In the wake of Boko Haram’s resurgence and heavy military casualties in Borno, the National Assembly, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, has opted for a national summit on insecurity. While there is nothing wrong with dialogue on national problems, this approach seems to be more attention-seeking than finding practical solutions to terrorism in its ramifications.

The 10th Assembly seems to have forgotten its primary duty of lawmaking and holding the executive arm accountable for its implementation. But to settle for a national talk shop contrary to legislating decisive steps in fighting insurgency and re-jig the security team is a sheer waste of precious time that amounts to groping in the dark and hoping to find the solution.
 
By their cosmetic approach to our main existential nightmare, Akpabio and others seem at sea with Section 4 of the amended 1999 Constitution that has the Legislature as the most crucial institution in a democracy because of its supposed closeness to the people. Section 4(2) specifically has it that “the National Assembly shall have the power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List…”, chief of which is defence and security of all Nigerians. Apart from representing the people and making laws, the Legislature also performs oversight functions on all activities of the Executive arm of the government to ensure the full execution of extant laws.
 
It is therefore curious that the Senate, following a motion moved by Ondo South representative, Jimoh Ibrahim, recently resolved to convene a two-day summit aimed at addressing insecurity issues such as banditry, mass killings, and abductions. The resolution came after the Senate expressed dismay at the violence and bloodshed in parts of the country, including Zamfara, Plateau, and Benue states. The troubling questions are: Is the Senate not aware of the Terrorism Act and other extant laws, including the criminal and penal codes, as well as laws against kidnapping, all of which contain adequate provisions for the acts of killing, maiming and arson freely employed by the insurgents? Shouldn’t the lawmakers be demanding stoutly for enforcement of these laws being flagrantly violated? How much urgency is the Senate giving to this myriad of mindless killings and growing apprehension nationwide? How much accountability has the Senate demanded from the Bola Tinubu-led administration and the armed forces on the earlier strategies and budgetary votes committed to fighting insurgency? If earlier plans are not working, is the Senate lost on fresh ideas on what to do, and its House Committee on Defence unable to consistently rally experts and concerned agencies till lasting solutions are found? What form of information or ideas is the Senate seeking to warrant a national summit beyond the diversionary and pretentious posture of being busy? 
 
Agreeably, Nigeria in 2025, is at the cusp of precarious danger, just when the security forces thought they were on the verge of exterminating insurgency. Deadly clashes between nomads and farmers in Benue and Plateau states have risen to at least 284 in about three months, with escalated killings claiming about 70 in one weekend. North eastern region has lately seen an upsurge in attacks by suspected Boko Haram and Islamic State assailants. At least 20,000 people have fled Marte town, dozens of soldiers either killed or unaccounted for, and territories reclaimed by terrorists after increasing attacks by Islamist militants. Nigeria needs urgent interventions than the government of the day is leading; and the Senate, being a foremost organ of government, stands vicariously guilty.
 
The National Assembly has held similar national summits at public expense in the past that amounted to little or nothing. Concerned security experts were rather quick to say that the time for mere discussions has passed, emphasising the need to implement resolutions from past summits and conduct a thorough audit of military assets acquired for national defence. A 2023 report by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) revealed that only 15 per cent of policy recommendations from legislative-led security conferences since 2011 have been implemented. Picture it! That is an aggregate of 85 per cent of recommendations either ignored, poorly coordinated with the executive, or overtaken by events.

The fact is that the effectiveness of these summits is severely undermined by the lack of commitment from the executive arm to act on their outcomes, and the National Assembly should rather deal with that head-on by playing less of a rubberstamping and blind loyalty to a presidency that is consumed solely by the 2027 re-election.
 
Tellingly, there are no quick fixes to the insurgency that has lasted over two decades. It is a national malaise that has become highly political and with a lot of beneficiaries from the war economy. Borno State governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, recently said the Nigerian Army lacks the requisite equipment to fight terrorists, noting that, devoid of politics, Boko Haram can be wiped out in six months.

“Let’s remove contractocracy. In six months, we can put an end to this madness; we need not politicise insecurity,” he had said. Zulum also alleged that some politicians and members of the armed forces act as informants and collaborators for Boko Haram insurgents. Neither the armed forces nor the Senate has bothered to ask questions on those damning verdicts.
 
Before Zulum, a former Chief of Army Staff, and later Minister of Defence, Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, had consistently rallied the people to defend themselves, saying their assailants were more sophisticated than the armed forces could repel and the government willing to conquer. His words: “Those attacking you are heavily armed. Nobody knows how they got such weapons, but you, too, should find a way to arm yourselves. Wherever they got theirs from, get yours too. It is now very clear that the government alone cannot protect us. We must stand up and defend ourselves, our families, and our lands before these criminals overrun the entire country,” Danjuma had said.
 
If the National Assembly is serious about a lasting solution, it can start by addressing the posers thrown up by Danjuma.  Insurgency will not end until its sponsors and politicisation are taken out, the security architecture is fully enhanced, and the police service is completely overhauled. And to make the intervention sustainable, the Nigerian State must also work for the people in all states. No amount of pretentious political rallies and ‘food for the boys’ talk shows masquerading as national summits will change anything.