EDITORIAL
The Federal Government’s admission last week that its security agencies directly contacted and negotiated with the abductors of 38 worshippers in Kwara State represents not merely a policy failure, but a dangerous collapse of state integrity. When the Presidency proudly announced that the DSS and military “reached out” to the kidnappers, it confirmed what Nigerians have feared for years: the state knows where the terrorists are, knows how to reach them, knows how to communicate with them, yet consistently refuses to eliminate them. This is the clearest evidence yet that the problem is not capacity but a profound absence of will, courage and leadership at the highest level of government.
No doubt, this confession strips the Federal Government of any remaining excuse. It exposes a system that has normalised impunity, accommodated terrorists and demonstrated a shocking indifference to the lives of ordinary Nigerians. A government that can speak to criminals at will but cannot protect schoolchildren, farmers, travellers or worshippers has forfeited its moral authority. The state cannot continue to hide behind empty assurances when its own spokesman has confirmed that it maintains real-time contact with killers it has refused to neutralise.
It is for this reason that we view the public anger expressed across the political spectrum not as isolated reactions but as a collective indictment of a leadership that has abdicated its most sacred duty: the protection of its citizens. The warnings by Atiku Abubakar, the bipartisan rage in the House of Representatives, the alarm raised by Amnesty International, the fiery intervention of House of Representative member, Solomon Bob, and the scathing rebuke from former President Obasanjo are significant not because of who said them, but because they all affirm the same truth THE NIGERIA STANDARD has long argued—Nigeria is being held hostage not only by terrorists, but by a federal leadership unwilling to confront them.
Amnesty’s revelation that over 20,000 schools are closed, and that repeated abductions occur despite prior intelligence, confirms what this newspaper has been warning: our children are living under a state that cannot—or will not—guarantee their safety. The repeated kidnappings in Kebbi and Niger states, despite advance warnings, are not unfortunate lapses; they are symptoms of systemic negligence. A nation that cannot protect its classrooms is a nation that has abandoned its future. Therefore, we insist that any government that allows this level of vulnerability has betrayed its constitutional obligation and forfeited public trust.
When Solomon Bob declared that every president since 1999 has lacked the courage to confront terrorists decisively, he articulated a truth this newspaper has repeatedly emphasised: Nigeria’s security failures stem from timid leadership and a culture of appeasement. His insistence that terror persists because no kidnapper is ever brought to justice reinforces our argument that impunity has been institutionalised, and that abduction has become a thriving industry precisely because government has refused to impose consequences.
Obasanjo’s bold statement last Friday at Jos—that a government that cannot protect its citizens gives them the right to seek international assistance—aligns with our long-standing position that Nigeria’s refusal to deploy its full intelligence, military and technological arsenal is a political choice, not a technical limitation. If previous governments had the capacity to track criminals, and today’s government has access to even better technology, why then are terrorists operating freely? THE NIGERIA STANDARD maintains that what is failing is not the system, but the leadership directing that system.
Taken together, all these voices reaffirm that Nigeria is not suffering from an intelligence gap, but from a leadership vacuum. Terrorists are thriving because the government tolerates them. Kidnapping is booming because the state refuses to impose consequences. Schools are closing because those elected to defend the republic have chosen convenience over courage. And negotiations with criminals have replaced decisive action because the government lacks the conviction to protect the very citizens it swore to defend.
Certainly, the Presidency’s confession marks a turning point. If the government can contact terrorists but cannot defeat them, then the crisis is not operational—it is ideological. It is a crisis of political will, of moral failure and of misplaced priorities. No nation can survive when its government is comfortable speaking with criminals but unwilling to stop them. No republic can endure when its children are abandoned to their abductors. And no leadership can claim legitimacy when citizens live under constant fear while the state perfects the art of negotiation instead of the duty of protection.
Nigeria is bleeding not because it is weak, but because its leaders have chosen weakness. THE NIGERIA STANDARD stands firmly on this truth—and we will not retreat from demanding accountability, action and the restoration of a state that protects its people rather than explains away their suffering.