in without any resistance the terrorists approached the Civil Defence officers’ point. Were the situation normal, this was where a hailstone of bullets ought to have been rained on the terrorists by soldiers.
Again, in a very suggestive way, the terrorists did not do any violence to the armoured tanker they met, en-route the facility. They did not even rupture a pin of the deadly machine’s parts. If you compare this “magnanimity” of the terrorists with the fit of madness they went into by setting ablaze several vehicles parked about 10 metres off the military tanker in the premises of the Kuje prison, the terrorists deserved a national award for helping to safeguard national asset. In all however, you will conclude, as the Yoruba say when they suspect an admixture of mischief and Satanism, that the snake, in this circumstance of the Kuje attack, indeed had its hidden hands tucked off view.
For two hours and forty five minutes, the terrorists, reportedly numbering about 300, annexed Kuje as a temporary headquarters of their Satanic Empire. Thereafter, they set the prison’s records office on fire. If the maishayi in charge of serving the terrorist comrades their hard drugs-embossed tea was in the mood to follow them to that triumphant rescue of their comrades in Kuje, he would have had a field day serving them while the operation lasted. One after the other, the terrorists, who gained access to the facility by bombing the walls with explosives, reportedly called the over 60 terrorists in captivity by their names and bombed the cell doors open. Shouts of grisly, triumphal Allahu akbar rend the air, entwined by huge balls of fire and booms of bazookas and bombs. Kuje would feel like a theatre of war reminiscent of the bombings in Sarajevo during the Bosnia and Herzegovina war of the early to mid-1990s. Then, the terrorists began a long sermon on Jihadism and winning of souls of the inmates.
Before releasing their comrades in terrorism, comprising 64 high-profile terrorists and more than 260 other hardened criminals who were set free, media reports said that the terrorists peremptorily breached the custodial facility’s security without a single pushback from the security that was usually deployed to Kuje prison. Indeed, said media reports, no single shot was fired by a platoon of security men in Kuje that comprised military, DSS, Police, Immigration/Prisons Armed Squad. More petrifying was the report which indicated that the expended bullet shells that were seen on the floor after the attack were left as terrifying memorabilia of the terrorists’ superiority over the Nigerian state. The Nigerian security, made up of same gallant officers who received garlands from the United Nations in peacekeeping operations in Darfur, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Chad, among others, like frightened cats that tuck their tails inside thighs when outpaced, all faded into thin air for the almost three hours of the attack. Gallant officers that they were, they only reappeared when their terrorist comrades had completed their national assignments, on the verge of leaving in a triumphal celebration.
Very unlike him, with his globally celebrated medallion for pussyfooting and national aloofness, President Buhari was in Kuje almost immediately. And I must say that he deserves national commendation for the brilliant performance of the role that the Producer of the national opera cast for him. The second day, being Wednesday, on his way to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport for an international junket to Dakar, Senegal which he could very well have sent his Vice, Buhari actually honoured Nigeria with his august visit to Kuje. As a symbol of national shame that the attack was, Buhari could have, there and then, announced his decision to abandon the junket, a number of which, in the last two months, have since become the paterfamilias of his departing lame duck administration. So Buhari stopped by at the Kuje Correctional Centre and for about 30 minutes, played his cast role in the surreal drama quite commendably.
Like a knowledgeable cast who understood his role well enough, Buhari openly queried the intelligence gathering system in Kuje which resulted in the attack. He expressed worry at the level of damage done and queried, for optical effect of the camera, “How did the defences at the prison fail to prevent the attack? How many inmates were in the facility? How many of them can you account for? How many personnel did you have on duty? How many of them were armed? Were there guards on the watchtower? What did they do? Does the CCTV work?” Smart Nollywood actor this was!
After effectively performing his cast role, as they say in Shakespearean theatre lingo, Buhari exeunted. Then came unto the scene another of the cast, Garba Shehu. Untutored, this cast immediately provided a poetic enjambment to this inchoate poem of sorrow. This is a cast who always provides comedic relief to every of the grief-stricken drama of the presidency. As if one knew that the Abe Shinzo tragedy in Japan would be alluded to by this actor, Shehu, reacting to allegation that by flying directly from a place of mourning to his junket rendezvous, Buhari did worse than Nero who fiddled while Rome burnt, he said that, not embarking on the trip by Buhari would have meant that government should stop working. No nation stops working because they faced terrorist threats, Shehu said in a quote that sounded like an inspirational talk to a crowd at the graveyard. “To cancel the trip to Senegal would mean that the terrorists are successful in calling the shots, something that no responsible government in the world will allow”, Shehu said so glibly.
Not long after Buhari departed to play his Nero flute, dramatic ironies began to appear in the melancholic drama at Kuje. First was a cast whose lines became a dramatic disjuncture from the whole script. Ahmad Lawan, President of the Senate, said he saw the Kuje snake hiding its hands within its belly. On a visit to the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Lawan said such cataclysmic and huge attack, without a pushback, could only have been made possible with insider collaboration. Similarly, the man in whose hands lies the operations of the prison, Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, while leading his team from the ministry to the custodial centre, shockingly demurred from this well-written script of the presidency. In his usually simulated stoicism, the minister revealed that what happened in Kuje was mysterious and benumbing, so much that he was not ready to disclose its awful details in public. He said he was disappointed by the effete defence of the platoon of the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police Force, officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence (NSCD) and armed officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service, who were armed with sophisticated weapons deployed to the centre who turned their backs while the shelling lasted. As we speak, from Buhari, to the National Security Adviser, the Minister of Interior, to even the Chief of Army Staff, no one has resigned their appointment.
Like many of the Buhari administration’s puerile attempt to hide behind a finger, the raison d’etre of this national embarrassment has since been a subject of discourse on the streets of Nigeria. As they say in street lingo, Nigerians have concluded that the closet burial that Buhari gave his secretly interred body has its legs jutting out for all to see. The Kuje attack, to Nigerians, is the final denouement of the earlier national calamitous opera of the kidnap of train passengers in Katari on March 28, 2022. On that day, at around 7:45 pm, hundreds of passengers, rumoured to be numbering about 970, were abducted by bandits. Eight persons were killed and 26 others injured by terrorists who bombed their train. Several of them were whisked into the bush by the daredevil bandits. Over 150 passengers were declared missing in the encounter.
Negotiations then began between the Federal Government and the terrorists. To rev up the importance of the negotiation, the terrorists released a video that went viral of the abducted passengers sitting under a tree in an unknown location. Media reports claimed that the terrorists demanded the release of their sponsors and commanders in the custody of the Nigerian government as exchange for the abducted victims. This was not the first time the Buhari government would exchange insurgent commanders with abductees. Some months ago when it did, their release paved way for a rev of the insurgency.
Street rationalization cobbled the strands of the Kuje attack together, especially the irresistance of state-funded security operatives to the calamitous Kuje attack. It came to the conclusion that the effeminate, terrorists-sympathetic government of a retired General of the Nigerian Armed Forces, Muhammadu Buhari, unable to rescue its people, agreed with the terrorists that it would feign engagement with other things while the attacks on the Kuje centre was going on. The question then became, what kind of unequal equation would ensure that a government is unable to rescue its people from terrorists while terrorists brazed all odds to rescue their people from the hands of government?
Though it is a route often taken by pacifist and sissy governments, you could say that the Buhari administration, in this equation of what to do with the abducted Nigerians by the terrorists, was before the devil and the deep blue sea. However, the larger indication of the Kuje attack is that terrorists are on the verge of overrunning Nigeria. And Buhari doesn’t care, so far as it is his family members that are doing so. A revelation was made a few years ago that terrorists were all over the Abuja seat of power. When Buhari was being voted into office in 2015, it was on the understanding that a military General, who had risen to the rank of a Major General, was the right person to shell out the insurgents from their base. However, we miscalculated in not realizing the terrorism-baiting inclination and persuasion of the man we were voting into office. At the end of the day, Nigerians became the proverbial farmer who knew that his new farmland was under the grips of squirrels but stubbornly went ahead to make it a plantation of groundnuts. Shouldn’t he have himself to blame as squirrels devoured his harvests?
A very daringly frightening collation of ten examples of General Buhari’s alleged romance with or terrorism-baiting moves was compiled in a viral post last week on the social media. It gave an indication that, with the voting of Buhari into office in 2015, Nigerians might not have voted a Boko Haram supporter into office but they didn’t vote a non-terrorism sympathizer as well. Beginning with the famous 2012 news report of Boko Haram reportedly picking General Buhari to moderate its talks with the Goodluck Jonathan government, another June 2, 2013 report quoted to have been said by Buhari urging Jonathan government to “stop killing Boko Haram members” with Buhari equating a military offensive against Boko Haram as anti-North, as well as a report on November 26, 2018 attributed to some South African mercenaries who allegedly claimed that Buhari stopped them from fighting Boko Haram insurgents, the impression on the street about Buhari isn’t that he runs a terrorism disdainful government.
If you now add these to a worrying list of Buhari government’s soft landing for insurgents who have killed thousands of Nigerian soldiers, rendered thousands homeless and created so many IDPs in the north, like a February 11, 2020 report that the FG was “setting our killers free” attributed to Nigerian soldiers over the release of 1400 Boko Haram fighters, a fertile ground would seem to have been excavated for the insinuations that arose after the Kuje prison attack. It is on record that in Buhari’s Nigeria, where citizens are forced to enroll to have National Identification Number before they can have cell phone numbers allocated to them and non-possession of which invalidates phone possession, terrorists and kidnappers flaunt the use of mobile phones in negotiation of ransoms. The allegation is that Boko Haram sympathizers and accomplices envelope the government of Muhammadu Buhari and his telecommunication ministry is its base.
If the Kuje permutation above that is being bandied on Nigerian street is real, did those who midwife the attack think of its consequences for Nigeria? Allowing terrorists a free rein in Kuje, a few kilometers away from Aso Rock, is a grim construct that evokes a very eerie feeling of foreboding. One is that it invests on the terrorists a can-do spirit. Who says they cannot try the presidential palace, using the same derring-do methodology? Second, 64 freed lethal insurgents on the street of the FCT makes Abuja equal to stepping on landmines. What kind of government hands over its people to terror-minded enemies like this?
The Buhari government’s perceived relationship with insurgents is a tragic irony and an embarrassment to the country. It reveals that the government has turned Nigeria into one huge and horrific jokesville. However, as bad as it is, our bother now should not be on Buhari as it is a lost battle. It should be on how, in 2023, this country will not clone this same cataclysmic mistake in electing its leadership. We must elect a president whose sprit is riled by terrorism. Since 1999, the only administration that possessed this national anger and the capacity to rout insurgents was Olusegun Obasanjo’s. Since Obasanjo’s departure, the country has oscillated in the hands of the feeble, the unable to the embracer of terrorism.
May the soul of that lone NSDC operative, the only man who was said to have attempted to repel the attack of the Kuje terrorists, rest in perfect peace.
Dr. Adedayo, a journalist, lawyer and.columnist writes from Ibadan
As the road to 2027 gradually unfolds across Oyo State, political conversations are shifting from routine permutations to deeper questions about competence, generational leadership, and measurable impact. In Ibarapa East, that conversation has found a new voice in Yusuf Abiodun Ramon — a Lanlate-born technocrat whose entry into the race for the State House of Assembly is redefining what representation could mean for the constituency.
In a political environment often dominated by familiar faces and conventional calculations, Ramon presents a profile shaped by technical discipline, structured thinking, and solution-driven engagement. His professional background, anchored in analytical precision and systems management, forms the foundation of his public service aspiration.
For him, representation must move beyond ceremonial presence to practical responsiveness — laws that reflect local realities, oversight that protects public resources, and advocacy that translates into visible development.
Ramon argues that the future of Ibarapa East lies in leadership that listens deliberately, plans strategically, and delivers measurably. He speaks of strengthening rural infrastructure, expanding youth-driven economic opportunities, and institutionalising transparency as core pillars of his agenda. In his view, governance must not merely be symbolic; it must be structured, accountable, and people-centred.
Rooted in Ile Odede, Isale Alubata Compound, Ward Seven of Ibarapa East Local Government, and maternally linked to Ile Sobaloju, Isale Ajidun Compound, Eruwa, Ramon’s story is not one of distant ambition but of lived experience. He is, in every sense, a son of the soil — shaped by the same roads, schools, and economic realities that define daily life in Ibarapa East.
“I was born here. I grew up here. I understand our struggles, our strengths, and our untapped potential,” he says. “Representation must go beyond occupying a seat; it must translate into preparation, competence, and genuine commitment to development.”
His academic journey mirrors that philosophy of steady growth. He began at Islamic Primary School, Lanlate (1995–2001), proceeded to Baptist Grammar School, Orita Eruwa (2001–2007), and later earned a National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, between 2009 and 2011. Refusing to plateau, he advanced his intellectual horizon and is now completing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at the University of Lagos. “Education,” he reflects, “is continuous capacity building. Leadership today requires both technical knowledge and administrative insight.”
That blend of engineering precision and managerial training has defined a professional career spanning more than a decade. Shortly after his diploma, Yusuf joined Mikano International Limited as a generator installer, gaining hands-on experience in industrial power systems — a sector central to Nigeria’s infrastructural backbone. He later transitioned into telecommunications at Safari Telecoms Nigeria Limited, where he received specialized training in Industrial, Scientific, and Medical radio bands, strengthening his expertise in network operations.
In 2013, he became a Field Support Engineer at Netrux Global Concepts Ltd., then a leading ISM service provider in Nigeria. Over four formative years, he immersed himself in telecom infrastructure deployment and maintenance, mastering field coordination, logistics management, and real-time technical problem-solving.
Since July 2017, he has served as a Field Support Engineer with Specific Tools and Techniques Ltd., a power solutions firm providing services to major operators including MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria. In that capacity, he operates at the frontline of ensuring energy reliability and network uptime — responsibilities that demand discipline, accountability, and systems thinking.
For political observers in Ibarapa East, this trajectory matters. It reflects more than résumé credentials; it speaks to a mindset anchored in efficiency, coordination, and measurable outcomes — qualities increasingly demanded in legislative representation.
Beyond the private sector, Ramon’s political exposure is neither sudden nor superficial. A loyal member of the progressive political family in Lagos, he once served as a personal assistant to a former lawmaker, gaining practical insight into legislative procedure and constituency engagement. Within his community, he has quietly extended financial support to small-scale entrepreneurs and students — modest but consistent interventions rooted in personal responsibility.
“My interest is my people,” he states firmly. “Ibarapa East deserves strategic, responsive, and capable leadership at the State Assembly. We must move from rhetoric to results.”
Across the constituency — from Lanlate to Eruwa — development priorities remain clear: youth employment, vocational empowerment, rural road rehabilitation, stable power supply, agricultural value-chain expansion, improved educational standards, and stronger lawmaking that directly reflects community needs.
Political analysts argue that Ramon’s technocratic background positions him uniquely at the intersection of policy formulation and practical implementation. At a time when national discourse increasingly favours competence over grandstanding, his profile resonates with a broader generational shift toward performance-driven governance. His engineering discipline reinforces problem-solving; his business training strengthens administrative understanding; his grassroots roots anchor his empathy.
For Ibarapa East, the 2027 election cycle may represent more than a routine democratic exercise. It may mark a recalibration of expectations — a demand for representation that understands both the soil beneath its feet and the systems that drive modern development. As political alignments gradually crystallize in Oyo State, Yusuf Abiodun Ramon’s declaration signals the arrival of a candidate seeking to translate private-sector structure into public-sector impact.
One thing is clear: the conversation about the future of Ibarapa East has begun — and it is now framed around competence, credibility, and capacity.
Oluwasegun Idowu sent in this piece from Eruwa, Ibarapa East LG, Oyo State
“In a sky where delays are normal, one airline flies with precision and trust. Ibom Air shows that reliability can be a strategy”.
In Nigeria’s skies, where flight delays and cancellations are often taken as routine, Ibom Air has quietly rewritten the rules. From the moment it launched in June 2019, the Akwa Ibom State–owned carrier has treated reliability not as a bonus, but as a core strategy—turning punctuality, discipline, and operational excellence into a competitive edge that passengers can count on.
While most airlines chase rapid expansion or flashy promotions, Ibom Air has chosen consistency. Flights depart on schedule, disruptions are minimal, and communication with passengers is clear and timely. This predictability has quickly earned the airline a loyal following among business travellers, professionals, government officials, and families for whom time is invaluable.
The airline’s approach is methodical. Every flight is treated as a commitment, and operational decisions are guided by structured planning, not improvisation. This discipline underpins everything from scheduling to fleet management, ensuring passengers experience flying without surprises.
Central to this model is Ibom Air’s modern fleet. Its Airbus A220-300 and Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft are fuel-efficient, comfortable, and rigorously maintained to meet both manufacturers’ specifications and the regulatory standards of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and international aviation bodies. Safety here is a culture, not a compliance exercise.
Cabin cleanliness and aircraft health are equally prioritized. Passengers consistently step into neat, hygienic, and professionally maintained cabins, reinforcing confidence and comfort even before take-off. In a sector where small details signal operational quality, Ibom Air’s standards speak volumes.
Technology quietly drives reliability across operations. From booking and check-in to flight coordination and customer service, modern systems enhance efficiency, reduce disruptions, and ensure smooth communication. These tools allow the airline to anticipate challenges rather than merely react.
R–L: Dr. Solomon Oroge, a consultant, and Mr. Idowu Ayodele, journalist and media practitioner, aboard an Ibom Air flight.
Service delivery follows the same disciplined pattern. Pilots, cabin crew, engineers, and ground staff operate under strict professional standards. Courtesy is paired with efficiency, and calm, structured service ensures passengers feel confident throughout their journey.
The Ibom Flyer loyalty programme reflects this structured approach, rewarding consistent passengers and fostering long-term engagement. It turns reliability into a tangible benefit for frequent flyers.
From its hub at Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, Ibom Air serves major Nigerian cities including Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Calabar, and Enugu, while extending its reach to West Africa with flights to Accra, Ghana. Expansion is deliberate, prioritizing sustainability over rapid growth that could compromise service quality.
Measured growth allows the airline to maintain operational excellence and service consistency even as demand increases—a strategy that contrasts sharply with competitors whose rapid expansion often strains resources.
Mr. Idowu Ayodele, journalist and media practitioner, pictured inside an Ibom Air aircraft.
Beyond commercial success, Ibom Air has become a national example. It has created employment, stimulated tourism, and strengthened regional connectivity, projecting a positive image of Nigerian aviation at a time when confidence in the sector is often fragile.
The airline has also challenged assumptions about government-owned enterprises. By combining professional management with operational autonomy, it demonstrates that public investment can achieve efficiency, accountability, and competitiveness.
Reliability, in the case of Ibom Air, is than a promise—it is a deliberate business philosophy. It shapes operations, informs decisions, and builds passenger trust consistently.
Technology, discipline, and attention to detail converge to produce an airline that works. Every element, from fleet maintenance to cabin service, supports the promise that Ibom Air delivers what it advertises—without surprises.
In a market where uncertainty has been the norm, Ibom Air has shown that consistency can be a strategic advantage. Passengers no longer fly with anxiety; they fly with confidence, knowing their schedules will hold and service will meet expectations.
Ultimately, Ibom Air is not just an airline—it is a model of operational excellence in Nigerian aviation. By prioritizing reliability over spectacle, discipline over improvisation, and planning over shortcuts, it sets a benchmark for the industry and a standard for passengers: in the skies, predictability is priceless
Idowu Ayodele – Journalist, Ibadan, Oyo State
0805 889 3736 | megaiconpress@gmail.com
In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, the concept of the “Greek gift” was invented. The Trojan Horse became the undoing of Troy, ending a decade-long war in which many Greeks had perished, including the mighty Achilles. The Trojans accepted the Greeks’ gift, and the rest, as they say, is history.
In the past few days, both social and conventional media have been agog with reactions to President Donald J. Trump’s threat to the Nigerian government regarding terrorism. In his words, Nigeria must “address the genocide against Christians in the North and Middle Belt, or else the U.S. will cut aid to the country and, in addition, come into the country guns blazing in an attempt to flush out the terrorists.”
Sincerely speaking, the tweet made by the U.S. President sounded a bit comical to me, as did many other commentaries that followed. Comical not in a ridiculous sense, but in a comedic sense.
This piece is not written to support or oppose any particular view, but to lay down facts in the most succinct and objective manner, thereby allowing for the independence of a balanced position.
In 2009, a terror group named Jama’at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da’wa wa al-Jihad (popularly referred to as Boko Haram) emerged with the aim of establishing Islamic rule across Nigeria. According to the group, Sharia was the only path to true progress, and any faith other than Islam was haram (forbidden).
Soon after, this group began launching vicious attacks against Christians and Christian places of worship. From singularly attacking Christians, their targets shifted to government institutions and facilities, and on 28 November 2014, one of the greatest attacks against fellow Muslims occurred with the bombing and mass shooting of Juma’at worshippers at the Kano Central Mosque. Over 120 worshippers were killed and another 260 critically injured.
The point here is to underscore the fact that Boko Haram—and indeed all other extremist groups in Nigeria—are not targeting Christians alone, as earlier claimed, but are pursuing a more sinister agenda of land grabbing with the colouration of economic, psychological and socio-political domination of conquered territories, with intentions of spreading across the country.
From the Northeast, the activities of wanton killing and destruction perpetrated by terrorists spread to the North Central region, particularly Plateau and Benue States. What originally began as farmer–herder clashes metamorphosed into full-blown village and community sackings, where Fulani invaders razed entire communities, leaving hundreds dead or wounded while survivors were displaced and left with harrowing experiences in IDP camps.
This wave of destruction continued, with one of the bloodiest in recent times occurring in Yelwata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, on the night of 13–14 June 2025. According to Amnesty/CE/UN/NGO, over 200 people were gruesomely massacred, several houses burnt to ashes, and about 3,000 people displaced and rendered homeless. In 2025 alone, Amnesty reported more than 10,000 additional people displaced in Benue across several local governments, ranging from Gwer West to Agatu, Ukum/Gbagir, Logo, Kwande and Guma.
From the North Central, terrorism—or better still, banditry—also found its way to the North West. The activities of bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements were consistently reported in Zamfara, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano, and even Katsina, which was once regarded as the true home of hospitality, as its state slogan depicts, and as I can also attest considering how much I enjoyed the peace and serenity of the state during my days therein as a Youth Corps member. Reuters.ng reports that as of 2025, approximately 2,456 people had been killed in the North West region across multiple states. In addition to this, about 7,260 people, including schoolchildren and commuters on highways, had been abducted, with several millions of naira collected by kidnappers as ransom payments. Some parts of the South West, South East and South South have not been spared the atrocities of terrorists and bandits.
Therefore, it is safe to say that the entire country has, at one time or the other, experienced the activities of bandits, terrorists and kidnappers. The intensity of attack, however, differs from region to region.
Late General Sani Abacha once said that “if any insurgency lasts for more than 24 hours, a government official has a hand in it.” This saying more or less amplifies the complexity of the terrorism–banditry–kidnapping problem in Nigeria. Nigeria is a country abundantly blessed with all manners of rich mineral resources. Apart from the vast arable land required for productive agriculture, there is virtually no region of the country that does not possess one valuable solid mineral or another.
From iron ore in Zamfara, Kogi and Enugu; gold in Kaduna, Kebbi and Osun; lithium in Nasarawa, Kwara, Oyo and the FCT; bitumen in Ondo, Edo and Ogun; plus other industrial minerals like gypsum, kaolin and limestone, with deposits of over one billion tonnes across many states—Nigeria is sitting on an incredibly underutilised treasure worth billions of dollars. The government’s inability to adequately manage these vast potentials provides fertile grounds for opportunistic scrambling, illegal mining, chaos and its attendant conflicts.
One can therefore boldly say that the chaos and violence camouflaged as terrorism and banditry is indeed a calculated campaign driven not just by Islamic extremism but by land grabbing and occupation for the purpose of blood mineral extraction and illicit mining.
Thus, a sophisticatedly armed radical Islamic Fulani ethnic militia, often operating under political protection, carries out multiple killings, displacements and kidnappings across the Northeast, North Central and North West, after which reports reveal that foreign miners appear following the death and displacement of indigenes to exploit the lands.
Amnesty International has also reported that Nigeria loses over $9 billion annually to illicit mining of gold, tin and lithium, with a significant portion—estimated at 10%—funding violence and corruption. The report further revealed that the involvement of some government elements in this corruption is not in doubt, as eyewitness reports of survivors and satellite surveillance footage revealed the connivance of certain government personnel. Some survivors have also repeatedly claimed that they witnessed helicopters in the middle of the night dropping weapons and ammunition for the bandits—a disclosure corroborated by Professor Bolaji Akinyemi in an interview on African Stream earlier this year.
So, it is right to say that the violence and carnage are just a smokescreen and a catalyst to a far-reaching economic, psychological and socio-political agenda of certain influential elements in the country. This is part of the reason why the billions of naira spent on security to equip the military to better fight insurgency have not yielded much result to date.
In addressing the threat of President Donald Trump, I would like to start by recounting a little history about the 47th President of the United States and his previous antecedents. In January 2018, at a news conference in the White House, President Trump referred to Haiti and some African countries—including Nigeria—as “shithole countries” that should not be accorded immigrant status in the U.S.
Furthermore, his government’s stern immigration policies and visa restrictions clearly reflect a hostile stance towards Africa and some other Global South countries. In light of this, it is hard to understand where the sudden genuine concern for Nigerian Christians is coming from—more so when a U.S. congressman earlier this year revealed that USAID played a significant role in the funding of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups. This concern was never mentioned when Late President Muhammadu Buhari visited the White House a few months after the “shithole” saga and was praised by the same Trump for his valiant efforts in fighting Boko Haram and ISWAP, despite staggering reports of attacks and killings in the Northeast and North Central during that period.
Under the erudite scholarship of Professor Kunle Ajayi, I learnt several years ago, in one of our Politics of Global Economic Relations lectures, that in world politics and global socio-economic relations, the overriding determinant of states’ decisions and actions is strategic interest. Altruism is hardly ever a factor.
Present realities of Nigeria’s economic relations are fast approaching self-sufficiency—particularly in the oil sector, where Nigeria was once a major importer of finished petroleum products from the U.S. The Dangote refinery, having begun domestic refining and production of petroleum products, is fast taking over a market once dominated by imports from the U.S. This shift, no doubt, is taking jobs away from American oil workers—no cheering news for the country’s oil conglomerates. Secondly, China has since replaced the United States as Nigeria’s foremost trading partner.
According to Nairametrics (2025), the value of trade between Nigeria and China between 2023–2025 totals approximately $50 billion compared to an estimated $30 billion with the U.S. This paradigm shift would certainly not be palatable to the U.S. or her president, who happens to be a dogged businessman that hates the word “no”. From this perspective, it is not difficult to see where President Trump is coming from.
Be that as it may, I think Nigeria needs to employ shrewd diplomacy in dealing with the U.S. under a president like Donald Trump. Regardless of international law and conventions, the U.S. has repeatedly proven itself willing to take unilateral military action against countries, defying the rule of law and popular global opinion. So those hinging on Nigeria’s sovereignty as a deterrent to the U.S. are not good students of history.
What is, however, more important in all of this is that global attention is once again drawn to the horrible atrocities of these criminal elements in Nigeria. The country cannot continue to behave as though it is normal headline news when people are slaughtered daily, and families and homes are torn apart.
I believe this is an opportunity for the government to rejig the entire security architecture of the country, with the needed political will, to once and for all end these killings. Strategic partnership with the United States in this regard is not a bad idea. With its extensive experience in counter-terrorism operations and access to sophisticated military technology and intelligence, the U.S. can assist in identifying and eradicating the major financiers and enablers of terrorism and banditry. It is not rocket science that when the financing of terrorists ends, terrorism ceases to exist.
However, this should be done only on the basis of shared interest, mutual respect, trust, and understanding reflective of a healthy and balanced foreign policy relationship. By prioritising constructive diplomacy, dialogue and partnership, Nigeria can work with the United States in a strategic alliance to restore peace, security and confidence across the nation. That is the way to go.
Olusegun Hassan, Ph.D
Public Policy Analyst and Social Commentator
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