Declare emergency now or Nigeria will fall - SAN tells Tinubu

Asiwaju Kunle Kalejaye, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria from Ibadan, has called on President Bola Tinubu to declare a national emergency on banditry, kidnapping, and terrorism. This is not the first time someone has made this demand, but coming from a legal luminary of his standing, it carries weight. He said the persistent wave of terror is a national embarrassment, not just to us as Nigerians but in the eyes of the international community.

Kalejaye pointed out something that should disturb every Nigerian: bandits and kidnappers now disguise themselves in military uniforms while carrying out their operations. Public trust in the Nigerian Army has suffered significant damage because of this. How can citizens trust the people meant to protect them when criminals look exactly like the soldiers patrolling our streets? The SAN warned that if urgent steps are not taken, the prestige of our armed forces will continue to diminish, exposing military personnel to public ridicule and distrust.

I have always believed that our government operates in a reactive mode rather than a proactive one. Kalejaye said the same thing: effective security management requires identifying threats early and neutralizing them before they become too powerful to contain. Celebrating democracy in an environment where law and order are constantly threatened diminishes the essence of democratic governance. The protection of lives and property remains the foremost constitutional responsibility of any government. So I ask you: if a national emergency declaration is what it takes to signal that we are serious about ending this terror, why has Tinubu not done it yet? Am I the only one that thinks this administration is failing on security?