Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North, stated on Friday that President Bola Tinubu possesses the political determination needed to tackle insecurity in Nigeria.
He maintained that the country’s growing security challenges are not the result of any lack of commitment from the President, arguing that the administration has supplied the resources and direction required to safeguard the nation.
Speaking in Abuja during the launch of a book authored by the Federal Capital Territory Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Olusola Odumosu, the former Edo State governor rejected suggestions that the executive arm is not giving adequate attention to security matters.
According to Oshiomhole, Tinubu has political will “in abundance”.
He cited the President’s funding efforts and policy decisions as proof of his commitment.
“What is the difficult thing in political will? The commander-in-chief gives the order: go and ensure that the country is safe, as President Bola Tinubu has done repeatedly.
“I am putting my mouth where I am putting resources, and he has provided more money, even supplementary budget at the National Assembly, approved. What more political will do you need?” he asked.
Oshiomhole also highlighted the President’s declaration of a state of emergency and the replacement of previous security chiefs.
“The Commander-in-Chief decided to declare a state of emergency and even told the armed forces no more excuses. He even replaced the former security chiefs with these ones. To sack chiefs in a village, you know the challenges, not to talk of sacking security chiefs. There is no question that there is no political will,” he said.
He urged politicians across party lines to recognise that national security should be treated as a collective concern rather than a partisan issue.
“So, I think all of us as a people, particularly those who are in politics, whether in the opposition, need to understand that when it comes to security, there is one Nigeria. There is no APC, no PDP, or whatever.
“I’m not aware that anybody has been queried for apprehending a dangerous criminal. So what is political will? The President has it in abundance.”
However, Oshiomhole questioned whether directives issued by top authorities are being effectively implemented by officers on the ground.
“But between the commander and the other guy in the battlefield, I think it is where we probably can benefit from relations, how the system goes, because the system works on a command basis,” he said.
He also wondered whether field personnel have the motivation, equipment, and welfare support needed to carry out assigned tasks.
“On that one, I have not read the book and I don’t know if you addressed it, because as a commander of the FCT, when you give out these instructions—go and do X, Y, Z on the field—and this is to be carried out by other ranks, do you always find out if those in the other ranks share your concerns and are willing, and have the equipment, morale, and allowances required to do what you have commanded?”
The senator further proposed reconsidering the name of the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps, arguing that the term “civil” does not align with the agency’s role in combating heavily armed criminals.
“And lastly, I think from what I can see now, we might need to review the name of the Nigerian Civil Defence. Because the concept of ‘civil’ means do not bear firearms.
“So if you bear firearms to deal with very deadly criminals who are doing illegal oil pumping or destroying public property, which you are tasked to protect, can you preach while they carry weapons?
“If the criminals you have to fight have sophisticated weapons, you who is fighting them, your weapon should not be less sophisticated. If you are civil, how do you deal with hardened criminals? When we talk of a civil society, it means you can talk, you can persuade. When I see service chiefs holding meetings and I don’t see the CG of NSCDC, I am like something is missing,” he said.
In his remarks, Odumosu echoed concerns about cooperation among security agencies, explaining that his book advocates stronger collaboration in addressing security threats.
He identified unhealthy rivalry among security organisations as a significant barrier to effective responses to national security issues.
“I am looking at security from a very holistic perspective, and then looking at all the intricate webs of insecurity and challenges that we have, there is need for a united front between security agencies because the challenges are beyond what one agency or individual can handle.
“No one has a monopoly of wisdom or knowledge or strategy. So there is need for us to come together and wage war against criminality, against insecurity, against banditry, against kidnapping with a common front, and that is what I am trying to preach.
“Of course, we have been having issues around unhealthy inter-security agency rivalry which has been a bane to national responses to our security challenges. So I’m looking at it from that perspective, where all the security agencies can understand that we must have the same focus, the same goal, and that whether your mandate is intertwined or interwoven, we have a collective responsibility to ensure peace and order in Nigeria.”
With insecurity continuing to affect many parts of the country, critics have blamed the persistence of banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, and oil theft on what they see as insufficient government resolve. Oshiomhole, however, rejected that view, insisting that President Tinubu has demonstrated the necessary political commitment to confront these challenges.