Insecurity: FG has failed to learn from its mistakes - Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has sharply criticized the current administration's handling of insecurity, asserting that the government has failed to learn from past attacks and adapt its counterterrorism strategy. Abubakar argued that as terrorists and bandits continuously evolve their tactics, the Nigerian government remains stuck in a cycle of repeating mistakes.

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The terrorists are learning from every attack. They study their successes and failures. They refine their tactics. They identify vulnerabilities. They adapt and strike again. The question Nigerians must ask is simple: Why isn’t the government doing the same?

"The terrorists are learning from every attack. They study their successes and failures. They refine their tactics. They identify vulnerabilities. They adapt and strike again," Abubakar stated in a release. He questioned why the government isn't mirroring this adaptive approach, warning that a "business-as-usual" stance is no longer tenable for a country facing increasingly sophisticated and geographically dispersed security threats.

Abubakar pointed to a recurring pattern of attacks followed by public outrage, official promises, and investigative committees, only for new attacks to occur without meaningful lessons being applied. He cited examples ranging from the Chibok schoolgirls' abduction to recent incidents in Oyo and across the North-West and Middle Belt regions, emphasizing that "A nation that refuses to learn from its tragedies is condemned to relive them."

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A nation that refuses to learn from its tragedies is condemned to relive them.

He further suggested that successive governments have relied too heavily on centrally designed, often foreign-inspired counterterrorism models, neglecting the experiences of communities directly impacted by insurgency. Abubakar called for an immediate, comprehensive review of Nigeria's National Counterterrorism Policy, advocating for future security responses to be firmly rooted in lessons drawn from local realities and past harrowing experiences, such as the Chibok abduction.

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We ought to have drawn critical lessons and early warning indicators from Chibok and other similar incidents to ensure that what recently happened in Oyo State and elsewhere never happened again.