Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticized the Bola Tinubu administration for failing to adapt its security strategies in response to evolving threats from terrorist and criminal groups. Atiku, also a 2027 presidential aspirant under the African Democratic Congress, stated that while insurgents refine their tactics after each attack, the government continues to respond with predictable cycles of outrage, promises, and committee formations without implementing meaningful reforms. He emphasized that terrorists learn from their successes and failures, yet the Federal Government does not apply similar lessons from past security breaches. Referencing the Chibok schoolgirls' abduction and recent kidnappings in Oyo State, Atiku said these incidents reveal a pattern of unlearned lessons. He called the current approach to national security unsustainable, warning that Nigeria can no longer afford a "business-as-usual" strategy. In a statement issued by his aide, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku proposed the establishment of a Terrorism Violence Peer Review Mechanism to gather insights from affected communities and integrate them into national security planning. He also advocated for the creation of Counterterrorism Fusion Centres in each of Nigeria's six geopolitical zones to enhance intelligence coordination among security agencies. Atiku stressed the need for urgent restructuring of the country's security architecture to prevent recurring tragedies. He said the government must move beyond reactive measures and adopt proactive, data-driven strategies that reflect real-time threat assessments.
Atiku highlights that terrorists adapt after each attack while the government repeats the same response pattern of outrage and committees. The government's failure to institutionalize lessons from past attacks leaves security efforts reactive rather than preventive. Proposing fusion centres and peer reviews suggests current intelligence sharing and post-incident analysis are inadequate. Without structural changes, attacks will keep exposing the gap between threat evolution and state response.
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