Former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has alleged that the fight against terrorism in Nigeria has become an industry benefiting people in positions of power.
Ezekwesili made the allegation during an interview on News Central Television, where she questioned the government’s handling of insecurity and the trillions of naira allegedly spent to tackle terrorism.
She said those responsible for the country’s security, including the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the military establishment, should explain what has been achieved with the funds allocated to fighting insecurity.
“Fighting terrorism is now an industry from which people who have the levers of power, starting from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to the military establishment, are benefiting.
“They need to be telling Nigerians what the performance is from the kind of trillions of naira that has been allegedly used to fight insecurity in the country. The results point to the fact of poor governance,” she said.
Ezekwesili also criticised the government’s approach to the protection of citizens, saying failure to take their safety seriously could send a message to those attacking the country.
“Joking with the life of your citizens is the way that you send a signal to the enemies that you cannot be bothered,” she said.
On the establishment of state police, the former minister said she supported the idea but stressed the importance of clear mandates for security agencies.
“Yes, but if we had good governance, the clarity of the mandates would be observed,” she said.
She recalled a period when the Department of State Services was weakened and said efforts were later made to restore professionalism to the agency.
“There was a time the DSS was degraded. A certain Adeola became the DG of the DSS and they began the reprofessionalization,” she said.
Ezekwesili said the Nigeria Police Force has not been able to effectively perform its role, leading to increased military involvement in internal security operations.
“The police is not able to be that institution. This has gone beyond their pay grade. That’s why the military has become involved in internal matters of this kind,” she said.
Speaking on whether the 2027 election could become a turning point for Nigeria, Ezekwesili said significant changes could happen without being immediately obvious.
“Sometimes turning points don’t announce themselves,” she said.
She also criticised the National Assembly, accusing lawmakers of being more concerned about the next election than the welfare of citizens.
“Look at the National Assembly, we consider them to be a bunch of people who don’t really care about the citizens.
“They’re all interested in the next election. They say that statesmen think of the next generation, but lousy politicians only think about the next election,” she said.
Ezekwesili further lamented what she described as the failure of the political system to fulfil the government’s constitutional responsibility to protect citizens and promote their welfare.
“So, here they are, things are completely aground in terms of the functionality of the system of ensuring that what our Constitution places as a mandate of the government, that is, security and the welfare of the people is the primary responsibility of government, they don’t care to read that page,” she said.
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