Rep Minority Leader Chinda urges national unity to tackle worsening insecurity

Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, has warned that Nigeria will struggle to achieve meaningful progress in the fight against insecurity unless citizens put aside their differences and unite as a people.

Speaking during Monday’s debate on the nation’s security challenges, Chinda urged lawmakers to take proactive steps and work closely with the Executive to address the crisis.

He noted that the political class must also share in the blame, as politicians often engage individuals for electoral advantage but fail to manage the consequences afterwards.

Citing the Constitution, he reminded members that Section 14(2)(b) places the protection of lives and property at the core of governance.

Drawing from a biblical reference in Matthew 5:13, he likened government institutions to “salt,” stressing that they lose their value if they fail to perform their duties.

Chinda emphasised that all three arms of government must take responsibility, warning lawmakers against shirking their roles. He questioned whether the Parliament could justify its existence if it failed to uphold the constitutional duty of safeguarding Nigerians.

He stressed that addressing insecurity requires national unity, not political or religious divides. “This is no time for religion or political party considerations. It is about our very existence,” he said.

The lawmaker cautioned against trivialising the security crisis, urging leaders and citizens alike to avoid framing issues along sectarian lines. According to him, Nigeria cannot win the battle against insecurity without genuine unity.

He added that as other nations increasingly view Nigeria as a country of concern, the Parliament must focus on finding solutions to reverse this perception, praying for the wisdom to achieve lasting peace.

“We cannot succeed in this battle if we deny obvious facts. Let me start by asking, are there religious killings in Nigeria? The answer is yes. But is that the major cause of insecurity in our country? The answer is no.

“While there are religious killings, it will amount to painting the insecurity issue with a single brush to say that that is the only reason why we have insecurity.

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“Today in our country, you have the economic aspect of insecurity. Where people, for economic reasons, will attack communities, kill, maim, and displace entire communities to access the wealth that is within that place.

“As a government, do we say that we are not aware? What are we doing? What about the political aspect? Incidentally, we find ourselves in that field. We are all politicians because we want to assume political power. We want to do everything to displace the opponent. We make the entire government ungovernable, bringing people from outside the shores of this country because our borders are porous.

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“We only have boundaries on the map, but on the ground, Nigeria lacks clear boundaries. They are not protected. They are open. We bring people in to strengthen us politically, but managing them thereafter becomes a problem.

“You also have the religious angle. There are religious bodies, the ISIS or ISWAP, and all that. They are not sent by Nigerians, but they have their targets. They have their own vision. They have their belief. All you need to do is to de-indoctrinate. Not to remove the indoctrination that they have already.

“The task is very heavy because we cannot pretend that we do not have insecurity in this country. And the solution ought to come from us all seated here, not from Nigerians outside there. But we must own up to the truth. How well are we doing? How well are we tackling this problem?

“When I hear people praise the government, the government is doing well. Are we sincere? The government is still sleeping because nothing fundamental has been done. We cannot continue with the fire brigade approach.

“Must we wait until our children are kidnapped before we take steps? When 20 are kidnapped, we recover 2 and beat our chest that we are achieving. What about the 18? Dear colleagues, we recall, there is no week that this chamber has not discussed the issue of insecurity.

“Not one week passes without a motion of insecurity. And at the end of the day, all we do is observe one minute of silence. I think that the time has come for us to unite, remove the toga of religion, remove the toga of political parties, and wear the toga of Nigeria.

“Whoever is affected should not be our concern. But we must salvage our country. We must salvage ourselves. We must begin to go home freely. We must find solutions to ensure that Nigerians sleep with their two eyes closed.

“Let me suggest that the time has come for us to start looking at having a national border force. When we hear countries talk about facing their borders, sometimes we laugh over it. It sounds funny.

“We do not have a border force in Nigeria. I think it is our role as parliamentarians to quickly, as a solution, come up with a deal and ensure that that deal passes with the speed of light to begin to protect our borders. Not just by physical protection. Like I said, the world is a global village today. There are technologies that will help us.

“We also have before us the constitution amendment that is going on. Security is prominent. We don’t have an option but to go back to community policing or state policing. We must begin to secure our country from every community. As a parliament, we must also begin to rise to our oversight functions. We must begin to stand our ground.