Why security has deteriorated in Nigeria under Buhari's watch

Dr Usman Bugaje, a historian, has blamed the worsening insecurity in Nigeria under the Buhari administration to its failure to prioritise competence.

Bugaje, who spoke on Channels TV programme Sunday Politics, along with President Buhari’s media adviser, Femi Adesina, lamented the deterioration of security in the land.

He said although the Buhari administration made some gains in tackling insecurity in 2016, it failed to consolidate on the improvements made.

“Immediately this government came, they took measures and things improved but it didn’t last long, it wasn’t sustained,” he said.

“What has happened thereafter is that things have deteriorated to a level that was inconceivable at that particular time.

“That speaks to the fact that this government has no particular governance framework.

“They were not evaluating their performance; they were not making the necessary input that they have to make. In fact, they were not prioritising competence,” said Bugaje who runs the Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP).

Femi Adesina gave a different perspective on the security situation.

He urged Nigerians to be patient with the Federal Government as it tackles the security challenges.

Adesina said security is not something that a timeline can be put on, rather it is an ongoing issue that needs to be constantly reviewed.

“Patience must be elastic, it’s not something that you get to a point and say patience has run out. Patience must be a continuous thing,” he said.

“There are certain things in which you don’t have control of all the variables. If you don’t have all the variables, you don’t then begin to give timelines. And security is not one of those things that you will give a timeline to say by this time to this time, we will achieve this.

“All over the world, security is a continuous thing and even the most advanced countries, are still working at it”.

Buhari, both in 2015 and 2019, made security a cardinal programme of his administration.

But in recent years, the security situation has moved from bad to worse.

Boko Haram is still on the rampage in North East.

Bandits and kidnappers are also operating in many parts of the country unchallenged.

*`Source: Channels TV