In a frank television interview, President Bola Tinubu's spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, has sought to explain a glaring contrast in Nigeria's security response: the swift military intervention that helped reverse a coup in the Benin Republic last Sunday, versus the protracted fight against banditry and terrorism on Nigerian soil. His explanation centers on the fundamental difference between a conventional military target and an insurgent enemy that uses civilians as shields.
A "Clear Target" vs. A "Guerrilla" Enemy
Speaking on Arise Television's Prime Time on Monday, Onanuga framed the intervention in Benin Republic as a clear-cut, conventional military operation. "Look at the case of Benin Republic now," he stated. "They wanted to bomb a military base in Benin. They know where to go. They coordinated where they should actually bomb."
He starkly contrasted this with the domestic security crisis, describing it as "a different ball game altogether." According to Onanuga, bandits and terrorists deliberately operate asymmetrically, "holding innocent Nigerians as shield" and "kidnap[ing] soft targets." This tactic, he argued, complicates and slows military action, as extreme care must be taken to avoid harming the very citizens held hostage. "You have to be very careful not to go and bomb those they are holding as collaterals," he emphasized.
Drawing a broader parallel, Onanuga noted, "Even the almighty America couldn't find [guerrillas] in Afghanistan as well. It's not easy." He concluded, however, by expressing confidence that "the country is poised to find a way around it".
Justification and Praise for Benin Action
The presidency's explanation comes amid both praise and pointed criticism. President Tinubu had earlier commended the Nigerian military's "gallantry" for "responding swiftly to the request by the Government of Benin Republic". The Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF) strongly backed the move, with Chairman AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq stating the President "acted in the best interest of our country." The NGF warned that a successful coup in Benin—a country with significant militant activity in its northern W-forest region—would have created "devastating effects" on Nigeria's own security due to their shared border.
Mounting Domestic Criticism and Public Frustration
However, the successful foreign operation has amplified long-standing frustrations over Nigeria's internal security challenges. The opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) issued a statement that captured this public sentiment, saying Nigeria's swift action in Benin "stands in sharp contrast" to its handling of persistent insecurity at home.
The party posed a direct question many citizens are asking: **"If Nigeria could respond decisively to threats across our borders, why has our government demonstrated such outrageous incompetence in dealing with domestic insecurity?"**. This frustration was echoed in social media reactions to the government's self-praise, with one commenter noting, "They responded gallantly in Benin Republic but couldn't do anything to help their terrorist ravaged country".
The criticism extends beyond partisan politics. Just last month, children from states severely affected by violence, including Katsina and Jigawa, publicly demanded "urgent action on insecurity," highlighting how the crisis directly threatens the nation's youngest citizens.
A Tangle of Legal and Strategic Questions
The ADC also raised a legal concern, noting that while the President's action may have been "expedient," deploying troops abroad requires ratification by the National Assembly, a step that appears pending. Furthermore, the party questioned the inconsistency in Nigeria's foreign policy, asking why there was no similar swift response during a recent crisis in Guinea-Bissau.
Onanuga's interview represents the Tinubu administration's most direct attempt to reconcile these two realities: Nigeria as a regional military power capable of decisive action, and Nigeria as a nation grappling with a complex, slow-burning internal insurgency. The government's challenge now is to convince a weary public that the strategy and resolve shown in Benin can be—and is being—applied with equal effect to secure lives and communities within Nigeria's own troubled heartland.
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