Former presidential candidate, Gbenga Olawepo‑Hashim, says the recent United States airstrikes on Islamic State strongholds in Nigeria are a clear sign that the All Progressives Congress–led Federal Government has lost control of national security.
In a statement issued on Sunday, December 28, in Ilorin, he said the US operation, reportedly conducted in coordination with Nigerian authorities against IS‑linked cells in the North‑West, reflects “growing international unease” about Nigeria’s worsening security environment.
He described Nigeria’s reliance on foreign firepower as a “damning indictment” of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration and the APC, arguing that the country’s internal security architecture remains “weak and ineffective.”
According to him, responsible global powers cannot ignore the entrenchment of an IS presence in Nigeria, which he called “too large, too strategic, and too important to be allowed to fail.”
Olawepo‑Hashim disclosed that since 2021, and “with greater urgency in the past year,” his team’s security modelling had warned that the North‑West was on a dangerous path, including the possible emergence of an IS‑aligned enclave if decisive action was not taken.
He linked the deepening crisis to rising poverty, long‑standing governance failures and weakened institutions, which he said have emboldened extremists and squeezed moderate voices out of the public space.
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“More worrying is the elevation of individuals who enable or rationalise extremism into positions of political influence, creating conditions under which terror groups can aspire to territorial control,” he said.
He cited the recent explosion in Offa, Kwara State, which caused panic and property damage, as further evidence of fragile internal security and poor intelligence coordination.
While admitting that foreign airstrikes may temporarily degrade terrorist networks, Olawepo‑Hashim warned they cannot substitute for internal reforms.
“The situation in the North-West is dire. Without urgent internal reforms, improved governance and decisive political leadership, external military interventions will not produce sustainable results,” he warned.
He questioned the APC government’s readiness to implement far‑reaching reforms and blamed unresolved “political compromises” dating back to 2015 for weakening the state’s will to confront extremists, urging courageous leadership to halt Nigeria’s slide into deeper insecurity.