NIGERIA: INSECURITY AND THE FIGHT AGAINST TERROR
21 May 2026 By Abiodun Giwa
President Ahmed Bola Tinubu
The United States is busy in Iran to dislodge the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, IRGC, which has turned into a terror outfit. It is also busy helping nations in West Africa in efforts to contain or eradicate terrorism threatening the fabric of certain countries, like Nigeria and others. Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and the Benin Republic are all experiencing terror attacks. Nigeria's latest ordeal of a teacher beheaded by terrorists exemplifies the importance of US engagement against terrorism across the globe.
Just before the news of the beheading of the teacher, there was a report about a terrorist attack on schools in Oyo State, areas formerly untouched by terror. It shows the daring of terrorists against Nigeria's peace, following the killing of a major terror leader in a combined Nigeria and US operation. It is an ongoing war like the one in Iran. Nigeria is fortunate to have the US support.
The terrorists have killed a highly loved minister of defense in Mali. They are seriously engaging with Traore's Burkina Faso military government, just as Ghana's northern region has been experiencing terrorists' incursion. But Nigeria's experience easily comes to mind, remembering the Boko Haram and Chibok school girls' kidnapping some years ago. Terrorists have continued the bombardment, and successive governments have repelled the attacks.
It is the stock in trade for terrorists to kidnap, demand ransom, and eliminate victims when the demand for ransoms is unheeded. But beheading as an elimination tactic is a new phenomenon, though it is still the killing of a person. The display of heartlessness, which some observers say is a direct retaliation for the terrorists' leaders' elimination by the US and Nigerian military, has sent a shock through Nigerian communities.
Fears now have multiple degrees of uncertainty. The report of the teacher's effort to escape the terrorists' capture via the classroom window and eventual beheading will sell a movie. Nigeria's government experience in tackling terror and losing generals in the army in the bargain does not depict a government without concern. Observers ask what do the terrorists want? How have they managed to become so formidable as to kill generals in the army barracks? Many fingers point to the fall of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and the insecurity and unsettling situation in North Africa since his demise. The worst is the cooperation between the terrorists in the region and ISIS, and al-Qaeda in the Maghreb. Nigeria comes into the picture because of its large Muslim population in the North.
Terrorists believe they can wreak havoc in Nigeria and turn the north to their advantage. Some analysts who point to the history of Uthmsn Dan Fodio's incursion at Ilorin and the boasts to take the Quran to the Atlantic Ocean are wrong. It will be impossible for terrorists to turn back the hand of the clock against the educational advancement in the South to gain converts. Whatever their acts, they now represent a threat and confuse Nigerians against one another.
It is already manifest, with some blaming the Northern Fulani for the terror network. So, some say they are not and that the attacks are from outside entities. The government also comes under attack from those who want to use the insecurity for political gain in elections. It is here that Nigerians need to join their heads with their heart in determining who leads them politically. The insecurity may provide grounds for seeking a change in leadership, but caution is required. A presidential election is coming in 2027. Some politicians are already using the insecurity as a tool to convince voters in their favor.
Nigerians can see the US presence and its fight alongside the Nigerian Army as a plus for the government in power to rid the country of terrorism. Terror would have ended with the US presence if it had merely shown up to show force. However, the prolonged battle with the terror camp, even with the US forces, shows Nigeria's fortitude against the evil that is threatening the country from outside. An economic quagmire has also plagued the country for quite some time.
Nigeria has never been lucky enough to have a good leader with strong economic knowledge, whether from the military or from pseudo-democratic personae, who are therefore enslaved to the IMF, spending more on debt repayment than on addressing the populace's economic needs. The military damaged the country economically. Nigeria will not rebound from the economic downturn overnight. Nigerians and their government need to be on the same page against terror.
Faced with the terror and economic problems, a cooperation with the current Administration to kill the terror while it works to correct the economic mistakes of the past is a wider choice than allowing any untested mediocre to step in and continue the damage, and possibly lead the country into another political quagmire. Admit it: the insecurity can be a major problem for any incumbent in an election year.
Just before the news of the beheading of the teacher, there was a report about a terrorist attack on schools in Oyo State, areas formerly untouched by terror. It shows the daring of terrorists against Nigeria's peace, following the killing of a major terror leader in a combined Nigeria and US operation. It is an ongoing war like the one in Iran. Nigeria is fortunate to have the US support.
The terrorists have killed a highly loved minister of defense in Mali. They are seriously engaging with Traore's Burkina Faso military government, just as Ghana's northern region has been experiencing terrorists' incursion. But Nigeria's experience easily comes to mind, remembering the Boko Haram and Chibok school girls' kidnapping some years ago. Terrorists have continued the bombardment, and successive governments have repelled the attacks.
It is the stock in trade for terrorists to kidnap, demand ransom, and eliminate victims when the demand for ransoms is unheeded. But beheading as an elimination tactic is a new phenomenon, though it is still the killing of a person. The display of heartlessness, which some observers say is a direct retaliation for the terrorists' leaders' elimination by the US and Nigerian military, has sent a shock through Nigerian communities.
Fears now have multiple degrees of uncertainty. The report of the teacher's effort to escape the terrorists' capture via the classroom window and eventual beheading will sell a movie. Nigeria's government experience in tackling terror and losing generals in the army in the bargain does not depict a government without concern. Observers ask what do the terrorists want? How have they managed to become so formidable as to kill generals in the army barracks? Many fingers point to the fall of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and the insecurity and unsettling situation in North Africa since his demise. The worst is the cooperation between the terrorists in the region and ISIS, and al-Qaeda in the Maghreb. Nigeria comes into the picture because of its large Muslim population in the North.
Terrorists believe they can wreak havoc in Nigeria and turn the north to their advantage. Some analysts who point to the history of Uthmsn Dan Fodio's incursion at Ilorin and the boasts to take the Quran to the Atlantic Ocean are wrong. It will be impossible for terrorists to turn back the hand of the clock against the educational advancement in the South to gain converts. Whatever their acts, they now represent a threat and confuse Nigerians against one another.
It is already manifest, with some blaming the Northern Fulani for the terror network. So, some say they are not and that the attacks are from outside entities. The government also comes under attack from those who want to use the insecurity for political gain in elections. It is here that Nigerians need to join their heads with their heart in determining who leads them politically. The insecurity may provide grounds for seeking a change in leadership, but caution is required. A presidential election is coming in 2027. Some politicians are already using the insecurity as a tool to convince voters in their favor.
Nigerians can see the US presence and its fight alongside the Nigerian Army as a plus for the government in power to rid the country of terrorism. Terror would have ended with the US presence if it had merely shown up to show force. However, the prolonged battle with the terror camp, even with the US forces, shows Nigeria's fortitude against the evil that is threatening the country from outside. An economic quagmire has also plagued the country for quite some time.
Nigeria has never been lucky enough to have a good leader with strong economic knowledge, whether from the military or from pseudo-democratic personae, who are therefore enslaved to the IMF, spending more on debt repayment than on addressing the populace's economic needs. The military damaged the country economically. Nigeria will not rebound from the economic downturn overnight. Nigerians and their government need to be on the same page against terror.
Faced with the terror and economic problems, a cooperation with the current Administration to kill the terror while it works to correct the economic mistakes of the past is a wider choice than allowing any untested mediocre to step in and continue the damage, and possibly lead the country into another political quagmire. Admit it: the insecurity can be a major problem for any incumbent in an election year.
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