Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has criticised the federal government’s Unite Against Terror campaign, describing it as evidence that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has failed in addressing insecurity across the country.
Speaking in an interview on ARISE News on Friday, Dalung said the government’s call for Nigerians to unite against terrorism showed it had run out of solutions to the security challenges confronting the country.
“Asking Nigerians to unite against terrorism, I think it’s a statement confirming that the federal government has completely and woefully failed. And they don’t seem to have any solution to the ravaging insecurity that is across the country,” he said.
Dalung argued that Nigerians were already willing to confront insecurity but accused the government of lacking the political will to tackle terrorism.
“I don’t know what unity the federal government is asking Nigerians against terrorism. Nigerians are determined to deal with terrorism. But the government seems not to have the political will to deal with it,” he said.
He questioned the government’s ability to track and stop terrorists despite its security capabilities.
“They have all the gadgets to track anybody who criticises the government. They can pick him up in the next five minutes. But they don’t have the equipment to track terrorists who display huge camps in the forest, behead teachers, attack school children, torture them in the forest, produce videos and send,” Dalung said.
The former minister also criticised the timing and message of the campaign, saying it failed to address the root causes of insecurity.
“I think that statement is uncalled for. The statement is also an embarrassment. The statement is demoralising,” he said.
Further attacking the initiative, Dalung described the campaign as a sign of leadership failure and a reflection of growing public distrust in government.
“You see, the Unite Against Terror campaign, in my candid opinion, is evidence of leadership failure. There is a trust deficit between Nigerians and the government. So you cannot see an armed robber with a gun in his hand inviting you to a peace meeting and you will go. Nigerians do not trust their leaders again. Even the military have trust deficit with communities. That is why you hear communities coming out blaming them. So coming out with the campaign now will not deal with the issues,” he said.
Dalung maintained that the government’s approach to insecurity remained ineffective and insisted that the campaign did not offer a solution to the security threats facing the country.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
Follow us on:
