By Abdul Idris Miliki
As Nigeria celebrate it 66 independents as a nation, it comes with mix feelings, certainly it is not where the nation was at independent is where it is today, surely it is not where we want to be, that we are today. 66 years is a long journey in nation building, however, to have remain as one nation, despite the tribulations, challenges and everything that has to do with nation development, Nigeria have cause to celebrate at 66.
The current challenges facing Nigeria today, is worrisome, which ranges from insecurity, corruption, poverty, economic deprivation, unemployment, inflation lack of youth participation in Leadership in governance and several others.
But Nigeria has the cause to celebrate improved democracy, as we have opportunity to elect our leaders and representatives at both national and sub-national levels every four years, which call for improvement and sustainability.
The tragedy of these times is that those who plunged this nation into so much needless stress have shown no remorse whatsoever for their actions. For several years, they have systematically planted land mines on our path to greatness.
Ethnic land mines, religious land mines, induced inter and intra party strife, arm twisting of the legislature and threat of banana peels, refusal to obey court orders, not to talk of economic ruination of the common man and the market women etc.
I fear that the atmosphere is so polluted with spite, personal interest, untruths, distrust, pretense and vengeful intents, that even if every Nigerian resolved today to work with all the dedication possible to ensure a safe passage, the road to greatness will still be extremely difficult to traverse. Therefore, we need to be vigilant, alert and ready to frustrate every evil plot.
“We also have some improvement in infrastructural development and unity of purpose as a nation, as an underdevelopment nation, a lot needs to be done, to improve our development pattern, economically and politically. We Need to do a lot in our industrial development that can facilitate employment for young Nigerians.
“There is also an improvement in the establishment of Educational Institutions both national and sub-national level, public and Private despite its outrageous financial implications.
“We call on the Federal and State Government to work on issue of insecurity. As Violent Extremism in Nigeria is often fueled by political and economic factors such as governance failure, corruption, inequality, and lack of opportunities, all of which create conditions conducive to radicalization perceive political exclusion, unemployment, and poverty. They make individuals vulnerable to extremist narratives that exploit social and economic grievance. Additionally, weak institution and poor service delivery enable extremism to thrive.
“Nigeria’s response to violent extremism remains fragmented and uneven. These interventions, while valuable in their own rights, often operate in silos, lacking the strategic coordination, shared data system and unified policy directions necessary for sustained impact.”
Miliki noted that one of the most persistent challenges undermining the effectiveness of Nigeria response to Violent Extremism is the lack of strategic coordination among Federal, State, and local actors. While each level of government plays a critical role in security and peacebuilding, there are often disconnected, duplicative, or misaligned, resulting in fragmented intervention and missed opportunities for synergy.
Nigeria has witnessed growth in number of both statutory and non –statutory security agencies across all levels of government.
National integration of PCVE Strategies:
To effectively counter the evolving threat of violent extremism across Nigeria, it is imperative to align the efforts of the federal, state and local governments under a unified, coherent framework that promotes consistency, accountability, and shared objectives. Fragmented interventions where each tier of government operates in isolation have led to duplication of effort, policy contradictions, and inefficient resources utilization. A harmonized approach ensure that all actors are working toward a common vision, with clearly defined roles and measurable outcomes.
*We call on the Federal government through the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), and particularly the president of Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to as a matter of urgency approve and present to the public the validated improved Preventing and Counter Terrorism Policy Document Validated in the last one year, facilitated and coordinated by National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), to enable sub-national develop their own Preventing and Counter Terrorism Policy.*
The Nigerian Constitution does not give us the luxury of choosing between rights and security. It commands us to pursue both. Security without welfare is brittle; welfare without security is fragile. The duty of our generation, in civil society, Organized Labour, Government and the general citizenry, is to insist that rights are not paper promises but living guarantees.
That is how the Republic can be stabilized, and that is the only way we make citizenship meaningful for every Nigerian.
As 2027 general elections take places, we need to reflect on our democratic journey as a nation, we call on political parties, their candidate, supporters, voters across the country to play by the rules and respect the choice of individuals and groups to enhance peaceful and credible elections as Nigeria can not afford to fail in it democracy journey at 66.
Happy Independent to Nigeria at 66.
