Presidential Candidate of Accord Party, Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has declared that Nigeria is at war but is being led without a coherent strategy to defeat terrorism and restore national security.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Olawepo-Hashim condemned the latest wave of killings in Kaduna, Zamfara, Plateau and states, as well as the abduction of innocent citizens in Kebbi State, including a High Court judge.
He called on the Federal Government to urgently overhaul the nation’s security architecture, reclaim the strategic initiative from terrorists and adopt a proactive doctrine that prevents attacks rather than merely responding to them.
“Everyday, terrorists retain the initiative while innocent Nigerians pay with their lives. The time has come to stop managing insecurity and start a real offensive aimed at winning the war,” Hashim said.
He also added that the relentless attacks across the country demonstrate that terrorists and armed criminal groups continue to dictate the pace of the conflict, choosing when, where and how to strike .
“Nigeria is under attack. This is war, yet, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has no strategy to end it. As long as terrorists determine the time, place and intensity of attacks, they, and not the government, retain the strategic initiative.
“Over 30,000 innocent people killed in the first three years of this administration, with over 3.7m people living in IDP camps not able to return home, the scale of this conflict qualifies for the textbook definition of war,” Hashim said.
He described the persistent bloodshed as a national emergency that is eroding national unity, increasing poverty, threatening food security, discouraging investment and damaging Nigeria’s international reputation.
He added: “The first responsibility of any government is the protection of lives and property. No nation can prosper while its citizens live in fear and entire communities remain at the mercy of terrorists and criminal gangs.”
He argued that Nigeria’s security response has become ‘largely reactive,’ insisting that the country urgently needs a comprehensive national security strategy built on intelligence superiority, a force motivated to be on the offensive against forces of terror everywhere in the country, precision military operations, effective border security, community based policing, modern surveillance technology, disruption of terrorist financing and a swift, credible criminal justice system and integrated Defence and Security Cooperation with Sister neighbouring countries.
“Wars are not won by reacting to attacks after they happen. They are won by denying the enemy the capability, freedom and confidence to launch them in the first place,” he noted.
Hashim maintained that Nigerians deserve leadership with the vision, competence and determination to win the war against terrorism, stressing that strategy, and bold implementation of Plans not condolences after every massacre, is what will restore peace and security.
He condoled with the communities and families of victims but stressed that “condolence is becoming a ritual proving too inadequate to stop the killings.
“Proper care for the displaced and distressed is what is immediately needed.”
