Former Kano State governor and 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has warned that the Federal Government is gradually losing control of the country’s worsening security situation.
Kwankwaso, in a post on his verified Facebook page, said recent developments suggest that the government is overwhelmed. He criticised what he described as the Federal Government’s tacit approval for states to establish vigilante groups with limited professional capacity, saying such arrangements have contributed to the proliferation of small arms nationwide.
According to him, the situation has further deteriorated as some individuals, including political actors, are exploiting the gaps to set up militia groups—moves he said pose a serious threat to Nigeria’s fragile peace.
He wrote: “Regrettably, it appears the Federal Government is overwhelmed. This is evident in its tacit endorsement to allow state governments to establish and deploy vigilante security outfits with little or no professional training. Such a policy, however well-intentioned, has inadvertently facilitated the uncontrolled proliferation of small arms and light weapons across the country.”
Kwankwaso added that the rise of ethnic and regional profiling is worsening tensions. He cited recent reports of citizens from specific regions being harassed, arbitrarily arrested or tortured in other parts of the country.
“Of equal concern is the rising wave of ethnic and regional profiling of Nigerian citizens within their own country,” he said. “In recent times, we have witnessed disturbing reports of individuals, particularly from one part of the country, being arbitrarily targeted, harassed, arrested, and in some cases tortured in other parts of the country.”
He also decried increasing online harassment, hate speech, and incendiary comments driven by ethnic and religious sentiments, warning that these trends threaten national unity.
Kwankwaso urged the Federal Government to act decisively to halt what he called “dangerous developments” before they escalate further. The former chairman of the Committee on the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons described the ease with which weapons circulate across the country as “deeply alarming and unacceptable.”
He congratulated General Christopher Gwabin Musa on his appointment as Minister of Defence and expressed confidence that, with the right political will, the new minister has the capacity to help restore stability.
