Editorial
Grappling With Insecurity In Nigeria
One major challenge that stares the All Prog-ressives Congress (APC) -led Federal Government of Nigeria in the face is the gargantuan security problem.
Nigeria is besieged by an army of blood thirsty demons that do all in their powers to wreak havoc and unleash carnage. Kaduna, Kano, Zamfara and Bornu states have had a disproportionate share of carnage.
The states of the middle belt like Benue and Plateau are victims of rampaging herders, who prefer cow to human beings.
Unfortunately, the Boko Haram insurgency in the north east has left hundreds of thousands of people dead in the unending feud purportedly targeted at western civilization. In more than a decade of crises in the north- east, Bornu State residents have been butchered, decapitated and rendered homeless. Internally displaced persons (IDP) have grown like a swarm of bees. Mendicants have also invaded city centres to eke out a living in spite of the social problems resulting from enormous displacements.
The hues and cries of the vagabonds, the putrid smell of rotten corpses, and the menace of hunger in the IDP camps paint a picture of a nation in disarray. One Nigeria, unity in diversity and sundry other cohesive slogans are best written as epitaph on the graves of victims of the carnage. But most victims cannot boast of occupying their own graves as they are often buried en mass.
Sadly, those who swore to protect lives and property of citizens, end up protecting themselves and their families. Regrettably, the iniquitous inequality widens by the day, fuelled by rapacious greed of our leaders. While the led are slaughtered daily in their numbers, there is a terrible complacency on the part of the leaders. The iniquitous prejudice of ethnicity has become the bane of mutual patriotism. Federal character is slaughtered on the altar of sadistic fidelity to tribal cleavages.
Although, loyalty to the dictates of federal character in representation diminishes and sacrifices excellence but the beauty of excellence doesn’t reside in a particular region or location.
Unfortunately, in a government peopled by the mediocre, excellence is abhorred and dreaded, while mediocrity is often fetched in the recycling bin: after all, rust is ripeness.
Interesting, the National Assembly wants to make law on equitable distribution of service chiefs in compliance with federal character representation. But how far has the character representation been complied with in other areas? Iniquity has been naturalised in Nigeria.
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State was recently attacked by hoodlums, who are believed to be herders acting on malice over the anti-open grazing laws. The herders have owned up to having attacked the governor and vowed to eliminate him.
Governor Ortom is in charge of affairs, not herders. Also, the truculent herders traversing the whole nation with malice do not come from Benue state. Many herders wreaking havoc in the country today are suspected to have come from neighbouring countries like Niger and Chad.
However, FG’s reluctance to decisively deal with both the herders and Boko Haram insurgency is suspected to be mired in ethnic and religious biases.
The attack on Governor Ortom is the climax of nationwide insecurity. It is a clarion call to the federal government that the herders cannot be treated with kid gloves anymore.
If the Governor of Benue State can be attacked by herders, no one is safe anymore.
This attack must be seen as a lesson to modernise the country’s security apparati. Small arms and ammunition are getting into the wrong hands. Except for the security agencies and the military, others that carry arms mostly do so illegally and the society has acquiesced the unwholesome illegality. Government’s inaction has conferred a level of legality on the hitherto unlawful acts.
Indeed, communities have learnt how to solve their own problems heuristically in spite of government’s negligence. Federal Government’s inability to establish community police has led to all manner of self-help. The abandonment of the rule of law and resort to self-help has reached its apogee in the present administration.
The states are craving for state police to shore up law enforcement, while communities demand community police more than ever. The hand writing on the wall is legible and pointedly reminds us of the state of our nation; a decrepit one indeed.
While regions and ethnic nations are singing discordant tunes, apologists and beneficiaries of the skewed Nigerian federation are at peace with the system. The law lays emphasis on section 2(1) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which states thus;
“Nigeria is one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign state to be known by the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Everybody is coerced to accept the indissolubility of the Nigerian state but no effort is made to engender unity and patriotism.
The right to life provided by section 3 of the aforesaid constitution has become rather bogus in the façade of wanton carnage in both rural and urban centres.
Kidnapping of school children in the north east has become fashionable in the face of government’s willingness to pay ransom to criminals. That is exactly where we are. The bludgeoning corruption is fostered by weak institutions and strong individuals, who are laws unto themselves, while the youths, whose future is plundered, applaud their neocolonialist. The captivity of the psyche has worsened the plunder.
Sagacity is murdered and foolishness is enthroned. It is because the good people have refused to call a spade a spade that corruption sits on high places.
Insecurity is heighted by the exploitation of the poor by few affluent ones in the midst of pervading poverty.
The recycling of politicians with jaded sensibilities has been the bane of Nigerian democracy. Those who ruled some decades ago are still on the saddle today even when they are bereft of the knowledge to lead a large and multi-ethnic nation like ours in the 21st century.
The widening inequality between the haves and the have-nots is evidenced in the tragic violence that has become the country’s lot.
The embers of insecurity are fanned by those who desire to maintain ethnic chauvinism of a select few, who are born to rule forever.
With the blatant failure to reprimand a reprehensive act exhibited by the herders as well as bring the culprits to book, our country finds itself on the throes of a revolution as ethnic nations are victim-ised by ubiquitous marauders.
Before the attempt to kill the governor of Benue state, farmers, families and tribes had been victims of genocide yet still, after inconsolable rhetorics, the government continued in business as usual. The idiotic ineptitude of the Federal Government is playing out despite the ranting of leaders on their ability to protect the territorial integrity of the nation.
By: Chidi Enyie
The prolonged suffering of Rivers State pensioners who have remained unpaid since retiring in July 2025 demands urgent executive and legislative intervention. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rightly put its finger on the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) as the root cause of this crisis. The state government must now bite the bullet, dismantle this failed experiment, and bring the pensioners’ protracted ordeal to an end.
Since July 2025, the affected retirees have been left high and dry, their monthly pensions unpaid, and their dignity worn away. The NLC, under the leadership of Comrade Alex Agwuanwon, has also linked this deplorable situation to the political storm that engulfed the state, while expressing cautious optimism that the prevailing calm will pave the way for the payment of outstanding arrears. The Tide shares that optimism. However, optimism alone will not put food on the table for men and women who gave the best years of their lives to the service of the state.
The genesis of this crisis is not shrouded in mystery. The CPS was introduced in Rivers State in 2012 under the administration of former Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, pursuant to the Rivers State Pension Reform Law of that year. The scheme was ostensibly designed to bring the state into line with the federal Pension Reform Act of 2004, which had established a contributory framework for retirement benefits across the country. What was sold as a progressive reform has, in truth, become a millstone round the neck of the very workers it was meant to protect.
The CPS has failed in the state, and it has failed spectacularly. Its fundamental flaw lies in the government’s chronic inability, or unwillingness, to honour its counterpart funding obligations. The arrangement was meant to be a joint endeavour: employees contribute a portion of their salaries, and the employer matches it. But the state has consistently failed to keep its side of the bargain, leaving the pension fund anaemic and unable to meet its obligations. The result is as predictable as it is unconscionable. Retirees are left with only their own contributions to fall back on, a mere pittance that cannot see them through their twilight years.
The human cost of this institutional failure is staggering. Men and women who devoted decades to the civil service now find themselves cast adrift, their legitimate expectation of a secure retirement shattered. The psychological toll of such betrayal is beyond measure. A pension is not an act of charity. It is a contractual obligation, a deferred wage for services already rendered. To withhold it is to break a sacred trust. The authorities must understand that every delay in resolving this crisis costs lives, both in the literal sense as elderly retirees struggle to pay for healthcare and sustenance, and in the figurative sense as the social contract between the state and its workforce wears thinner with each passing month.
This development does not show the government in a favourable light. For a state to allow people who served it with dedication and integrity to languish in penury after retirement is morally indefensible. It sends a chilling message to serving civil servants that loyalty will be repaid with abandonment. This is precisely why organised labour must not rest on its oars. The NLC’s call for the termination of the CPS is not mere grandstanding. It is a necessary corrective. The scheme, as presently administered, is irredeemably broken and must be done away with.
The most damning indictment of the CPS since its inception is its one-sidedness. The government has failed to pay its counterpart funding, reducing the scheme to a hollow shell. Of what use is a contributory arrangement when only one party contributes? Retirees cannot be expected to live on the meagre sums they themselves set aside, sums which have been steadily eroded by inflation and administrative charges. Workers have been short-changed, left to carry the can while the government looked the other way. It is a quiet expropriation of their future.
The time to put this right is now in the interest of justice, equity, and fairness. The NLC should push harder for the swift implementation of its committee’s report to Governor Siminalayi Fubara. That report contains a sensible and pragmatic recommendation: that the CPS should apply only to those employed in the year it was enacted, thereby allowing existing civil servants to remain under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) to which they were originally entitled. This is not a radical proposal. It is a reasonable compromise that recognises the legitimate expectations of long-serving workers and rights the wrongs of the past.
The authorities must act with dispatch. Governor Fubara should, without further ado, send a draft amendment of the Pension Law to the House of Assembly for passage into law. With such legislative intervention, those who retired from July 2025 to date would be returned to the DBS, receiving pensions calculated on their terminal salaries and years of service rather than the paltry sums available under the failed contributory arrangement. The NLC, for its part, should keep its foot on the pedal through dialogue, advocacy, and, if necessary, peaceful protest. Pensioners deserve not just fine words but concrete action.
Rivers State cannot lay claim to be progressive while its retirees are forced to go cap in hand for their rightful entitlements. The measure of any civilised society is how it treats its elderly. By that yardstick, the present situation is a blot on the state’s escutcheon. The government must clear the backlog of arrears, scrap the CPS for the category of workers it should never have applied to, and restore the DBS in full. Nothing less will suffice.
The recent public health disaster in Ondo State, which claimed 48 lives and left 182 people severely ill, is a gloomy reminder of the dangers posed by unregulated beverages. According to NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the victims consumed contaminated local alcoholic and herbal drinks in communities in Odigbo Local Government Area. The drinks contained high levels of industrial methanol, while 11 of 15 samples also contained Cannabis indica. The substances were linked to organ failure, neurological deterioration, and permanent blindness. The tragedy should serve as a warning to the entire country.
The incident underscores the wider problem of unregulated and adulterated drinks across Nigeria. From roadside kiosks and motor parks to informal markets, unverified alcoholic and herbal products are readily available, often marketed as cheap alternatives or medicines. The World Health Organisation estimates that about 25 per cent of alcohol consumed globally is unrecorded. Such products operate outside formal regulatory control and may expose consumers to toxic substances and serious health risks.
The problem is compounded by deliberate evasion of regulatory requirements. Products under NAFDAC’s mandate must be registered and subjected to regulatory checks before manufacture, distribution, or sale. Yet some producers ignore these requirements for profit, while others falsify NAFDAC registration numbers and markings and use them on substandard products. Such practices deceive consumers and undermine public confidence in the regulatory system.
The reported arrest of 15 suspects linked to the Ondo distribution network is an important first step. Those found responsible should be prosecuted and, where convicted, appropriately punished. However, enforcement must go beyond responding to tragedies. NAFDAC should strengthen preventive measures through regular post-market surveillance, random testing at transit points, and intelligence-led inspections of informal production centres.
Consumers also have a responsibility to exercise caution. Economic hardship, high inflation, and declining purchasing power have created opportunities for unscrupulous producers to market cheaper but potentially dangerous products. Consumers should, therefore, avoid unlabelled drinks, suspiciously cheap products, and goods sold through unverified outlets. Public education and consumer vigilance can help deny unscrupulous traders the opportunity to put profit before human life.
The danger extends beyond alcoholic and herbal drinks to medicines. Counterfeit and substandard medicines have entered both formal and informal supply chains, causing treatment failure, poisoning, and avoidable deaths. The WHO estimates that at least one in 10 medicines in low and middle-income countries is substandard or falsified, although the prevalence varies. Ensuring the safety and authenticity of medicines is essential to protecting lives and maintaining confidence in the healthcare system.
Food safety is another concern. Poor practices in food handling, processing, and preservation expose consumers to serious health risks, particularly when commercial interests override safety. Concerns over the improper use of chemical agents such as calcium carbide to accelerate the ripening of fruits further demonstrate the need for stronger monitoring throughout the food-supply chain.
These challenges expose weaknesses in Nigeria’s regulatory system and reinforce the need to strengthen it. NAFDAC faces the enormous task of monitoring products across all 774 local government areas. Meeting this challenge requires greater operational capacity, reduced bureaucratic delays, and modern systems capable of tracking regulated products from production to the point of sale.
Inadequate personnel, laboratory facilities, equipment, and logistics remain major obstacles. NAFDAC field offices, especially those serving remote communities, need modern testing equipment, reliable screening tools, and adequate transportation. The Federal Government should provide sustained funding to recruit specialised personnel, upgrade laboratories, and deploy technologies capable of rapidly detecting dangerous substances such as methanol.
Preventing the spread of adulterated products also requires coordinated action by federal and state governments. The Federal Ministry of Health, NAFDAC, and other relevant agencies should intensify operations to remove unregistered alcoholic and herbal products from motor parks, transit centres, and informal markets. The National Assembly should review existing laws and strengthen penalties for deliberately producing, falsifying, or distributing toxic and unregistered food, beverages, and medicines.
NAFDAC should expand its digital verification systems to enable consumers to confirm product registration before purchase. State ministries of health, local government councils, and community institutions should intensify grassroots education on the dangers of unlabelled drinks, unsafe food practices, and counterfeit medicines. Traditional, religious, and community leaders can also help identify and report illegal production and distribution activities.
The Ondo tragedy must not become another statistic that is quickly forgotten. The loss of 48 lives and the permanent blindness suffered by some survivors are devastating and unacceptable. Nigeria must respond by strengthening regulatory institutions, providing adequate funding, enforcing the law, and educating the public. A sustained, coordinated effort is essential to protect the nation’s food, beverage, and medicine supply chains and prevent another tragedy caused by products that should never have reached the market.