Poverty Reduction Surest Way To Fight Insecurity, Chinedumuije Urges Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has been advised to deploy alternate means to combat the increasing insecurity and unit crossed the country, particularly successful the North-East and North-West regions.

Country Director of GOALPrime Organisation Nigeria, Professor Christopher Chinedumuije, successful an unfastened missive to President Tinubu, stated that, “for years, successive governments person responded by expanding defence budgets, purchasing weapons, and deploying troops successful the anticipation of crushing non-state actors. Yet insecurity has lone worsened. The paradox is clear: the much we walk connected defence, the stronger the struggle becomes.”

Chinedumuije, who is besides an adept successful Disaster Management and Humanitarian Studies, added that, “Guns cannot extremity insecurity successful a state wherever the bulk are poor, wherever each minimum-wage earner lives successful abject poverty, and wherever Nigeria holds the worrisome rubric of the planetary superior of out-of-school children.

“Hungry men, uneducated youths, and displaced families are fertile recruits for terrorists, bandits, and criminals. Guns tin soundlessness a battlefield, but they cannot soundlessness the desperation that poorness fuels.”

According to him, “Since 2009, much than 35,000 Nigerians person been killed successful the Northeast unsocial and astatine slightest 10,217 much were killed betwixt 2023 and mid-2025 successful states specified arsenic Benue, Edo, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau, Sokoto, and Zamfara with Benue suffering the heaviest toll.

“Today, much than 7.8 cardinal Nigerians—mostly women and children—require urgent humanitarian assistance owed to insecurity, and successful Borno State alone, implicit 2.3 cardinal radical stay displaced aft 15 years of conflict.

“More than 20 cardinal children crossed the state are retired of school, the highest fig successful the world, and each 1 of them represents a imaginable enlistee for non-state equipped groups.”

He stated that, “Nigeria and Nigerians person endured the worst forms of insecurity successful modern history. From banditry successful the Northwest to Boko Haram coercion successful the Northeast, from farmers–herders conflicts successful the North Central to kidnappings, convulsive crimes, and separatist agitations crossed the South, our federation bleeds daily. Entire communities person been displaced, livelihoods destroyed, and millions of children denied education.

“Insecurity is nary longer a determination challenge; it is simply a nationalist situation threatening the precise endurance of our Republic. The economical outgo is devastating. Nigeria’s system has already mislaid much than US$100 cardinal owed to struggle and insecurity, and projected losses could emergence to $200 cardinal by 2030 if the inclination continues. In agrarian states similar Benue, each 1% summation successful insecurity reduces harvest output by 0.211% and livestock accumulation by 0.311%, undermining nutrient information and driving inflation.

“Insecurity has besides forced businesses to adjacent markets, chopped operating hours, and relocate. Foreign investors person withdrawn billions of dollars owed to instability, and the federation loses jobs, revenue, and competitiveness arsenic younker unemployment rises.

“Food insecurity is worsening; much than 31 cardinal Nigerians look hunger, the highest fig globally. In the Northeast, assistance cuts person already unopen down 150 nutrition centers, placing 600,000 children astatine hazard of decease from malnutrition.

“In Katsina State alone, astatine slightest 652 children died of malnutrition successful the archetypal fractional of 2025, much than treble the erstwhile year.

“Mr. President, the clip has travel for your authorities to prioritise rightly and deploy the close strategies: we cannot sprout our mode into peace. National information indispensable beryllium redefined. It is clip to reorder priorities truthful that defence budgets are matched oregon surpassed by investments successful poorness alleviation, education, healthcare, agriculture, and occupation creation.

“Poverty simplification indispensable beryllium recognized arsenic nationalist security, with the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction placed astatine the precise bosom of our information architecture. Local governments indispensable beryllium strengthened and adequately funded, due to the fact that insecurity is section and lone empowered communities tin supply lasting resilience.

“Above all, Nigeria indispensable clasp the quality information framework, wherever hunger, education, health, livelihoods, and justness are treated arsenic inseparable from peace,” adding that”History volition not retrieve however overmuch was spent connected weapons. It volition retrieve whether you had the courageousness to combat poorness arsenic the lone sustainable pathway to peace. If the Renewed Hope Agenda is to beryllium meaningful, it indispensable construe into children backmost successful school, families lifted retired of poverty, and communities resilient capable to defy extremism and crime. Guns whitethorn triumph battles, but lone poorness simplification tin triumph the warfare for Nigeria’s peace, stability, and future.”