IJEBU-ODE— A Former House of Representatives member and the Chairman of the Convention Planning Committee of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Usman Bugaje, has accused the President Bola Tinubu-led Administration of failing in one of its most fundamental constitutional responsibilities of security.
Speaking on Tuesday during an interview on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM, Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun state, Bugaje said the worsening security crisis across the country demonstrates the government’s inability to protect lives and property despite nearly completing its first term:
“In terms of insecurity, I feel this government should be ashamed of itself. And they should be able to come out and say sorry to Nigerians that we have not been able to provide you security. And I am amazed that they had the audacity to now even want to continue for another term”, he said.
While assessing the state of governance, security and economic stability in Nigeria, Bugaje argued that insecurity remains the most pressing challenge facing the country, noting that attacks, kidnappings and killings have continued to spread across several regions.
He referenced reports of traditional rulers abandoning their palaces due to security threats, farmers being unable to access their farmlands and the increasing frequency of abductions as indicators of a deteriorating security environment:
“we have seen the report that over 30 Obas, that is the traditional rulers in the southwest, don’t sleep in their palaces, because over a dozen of them have been attacked, kidnapped, or somehow put in harm’s way. So, that itself says a lot of, I mean, it speaks volumes of the insecurity in this country”, he added
Bugaje however expressed concern over reports that Nigerians paid trillions of naira in ransom to criminal groups within a short period, arguing that such figures expose the scale of the security challenge and suggest that criminal networks are becoming increasingly empowered,
“I remember the National Bureau for Statistics issued a statistics, which was reported by a number of papers that over 2.2 trillion Naira, just between 2023 to 2024, in one year, has been paid to bandits as ransom.
“You know what that means? That means that we are paying ransom far more than the national security budget itself”, he lamented
The former federal lawmaker therefore insisted that there is no valid excuse for what he described as the government’s poor performance in addressing insecurity, stressing that security remains the foremost responsibility of any administration.
“So honestly, I can’t see any excuse for this government. For not performing its constitutional duty, its fundamental constitutional duty. For which for me, there is no point for them to even ask for another term if they fail.” he said.
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