What Nigerians think about President Buhari’s performance in area of security

President Muhammadu Buhari on assumption of office in 2015 and subsequently in 2019 promised to fix the pervading insecurity in Nigeria. Daily Trust Saturday sought the opinion of Nigerians on how they think Mr. President has performed in the area of security. Seyi Durojaiye, 41, Behavioural Change Coach, Lagos I think President Buhari needs to […]

President Muhammadu Buhari on assumption of office in 2015 and subsequently in 2019 promised to fix the pervading insecurity in Nigeria. Daily Trust Saturday sought the opinion of Nigerians on how they think Mr. President has performed in the area of security.

Seyi Durojaiye, 41, Behavioural Change Coach, Lagos

I think President Buhari needs to do a lot more in the area of security. With his experience as a former military leader, coupled with his campaign promises, we should not have this level of insecurity in the country where people are killed anyhow, or kidnapped without anything happening. A sect protesting and exchanging gun fire with the police led to the death of many citizens, including a high ranking police officer. What we have seen is a reflection on the value we place on human resource as a nation. What the President must understand is that there is a strong correlation between greatness of a country and the value placed on her citizens. When we value the life of a citizen, our reaction to security will not be the same as we have now. President Buhari hasn’t done well in tackling insecurity.

Oguzie Samuel, 36, Banker, Lagos

Sincerely, President Muhammadu Buhari has not performed well in the area of security. We keep hearing of killings everyday in the country and no drastic measure is being taken by the government to stop the dastardly act. It’s so obvious that they don’t have any strategy on how to handle the issue of security in the country. I also think the President needs to change his Service Chiefs. Maybe the new appointees will come with fresh ideas and plan on how to tackle the security challenge bedeviling the country.

Garba Muhammad, 47, Dallatun Kinkinau GRA, Kaduna

Buhari’s performance in the area of security especially in Zamfara only got an appreciable boost with the emergence of a new strategy by Governor Matawalle. Bombs have stopped in many states, but the high rate of kidnappings in the North has cancelled any credit that could be said to have been achieved by PMB in the area of security. Much needs to be done, not only in cracking high profile cases of kidnappings.

Comrade Abdulsalam Mohd Kazeem, President, Unified Nigerian Youth Forum (UNYF), Kaduna

The present administration has not achieved much; considering their promise before the 2015 general elections, the military background of Mr. President and the resources budgeted for security year in, year out. In less than seven days, we have recorded series of attacks by Boko Haram, banditry in Northwest and continues senseless killing of innocent citizens on daily bases along various Southwest highways.

Ahmed Maiyaki, Media and Communications Expert, Kaduna

President Buhari has done so much, especially with the war against insurgency in the Northeast. But there is still much to be done against kidnapping and banditry in the Northwest as well as farmers/herders conflict in the North central and some parts of southern Nigeria. Though the rising cases of kidnapping and banditry in some parts of the country can be linked to the spillover of war against insurgents in the northeast, however it calls for closer synergy between security agencies to bring to an end the challenges of insecurity in our nation. We must also reinvigorate community policing to enhance intelligence gathering for proactive security intervention.

Clifford Ejenavi, 42, Media Practitioner, Lagos

Buhari has failed woefully in tackling security challenges. Nigerians are being killed on daily basis. Property and communities are being destroyed every week. Kidnapping is now the order of the day in Nigeria, particularly in the Northern and Southern states. Our borders are so porous that no one is checkmating inflow of foreigners. Illegal weapons are being imported through our ports and borders. This is so disheartening because Buhari being a former Military General hasn’t been able to find a lasting solution to our current security challenges. There’s no value for human life across Nigeria today. While Boko Haram members are now targeting our military officers and destroying communities, herdsmen are busy kidnapping and killing innocent Nigerians, particularly farmers. For me, President Buhari scored zero over ten in the area of security.

Ahmed Balarabe Sa’id, Media practitioner, Kaduna

I believe a lot has been achieved within the last four years, particularly in reducing insurgency. You can attest to the fact that the frequency and intensity of bombing target facilities have gone down significantly. We can also say the same of soft targets. Yet again, being a dynamic phenomenon, security challenge has been reinvented in kidnapping, banditry, and killings. In these areas, a lot more is still desired, and the expectation that the president can consider reviewing his strategies, including causing changes to the security top hierarchy, may not be far from this. I however believe that the encouraging developments in Zamfara, for instance, portend the possibility of evolving state and community actions in addressing the problems at that level.