Opinion: Foreign Eulogies And The Silence Of Local Graves: Why Tinubu Must Re-evaluate Ribadu’s Security Doctrine

​By Oto’ Drama, PhD

​THE hallowed streets of Kano, Kaduna, and Sokoto recently witnessed a spectacle that can only be described as a tragic paradox of misplaced identity. Thousands of Nigerians marched in solemn fury, waving Iranian flags and chanting “Death to America” following the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Yet, only days prior, the village of Tungan Dutse in Zamfara was transformed into a literal slaughterhouse where over 50 Nigerians—Muslims, fathers, mothers, and children—were butchered in their sleep by terrorists. For them, there were no banners. For them, there were no protest marches.

​This jarring disconnect exposes the mind-numbing ideological rot at the heart of Nigeria’s security architecture. While the world’s most decisive leaders—Trump, Netanyahu, and Putin—operate on the principle that a terrorist’s only right is to be sent to their creator for judgment, the Nigerian state, under the guidance of National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu, appears to be trapped in a dangerous “romanticization” of mass murderers.

​The “Brothers and Sisters” Fallacy
​The current administration’s rhetoric has shifted toward a soft-landing doctrine. NSA Ribadu has frequently alluded to terrorists as “our brothers and sisters” who simply need to be brought back into the fold. This is not a strategy; it is a mockery of the bereaved.

​When you treat Boko Haram, ISWAP, and the emerging Lakurawa as “misguided relatives,” you strip the state of its most vital asset: deterrence.

The Trump-Netanyahu model of total elimination of terrorism has been judged as the best approach against terrorism.
​The Putin Strategy echos: “To forgive the terrorists is up to God, but to send them to Him is up to me.”
​The Ribadu Model of Rehabilitation, “Safe Corridors,” is an ideological umbrella that shields the perpetrators from the full weight of the law.
​
The Zamfara Massacre and the NSA’s Silence
​The February 21 raid in Zamfara was a coordinated atrocity. Fifty lives were snuffed out, women were abducted, and homes were razed. While the African Union and international observers issued condemnations, a deafening silence emanated from the Office of the National Security Adviser.

​How can the NSA be vocal about regional geopolitical shifts yet remain mute while Nigerian soil is soaked in the blood of its own citizens? This selective silence suggests that the administration has accepted a certain threshold of carnage as the new normal, preferring to manage the perception of the crisis rather than the crisis itself.

​The Political Underbelly: The Miyetti Allah Ultimatum
​The interrogation of Nigeria’s pretentious war on terror must go deeper than the surface. The recent threat by the Fulani group, Miyetti Allah, claiming they would withdraw support for President Tinubu in 2027 because a “few of their members” were arrested or killed, is a chilling revelation. It suggests that security enforcement is being weighed against electoral mathematics.

​When ethnic interest groups can openly threaten a Commander-in-Chief over the lawful neutralization of criminals, it confirms the suspicion that the state is being held hostage by its own enablers. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stands at a crossroads. He can continue to allow the “Palace of Echoes” to filter his reality, or he can burst the bubble.

​The President must critically evaluate whether Nuhu Ribadu’s policing background and ideological leanings are compatible with the “asymmetrical warfare” required to crush modern terrorism. Nigeria must stop playing big brother to people who have renounced their humanity. The military must be empowered to neutralize threats decisively.

​On a final note, the North must be re-educated to realize that charity—and justice—begins in Zamfara, not Tehran.
​Nigeria cannot be secured by cheerleaders or diplomats in military uniforms. It can only be secured by a leadership that fears the cries of its citizens more than the threats of political interest groups. To save the nation, the “romanticization” of terror must end today.

*Dr. Drama, PhD Counterterrorism contributed this piece via: Nigeriandrama@gmail.com