Baba Ahmed Dismisses Tinubu Security Emergency

Yusuf Datti Baba Ahmed has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s nationwide security emergency, saying the move does not address the real problems behind the rising violence and kidnapping across the country.

He made his position known during a television interview, where he argued that the plan fails to confront the deeper issues at the heart of insecurity.

His comments follow Tinubu’s announcement of new measures, including recruiting 50,000 security personnel, deploying forest guards, and withdrawing police from VIP protection duties for training. The President also urged states to avoid building schools in remote areas, a proposal that sparked concern.

Baba Ahmed said the government’s approach ignores the root causes of insecurity and leads the country in the wrong direction. He said the advice to stop building schools in rural communities is harmful and could damage long-term development.

He argued that Nigeria does not suffer from a shortage of security personnel, but from corruption and poor management within the security system. He questioned how much of the country’s security budget reaches frontline operations instead of private pockets or political plans.

He also dismissed the idea of forest guards, noting that Nigeria already has capable security agencies with a long history of successful missions abroad. He said it is not true that the country lacks the manpower or skill to confront armed groups.

He added that the armed groups attacking communities are criminals, not ideological fighters, and warned that the real threat to the country comes from those claiming that the government has made progress on security. According to him, Nigeria is in a fragile state because political actors supported a government he believes lacks the strength and expertise to restore safety.

Baba Ahmed said the country needs strategy, discipline, and accountability, not emergency declarations that fail to solve the underlying issues.