Nigerian Security And The Challenge Of Politicization.

Section 14 (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria makes security the priority of any government. In Nigeria today, the greatest obstacle to achieving lasting security is the politicization of everything, including the very challenge of keeping Nigerians alive. When crimes occur what follows is counter-accusations, and partisan posturing. The recent abduction of school children in Oyo State in May 2026; and the controversy that currently trails their eventual rescue, after 56 days in captivity, provide clear examples of the severity of this problem in our national life.

Their rescue should have ushered in a moment of gratitude, but what dominated public discourse in the days that followed was who to blame and who to credit; not how to prevent a recurrence. Opposition voices led by Governor Makinde of Oyo State called on the United Nations to investigate the abduction of the school children. Makinde had earlier wondered why such unprecedented abduction in Oyo State took place a day after his declaration of interest to contest for the plum presidency of Nigeria in the 2027 general elections on the platform of APA. This, apparently, was enough to say that the APA presidential candidate believes that the abduction had political undertones. Some commentators even suggested that the timing of the rescue was manipulated to give the Tinubu-led federal government political mileage ahead of the 2027 general election.

Members of the ruling APC fired back accusing the opposition of politicizing a tragedy and of spreading false information to make the Tinubu administration look bad. They also accused Oyo State Government of neglecting the duty of care for the security of school children. Senator Adams Oshiomole has also cristicized Makinde's call for UN investigation of the children's abduction as not being statemanly.

In the middle of all this noise, the real issues — porous school security, poor intelligence gathering, and the welfare of the traumatized children — were pushed to the background. This pattern is not new. In Nigeria, every major security incident quickly becomes a political game. When bandits attack villages in the North, it becomes a North vs South, APC vs PDP debate. When kidnappings occur in the South-East or South-West, they are framed as evidence of the failure of a particular governor or political party. Press statements are released not to inform the public, but to score points. The result is that we spend more energy fighting each other than fighting the criminals!

The danger of politicizing security is threefold: It undermines public trust in institutions. When citizens see that a rescue operation is being used for propaganda, they begin to doubt the sincerity of government. When every security briefing is followed by a rebuttal from an opposition spokesperson, people no longer know what to believe. That doubt makes cooperation difficult. Security thrives on intelligence from the community. But a community that believes government is playing politics will keep quiet.

Politicization delays solutions. After the Oyo incident, what should have happened was a swift, non-partisan review: How did the abductors get through? Were there security gaps at the school? What support do the children need? Instead, arguments were formed along political affiliations to apportion blames and score cheap political points. Weeks passed, and the concrete policy recommendations were lost in the shouting match. Criminals thrive in that delay.

Politicization of security emboldens criminals. When non-state actors see that their actions can distract the tiers of government by pitting them against one another, dividing leaders along partisan lines, and trending for days as a political scandal, the criminals will have no reason to relent. They know that in Nigeria, a crime is not just a crime. It is an opportunity to weaken a political opponent and to distract governance!

The complex Nigerian security challenge includes banditry, insurgency, cultism, herder-farmer clashes, and transnational crime. These problems require intelligence sharing, inter-agency cooperation, community policing, and long-term investment in education and jobs. None of that can happen in an atmosphere of suspicion. A governor cannot work with federal security agencies if he believes they are sabotaging him. Federal agencies cannot share sensitive intelligence with a state if they suspect it will be leaked to embarrass the center. That is the cost of politicization.

The way forward requires intentional radical paradigm shift from all. Human life must be prioritized above political interests and alignments by both leaders and followers. There should be a bipartisan protocol for responding to abductions and terrorist attacks. When crimes are committed, the statement from government should be followed by cooperative statements from opposition leaders condemning the act and pledging support. That single act would rattle criminals and reassure citizens that Nigeria is bigger political interests. The media should always focus on facts and solutions, not sensationalism. Nigerians must resist the temptation to reduce every tragedy to a tweet for political camps. The masses do not care which party is in power. They care about their safety. Nigerians must choose between partisan victory and national survival. No country can have both!