Ezekwesili Urges Restructuring to Tackle Nigeria's Insecurity

Obiag Ezekwesili, a former minister, has issued an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, cautioning that merely implementing state police will not effectively tackle Nigeria's security challenges. She argues that the country requires a comprehensive restructuring to address the underlying issues contributing to insecurity.

Ezekwesili highlights alarming statistics from an Afrobarometer survey, indicating that 79% of Nigerians view kidnapping as a serious problem, with 33% knowing someone who has been kidnapped in the past five years. She emphasizes that while state police may be necessary, they are not a sufficient solution to the broader governance and economic crises affecting Nigeria.

Ezekwesili critiques the current constitutional structure, which she describes as overly centralized, and asserts that the real question is whether the federal system is fit for purpose. She concludes that the security crisis is intertwined with economic underperformance and weak public service delivery, necessitating a fundamental reevaluation of Nigeria's governance framework.