President Buhari Fails to Defeat Insecurity

In 2015, when Buhari was sworn in as president, he inherited a country that was suffering from major security challenges, especially in the form of terror attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram in major cities across Northern Nigeria. Buhari, a former General and one-time military head-of-state from January 1984 to August 1985 was believed to have the expertise and background that his immediate predecessor Dr. Goodluck Jonathan lacked to successfully confront these challenges.

During Buhari’s campaign for office in 2014, he and his party the All-Progressives Congress (APC) condemned President Goodluck Jonathan for his lackluster attitude in battling the insurgents during his tenure, he went on to ask for the then-president to resign because of his failure in that respect, all the while Buhari promised to deal a devastating blow to terrorists and other non-state actors alike if elected. But since Buhari came to office in 2015 there has been a significant increase in insurgent attacks especially with the prominence of the separatist movement called Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) and violent militant groups which the media termed “Unknown Gun Men (UGM)” in the south-east also coupled with it is the ethnic clashes between armed herdsmen and farmers in Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa and Kaduna states. Also, there was a national surge in kidnap-for-ransom cases in the early years of Buhari as security forces were stretched thin throughout the swathes of active areas.

2018 was when the infamous abduction by Boko Haram of over 100 schoolgirls from a Government Girls College in Dapchi, Yobe state led to international outcry and rabid criticism of Buhari and his Service Chiefs for failing to learn anything from the Chibok girls tragedy of 2014. Although most of the girls were returned through government negotiations, some like Leah Sharibu are being held in continuous captivity despite numerous calls for the government to rescue her and others in custody. Schools became unsafe for students due to the numerous abduction incidents that occurred during this time, in 2021 over 1,400 children were abducted from their schools with about 200 still in captivity by the end of that year. The damage inflicted by this, and other national tragedies left a gaping hole in Buhari’s capacity to secure the country in the sight of Nigerians just before his re-election campaign began. 

In the months following his success at the 2019 general elections, President Buhari called for national support as he promised to put an end to insecurity once and for all. The Buhari-Osinbajo “Next Level” agenda contained his promise to curb insecurity and provide lasting peace to communities affected by terrorism. The Buhari Administration to fulfill its promise intensified military operations against insurgent groups, particularly Boko Haram and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). The Nigerian military, in collaboration with the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), conducted offensives, raids, and clearance operations to weaken the insurgency and reclaim territories. The Nigerian Army launched "Operation Sahel Sanity" in July 2020 to tackle insurgency in the northwest. The operation aimed to tackle banditry, cattle rustling, and other criminal activities in the region. It involved the deployment of additional troops, increased intelligence gathering, and joint operations with other security agencies. The operation led to the arrest of numerous criminal elements and the rescue of abducted individuals.

Border security was also at the front burner of Buhari’s second-term policies to stop the inflow of illicit weapons, contraband, and the movement of criminal elements. Efforts were made to improve surveillance, intelligence gathering, and cooperation with neighboring countries to enhance border control measures. The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and other security agencies increased their presence at border crossings and implemented stricter immigration and customs protocols. The closure of Nigeria’s land borders was one of the policies implemented by President Buhari in 2019. All land borders to neighboring Benin, Cameroon, Chad, & Niger were closed, this was done to in some part to stop the proliferation of firearms and ammunitions. 

Under Buhari, there were efforts to allocate significant funds to defense and the purchase of defense equipment to address Nigeria's security challenges. One of these deals is the purchase of $593million in military hardware including the procurement of 12 A-29 Super Tucano fighter jets for combatting insecurity, The deal was approved by the U.S. Congress in 2017 and signed into law in 2018. This was the highest the country had spent in a single purchase of arms and the largest arms deal between the US and an African Nation. This equipment helped greatly in the fight against the insurgents and took Nigeria’s combat capacity to the next level.

President Buhari's administration engaged with community and religious leaders to foster collaboration and support in the fight against insecurity. Dialogues, town hall meetings, and consultations were held to gather local intelligence, address grievances, and promote community-driven security initiatives. Efforts were made to encourage communities to participate in intelligence gathering and support security agencies in identifying and reporting suspicious activities. But even with all these, deadly attacks like the August 2021 invasion of the prestigious Nigerian Defense Academy (NDA) in Kaduna by armed bandits which saw 2 fatalities and the abduction of an officer was a sad reminder that nowhere seemed safe in Buhari’s Nigeria. 

In another brazen show of display by the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), more than 300 hardened prisoners were released in an attack on the Kuje correctional facility in July of 2022. Among the escapees were 64 Boko Haram members being held in the facility of which 15 masterminded the March 28 attack earlier that year on the Kaduna-Abuja train at Katari, Kaduna. The Kuje jailbreak was the 7^th of its kind in correctional facilities around the country within a space of 2 years. This inability to keep hold of convicts and perpetrators of dastardly crimes goes to show the lack of competence that the Buhari administration has when it comes to handling security.

Another aspect of insecurity is the harassment of citizens by state actors or state-backed groups. The Nigerian Police Force (NPF), widely known for its abuse of human rights and flagrant disregard for the rule of law, serves as a prime example, as police officers have been found aiding and abetting crime in some cases. In October 2020, the Nigerian youth, fed up with the exploitation, galvanized nationwide to demand change by protesting what they perceived to be the indiscriminate misuse of power by the police. Their actions were applauded by well-wishers from around the world, as they stood as an example for citizens facing oppressive governments in Africa, urging them to rise to the challenge and confront such issues.

The protest, known as the #ENDSARS movement, listed several demands, including justice for victims of police brutality and improved welfare for members of the police force, which they called upon the government to fulfill. Unfortunately, the protest came to an abrupt end when the military, ordered by President Buhari, shot and killed protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate. This action served as the final nail in the coffin for many Nigerians, as they believed that a government responsible for killing its own citizens could not be trusted to protect their lives and property. The violent crackdown further deepened public distrust in the government and resulted in widespread condemnation, both domestically and internationally.

Despite the government’s ever-increasing budgetary allocation to defense, Buhari’s failure to protect Nigerians from insurgency is appalling even for his staunchest supporters. HumAngle reported that 2021 was the deadliest year since 2015 for Nigerians as 10,400 were Killed due to insecurity, the report also noted the rise in kidnap victims during the Buhari years. Even with the recent improvement in our ranking in the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2023, it is yet to be seen where the end of this crisis is.

It is for these reasons and more, that we at AdvoKC deem it fit to rate “Broken” Buhari’s promise to put an end to insecurity and sustain the anti-insurgency war.

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