The Chairman Senate committee on Interpaliamentary Affairs,Senator Jimoh Ibrahim,CFR, has said Nigeria’s insecurity is rooted in longstanding generational grievances dating back to 1914 and not the creation of President Bola Tinubu.
Ibrahim, who represents Ondo South Senatorial District in the National Assembly , made the assertion during an ongoing IPU parliamentary hearing at the United Nations in New York.
He said, “The security challenges confronting Nigeria today did not start with President Tinubu. They are products of generational grievances that date back to 1914 and were not properly addressed over time.”
The lawmaker argued that colonial authorities failed to sufficiently resolve deep-seated structural and political tensions before and after independence in 1960.
“Even at independence, the foundations were shaky. The grievances were not comprehensively addressed.
If adequate measures had been taken earlier, many of these issues may have been avoided,” he stated.
He cited the civil war that followed the attempted secession of the Republic of Biafra, as well as recurring civil protests since 1960, as consequences of unresolved tensions.
According to him, several British constitutional frameworks, including the Clifford Constitution of 1922, the Richards Constitution of 1946, the Macpherson Constitution of 1951 and the Lyttleton Constitution of 1954 – did not substantially resolve insecurity concerns before independence.
“None of these constitutional arrangements effectively addressed the security question.
They were largely administrative transitions without resolving the core grievances,” he said.
Ibrahim also noted that the leadership of the Nigerian Armed Forces was not fully indigenised until 1965, stressing that British officers continued to occupy top military positions even after independence.
“The Nigerian Navy, for example, remained under British command until 1964. Full military indigenisation came late, and these structural gaps had consequences,” he added.
The senator further recalled that between 1966 and 1993, Nigeria witnessed nine military coups.
“Despite the series of military interventions, the security challenges persisted.
The coups achieved limited success in addressing the root causes,” he said.
On contemporary threats such as the Boko Haram insurgency, Ibrahim maintained that Nigeria requires stronger international cooperation to enhance its counterinsurgency operations.
“Terrorism today is driven by ideology, misinformation, surprise tactics and access to advanced technology.
No nation can confront it alone,” he stated.
He welcomed support from countries such as the United States, Turkey and China, warning that the global community must remain vigilant against the possibility of terrorist groups acquiring weapons of mass destruction.
“The most alarming scenario is the acquisition of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons by terrorists.
That is why global collaboration is no longer optional,” he said.
Ibrahim added that President Tinubu is pursuing international partnerships similar to the approach adopted by the United States after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
“Our foreign policy under President Tinubu is anchored on cooperation, democratic peace and constructive global engagement.
Nigeria is friendly to all and enemy to none,” he said.
He disclosed that the Nigerian Senate is convening a National Security Summit aimed at addressing what he described as generational grievances.
“With increased budgeting and stronger diplomatic engagement, Nigeria is gaining greater legitimacy in tackling insecurity both domestically and internationally,” Ibrahim added.
He further noted that the deployment of about 70 ambassadors across strategic countries signals renewed openness to global investment and security partnerships under the Tinubu administration.
