By Olorunfemi Faith Opeyemi.
Babagana Zulum, the Governor of Borno State, recently came out to talk about the amount of damage that terrorism and insecurity have done in Borno State. He said this while some projects were being commissioned by the Governor of Nasarawa State.
“About 5,000 schools have been destroyed, and about 2.2 million children are currently out of school. A lot of principals, teachers, and school administrators have also lost their lives due to terrorism.”
Still on the issue of insecurity, the Kaduna State chapter of MACBAN has reported that more than 200,000 cattle had been lost due to insecurity between January and September 2026, just this year.
There are also threats of churches or religious centres being attacked in Osun State. The Osun State Government is taking proactive measures, but for how long are they going to continue? What do we do, and how do we take proper measures in ensuring our safety?
Barrister Bashiru Oladipo, on the Diamond Breakfast Show, said, “I can say this with boldness that the judiciary and government are contributing to the insecurity in Nigeria.” He also said that if the governors want to solve insecurity in Nigeria, they will. But they have failed to recognise their roles.
He said, in essence, that the first step to solving insecurity is allowing the traditional institution to play its role as the custodian of the community, which involves the welfare of the people in that community.
He is calling for a stronger traditional institution so that they will be able to have proper control because insecurity starts from the root of a community.
The second aspect of solving insecurity is that every citizen must have a proper National Identification Card, and an international passport should be localised, which enables the proper identification of a citizen.
The third aspect of solving insecurity is that there should be proper house numbering and street naming. It is not only about identifying the person, but you should also be able to attach the person to a particular domicile.
Regarding the attacks on schools and religious centres, he said any new start-up for schools and religious centres should first be investigated by the state. Even if they already have a licence, the community leader must approve their association before they start up.
In conclusion, the whole thing has to do with the traditional institution of a community. These local structures hold the ultimate responsibility for maintaining order and security within their domain.
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