President Bola Tinubu’s administration is deploying a combination of military operations, socio-economic interventions, and regional diplomatic efforts to tackle terrorism and insecurity across the country.
Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Deji Alake, made this known on Wednesday at a news conference in Abuja hosted by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris.
Alake stressed that insecurity in Nigeria predates the current administration and did not begin within the last two years. He argued that the scope and depth of measures now being implemented could have altered Nigeria’s security trajectory if adopted earlier.
“From the plethora of actions taken so far, if such were taken ten years ago, we probably would not be where we are today,” he said.
Alake highlighted reforms in the country’s security leadership as part of the government’s approach.
He pointed to the change in the top hierarchy of security agencies in 2023 and a recent reshuffle, describing them as deliberate attempts to “reinvigorate and re-inject new enthusiasm and impetus into the fight against insecurity.”
According to him, these decisions stem from “deep, exhaustive planning and strategising,” which, he maintained, are already producing results.
He urged Nigerians to compare security developments over the last decade with those of the past two years, insisting that measurable improvements are evident.
Addressing narratives that frame some attacks as religiously motivated, Alake stated that terrorist groups often operate based on economic or political motives rather than religious ideology.
He added that some victim communities happen to be dominated by adherents of a particular religion, a coincidence which, he argued, should not be interpreted as proof of religious persecution.
“To use the faith of the inhabitants to explain the motive of the attack is very wrong,” he said. “Such does not reflect the reality on the ground.”
Alake called on the media to be cautious in reporting patterns of violence, urging journalists to avoid narratives that he said could distort public understanding of the situation.
Instead, he appealed for greater focus on what he described as the successes of the armed forces and security agencies in confronting terrorism.
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