Former presidential candidate in the 2019 elections, Gbenga Hashim, has stated that home-grown solutions remain the only viable response to Nigeria’s recurring security challenges.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Kaduna, Hashim described the recent United States airstrikes targeting Islamic State (IS) elements in Nigeria as a “damning indictment of the country’s security architecture”.
He said the U.S. intervention reflects growing international concern over Nigeria’s deteriorating security situation, particularly in the north-west where terrorist groups are consolidating influence.
According to Hashim, responsible global actors cannot ignore the emergence of an IS foothold in Nigeria because the country is “too large, too strategic, and too important to be allowed to fail”.
He said his team had warned since 2021, and more intensively over the past year, that security modelling in the north-west pointed towards a dangerous trajectory.
Hashim said the warnings included the potential emergence of an IS-aligned enclave if urgent corrective action was not taken.
He attributed the worsening insecurity to deepening poverty, prolonged governance failure, and weakened institutions.
Hashim said these conditions have “emboldened extremist groups while silencing moderate political and secular voices across the region”.
While acknowledging that international airstrikes may temporarily degrade terrorist capabilities, he said lasting security solutions must come from within Nigeria.
Hashim said external military interventions should not be treated as one-off actions and must be carefully negotiated within frameworks of cooperation between sovereign nations.
According to him, such cooperation must include clear accountability structures and transparent reporting mechanisms to prevent abuse and ensure long-term stability.
“The situation in the North-West is dire. Without urgent internal reforms, improved governance, and decisive political leadership, external military interventions will not produce sustainable results,” he added.
Hashim questioned the readiness of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government to undertake the internal reforms needed to stabilise the country.
He said Nigeria continues to “grapple with fundamental governance and security deficits that threaten its democratic future”.
Hashim warned that Nigeria can no longer afford denial or half-measures in the face of what he described as an existential threat.
