David Aworawo, Professor International Relations and Strategic Studies, UNILAG, has stated that Nigeria’s fight against insecurity has been hampered not just by violent non-state actors, but also by denial and selective narratives, addressing the country’s security challenges requires honesty from the government and a strategic partnership with foreign allies.

Speaking In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday, Professor Aworawo emphasised that the Nigerian government must confront the reality of targeted attacks against religious groups, while also acknowledging that non-state actors, not the government itself, are responsible for most violence in the country.

“It is also true that the government is not directly responsible for any act of violence against Nigerian people. That has to be very clearly established. That the insecurity in the country is caused mainly by the activities of non-state actors that the government is opposed to, and that the government has tried to find a way to combat in the past 15 years. These are the facts. I wish that the government sticks to the facts so that the Americans can see us as serious-minded, sincere, so we can work together to tackle this problem.”

Aworawo warned that government denial of targeted attacks undermines efforts to protect vulnerable populations. “We must admit that. If we don’t admit that, it will show insensitivity to Christians. The attacks against people in Benue, in Pletu, Southern Kaduna, a whole lot of them are targeted against Christians. They kidnap priests. They kill them. They attack churches, burn them down, kill people. They choose religious holidays, Easter, Christmas, and attack. There is no way anybody can try to explain that away.”

He cited examples of religious leaders protecting their communities. “The story is told, for instance, of the Abubakar, Abdullah Abubakar, I think is his name, in Pletu, the imam who shielded Christians in 2022 that the late president Buhari gave a national award. These were Christians that were attacked. Before the man shielded Christians, they had killed over a hundred. And if the man were not an imam, if he were a pastor, he would have been killed. He would have just been among the casualties.”

Aworawo also highlighted the complexity of the threat. “Some groups are simply criminal terrorists, economic terrorists, who are killing everybody, kidnapping everybody to gain economic advantage. Those in Zanpara, Sokoto and the rest who are trying to cordon off where we have gold and other minerals, creating insecurity to be able to have access to these things. They belong to this category. They don’t have respect for anybody. They kill anybody along the line.”

He stressed that military solutions alone are insufficient. “Military attack against maybe some targets, maybe in Sambisa Forest, someplace in Boronua, will not be the solution. That would maybe degrade them to some extent. But we know the nature of terrorism. You have to be patient to be able to combat terrorism. You have to work with those who know the terrain. The Americans alone cannot do it.”

Internal complicity remains one of the biggest obstacles to tackling insecurity, according to Aworawo. “When you have an enemy within, then the capacity to achieve your objective becomes greatly limited. What I think government should do is, within the military rank, there should be a way to identify these people… And the ones they identify, they should treat their actions as prisoners. And send them to military tribunal and probably execute them, if possible. To serve as a deterrent to those who have in mind doing such a thing moving forward.”

Aworawo also highlighted the inadequacy of government action over the years. “I’m really shocked that after all these years, Boko Haram is still able to get as much weapons as it gets. Now, as we speak, just less than two weeks ago, the governor of Zulub stated that Boko Haram now uses drones. I mean, how can a terrorist group get drones? Where do they get drones from? So, the fact that the government has not been able to track the success of.”

He concluded by urging a coordinated approach between Nigerian authorities and international partners. “Denial on the part of Nigeria is not the right approach. A random attack on the part of the US against some terrorist camps and just ending it there will also not be the solution. There has to be a way for the two sides to work together so a solution can be found to this problem.” (AriseNews TV)