Former Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), has raised concern over the role some political actors play in worsening Nigeria’s security situation, noting that several individuals deliberately exploit ongoing crises for political gain.
He stressed that the nation’s security problems cannot be traced to a single origin due to the wide range of violent actors and motives involved.
Irabor spoke on Monday while assessing the diverse factors fuelling insecurity across the country. His remarks follow recent comments by presidential aide Daniel Bwala, who disclosed that the Federal Government is preparing to identify those financing terrorism.
Highlighting the complexity of Nigeria’s security environment, Irabor warned against attempts to lump all incidents into one category. He stated that the country is confronted by ideological extremists, criminal groups, politically motivated actors and economic opportunists operating simultaneously.
“You can’t hold people for their views, but the reality is that our issues in terms of security challenges are multifaceted,” he said.
He further explained that the threats are varied, adding, “Just as we have terrorists who have an ideology, we equally have those who are bent on targeting Christians, and there are also those who are targeting communities, desiring to displace communities and wanting to stay in those communities to be able to have a voice.”
Irabor emphasised that these groups pursue different agendas, ranging from terrorism to banditry, community displacement and economic exploitation, making a single narrative inaccurate.
“If you lump the entire thing into one, the analysis would be wrong,” he said.
While addressing arguments that insecurity is purely politically driven, he acknowledged that political motives exist but do not explain the entire crisis.
“Those who say it is political, that would also be lumping all the issues to say all other issues do not matter — that’s also not correct,” he noted.
He added that some politicians take advantage of ongoing turmoil to advance their interests.
“That does not mean some politicians have not taken advantage of the insecurity to perhaps gain some sort of leverage; to give the impression that they can do better,” he said.
“Others perhaps want to score a point that there’s poor governance; they could also instigate crisis in one way or the other.”
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