LATE General Sani Abacha once famously asserted that if insurgency lasts for more than 24 hours, the government in power is involved. As of March 2026, as Nigeria bleeds from a thousand cuts, that assertion has graduated from a cynical observation to a self-evident truth. The “giant of Africa” is no longer just stumbling; it is being sold.
The recent slaughter of over 100 soldiers in the North-East and the metastasizing terror in Kwara and Ondo are not merely “security lapses.” They are the bloody dividends of a security architecture that has transformed the war on terror into a flourishing enterprise—a Transactional Frontier where sovereignty is bartered for budget and lives are traded for mineral rights.
The Altar of Greed: Security as a Business Model
The ₦5.4 trillion defense budget was supposed to be a shield; instead, it has become a magnet for unpatriotic charlatans. If the Nigerian military—celebrated globally for its prowess—suddenly collapses in front of barefooted teenagers, the diagnosis is not a lack of training. It is Internal Sabotage.
Some terrorist groups have openly fingered military brass and security agencies for arming them in exchange for financial remittances. This is a managed conflict designed to enrich a corrupt few while the rank-and-file are led like lambs to the slaughter to justify the next trillion-naira procurement.
The Miner-Terror Nexus: Economic Warfare from Within
The “porous border” excuse has worn thin. Evidence now suggests a more sinister reality: the military hierarchy and the office of the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, are accused of sponsoring foreign illegal miners who arm terrorists to “clear” mineral-rich lands.
From the lithium deposits of Kwara to the gold veins of the North-West, terror precedes extraction. When the Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, and the Service Chiefs allow these “killing fields” to expand, they are not failing to do their jobs—they are fulfilling a darker mandate of economic warfare against the very citizens they swore to protect.
Tinubu’s Policy of Appeasement: Funding the Enemy
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s alleged tactics of settling terrorists with upwards of ₦10 billion to secure the release of schoolgirls is not “statesmanship”—it is Terror-Funding by Proxy. By rewarding abduction with billions, the Presidency has effectively become the primary venture capitalist for the kidnapping industry. Every Naira paid to a “repentant” bandit is a bullet bought for the next soldier’s heart.
The Call for a Total Purge
The time for “emergency summons” and hollow condolences is over. The continued presence of General Christopher Musa, the Service Chiefs, and NSA Nuhu Ribadu in office is a direct threat to the survival of the Republic. Their tenure has overseen the transition of Nigeria from a sovereign state to a “Bio-Digital Void” where terrorists operate with drones while our troops are left blind and betrayed by their own commanders.
Nigeria is at a crossroads. We can continue to fund a “conquered” military that hides behind barracks while the heartland burns, or we can embrace a Bio-Digital Bastion—an uncompromising technological overhaul driven by patriotism, not procurement.
The President must sack the entire security leadership immediately. Anything less is a confirmation of complicity. We do not need negotiators with the devil; we need a leadership with the technological will to annihilate the enemy. The “Iron Wall” must be built, not with the blood of our children, but with the steel of accountability.
Dr. Drama, PhD Counterterrorism contributed this piece via: Nigeriandrama@gmail.com
