A Senior Fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Development, Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim, has said President Bola Tinubu is performing worse on insecurity than former President Goodluck Jonathan, whom he once criticized over the abduction of schoolchildren in 2014.
Prof. Ibrahim made the remarks on Friday during an interview on Prime Time, a programme on Arise Television.
He recalled that many Nigerians had hoped insecurity would end with the emergence of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, given his background as a former army general, but said those expectations were not met.
According to him, Buhari “proved totally incapable” of addressing the security crisis, adding that President Tinubu, who had faulted Jonathan over school abductions, now finds himself in office and is doing worse.
“I think it’s been a very difficult year for Nigerians,” Ibrahim said, noting that while previous years were also challenging, what stands out is the “glaring inability, or unwillingness” of the Nigerian state to fulfill its constitutional duty of ensuring the security and welfare of citizens.
He argued that since 2009, insecurity has continued to worsen annually, with more civilians acquiring arms and using them against communities, road users, as well as security personnel.
“This clearly indicates a sustained lack of effort on the part of the Nigerian state to carry out its constitutional responsibility,” he said.
Ibrahim warned that once people who are not legally entitled to bear arms can procure and use them with impunity, the problem will inevitably escalate.
He added that despite several moments of hope for change under successive administrations, Nigerians are yet to witness a government with the political will, determination and capacity to effectively tackle the growing insecurity in the country.
