The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to approve the recruitment of 1,000 forest guards in Oyo State following the recent abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area.
President Tinubu had dispatched a high-level delegation to the Esiele and Yawota communities to express his concern over the incident. During the visit, the delegation announced that the president had approved the recruitment of 1,000 forest guards in collaboration with the Oyo State Government as part of measures aimed at strengthening security in the affected areas.
Responding to the development in a statement issued on Friday, Obi argued that the decision reflected poor leadership and an inadequate response to Nigeria’s security challenges. According to him, the move was another example of the government’s tendency to react to crises rather than address them through strategic planning.
“In a hasty effort to be perceived as attentive and courageous, it is reported that President Bola Tinubu has approved the recruitment of about 1000 forest guards for Oyo State.
“This is a further demonstration of poor leadership and attending to very serious governance and security issues with a reactive approach. It is the same reactive approach that led to the sudden removal of fuel subsidy and floating of the Naira that has caused irreparable damage to ordinary Nigerians and the economy,” the politician stated.
Obi also expressed concern over the country’s worsening security situation, lamenting the deaths of more than 10,000 Nigerians since 2023. He attributed the persistent insecurity to failures in leadership and governance.
“The pervasive insecurity we currently have is directly related to the failure of our ecosystem, particularly leadership. It is only failure in leadership that can lead to the death of over 10,000 innocent Nigerians since 2023, and Nigeria is ranked among the top-most terror-affected countries in the world,” he said.
While acknowledging the need for additional security personnel in Oyo State and other parts of the country, Obi maintained that such measures should be implemented through a comprehensive and carefully coordinated strategy.
He noted that insecurity remains a major concern across the federation, citing several states that have experienced alarming levels of violence and criminal activity.
“Presently, almost all the 36 states in Nigeria are experiencing different forms of insecurity, with Oyo, Plateau, Kwara, Kogi, Borno, Katsina, Anambra, Niger, Imo, and Sokoto being very alarming,” he added.
The former Anambra State governor further questioned whether similar approvals would be extended to other states facing security threats. He also raised concerns about the potential impact of the recruitment on existing regional security initiatives, particularly the Amotekun Corps in the South-West.
“The question, such as the reactive approach of our President, is whether all the states will receive the same approval to recruit 1000 forest guards per state, that is 37, 000 forest guards for the 36 states and Abuja or is the recruitment approval based on the mood of the President? Moreover, with the approval for Oyo, what will happen to the Amotekun Corps that is trying its best to secure South-West Nigeria? Will they be disbanded in Oyo state?,” the politician explained.
Obi called for a broader and more integrated approach to tackling insecurity, warning that leadership failures could trigger deeper socio-economic problems. He argued that effective governance remains critical to national unity, economic growth, job creation, and the productive utilisation of the country’s resources.
“Addressing our insecurity situation requires a holistic or what can be described as an ecosystem approach. With failure in leadership, there is failure in unifying our dear nation, failure in industrialisation, failure in harnessing our abundant resources in agriculture, minerals, tourism, water, sports and even oil and gas to effectively generate required revenue, growth and particularly jobs for our exponentially growing youth population,” the politician added.
