Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The presidential candidate of the Accord Party, Dr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has delivered a blistering assessment of Nigeria's security situation, declaring that the country is effectively at war but is being led by an administration without a coherent strategy to defeat terrorism and restore national security. In a statement issued on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, Olawepo-Hashim condemned the latest wave of killings in Kaduna, Zamfara and Plateau states, as well as the abduction of innocent citizens in Kebbi State, including a High Court judge, describing the persistent bloodshed as a national emergency that is eroding national unity, worsening poverty, threatening food security, discouraging investment and damaging Nigeria's international reputation.
The Accord Party flag-bearer argued that the scale of the crisis meets the textbook definition of war, citing that more than 30,000 innocent people have been killed in the first three years of the Tinubu administration, while over 3.7 million displaced persons remain unable to return home. He insisted that terrorists and armed criminal groups continue to dictate the pace of the conflict by choosing when, where and how to strike, leaving the government in a permanently reactive posture. "Nigeria is under attack. This is war, yet the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has no strategy to end it. As long as terrorists determine the time, place and intensity of attacks, they, and not the government, retain the strategic initiative," Olawepo-Hashim declared.
The former presidential candidate, who has consistently warned about the deteriorating security situation in the North-West over the past five years, accused the government of managing insecurity rather than fighting to win. He lamented that condolence visits had become a ritual, proving inadequate to stop the killings. "Every day, terrorists retain the initiative while innocent Nigerians pay with their lives. The time has come to stop managing insecurity and start a real offensive aimed at winning the war," he said. Olawepo-Hashim stressed that the first responsibility of any government is the protection of lives and property, adding that no nation can prosper while its citizens live in fear and entire communities remain at the mercy of terrorists and criminal gangs.
Olawepo-Hashim called on the Federal Government to urgently overhaul the nation's security architecture, reclaim the strategic initiative from terrorists, and adopt a proactive doctrine capable of preventing attacks rather than merely responding to them. He argued that Nigeria's security response had become largely reactive and insisted that the country urgently needed a comprehensive national security strategy built on several key pillars: intelligence superiority, a motivated security force capable of taking the offensive against terrorist groups, precision military operations, effective border security, community-based policing, modern surveillance technology, disruption of terrorist financing, a swift and credible criminal justice system, and integrated defence and security cooperation with neighbouring countries.
The Accord Party candidate drew a sharp contrast between his vision and what he described as the government's approach of offering condolences after every massacre. "Wars are not won by reacting to attacks after they happen. They are won by denying the enemy the capability, freedom and confidence to launch them in the first place," he said. He maintained that Nigerians deserve leadership with the vision, competence and determination to defeat terrorism, stressing that strategy and bold implementation of plans, rather than condolences, were required to restore peace and security. He also called for proper care for the displaced and distressed, stating that condolence had become "a ritual proving too inadequate to stop the killings".
The presidential hopeful's statement comes amid a series of devastating attacks across the North-West and North-Central regions. Just days before his remarks, gunmen killed at least 30 people in an attack on Naridon village in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, with residents and the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union condemning the assault and calling for strengthened security measures. Olawepo-Hashim had also previously warned that terrorist groups were plotting to carve out a parallel state within Nigeria and that the country faced an existential threat that could no longer be managed with denial or half-measures.
Olawepo-Hashim's criticism of the Tinubu administration's security strategy is not new. In December 2025, he described United States airstrikes targeting Islamic State elements operating within Nigeria as a damning indictment of the country's security architecture, blaming what he called the persistent failure of governance under President Tinubu and the APC-led administration. He had warned then that responsible global actors could not afford to ignore the emergence of an IS foothold in Nigeria, stressing that the country was "too large, too strategic, and too important to be allowed to fail".
The Accord Party candidate has also repeatedly accused the government of being on the defensive rather than actively fighting terrorism. In February 2026, he stated that Nigerian authorities had not been fighting terrorism but had instead been on the defence, reacting to attacks after they occurred rather than taking the fight to terrorist camps. He has consistently called for a comprehensive overhaul of the security architecture, arguing that lasting solutions to insecurity can only come from within through internal reforms, improved governance and decisive political leadership.
The Tinubu administration has not yet issued an official response to Olawepo-Hashim's latest broadside. However, government officials have previously defended the administration's security record, pointing to military operations that have neutralised bandit commanders, rescued kidnap victims, and degraded terrorist capabilities in various parts of the country. In July 2026, security agencies reported successfully rescuing 39 abducted schoolchildren and seven teachers from Oyo State through a military assault, rejecting an offer by terrorists to exchange their wives and children for the victims. The government has also highlighted ongoing investments in military hardware, intelligence gathering, and regional security cooperation.
The latest criticism from Olawepo-Hashim reflects the intensifying political debate over security as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections. With the Accord Party positioning itself as an alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress, the presidential candidate's sharp critique of the administration's handling of insecurity is likely to resonate with voters who have grown weary of the relentless cycle of violence. As the death toll mounts and displaced populations continue to swell, the question of who can provide effective leadership in the face of an existential security threat will remain at the forefront of the national conversation. For Olawepo-Hashim, the answer is clear: Nigeria needs more than condolences; it needs a strategy to win.
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