NIGERIA’S POLITICAL AND SECURITY DILEMMA: A NATION NORMALISING THE BLOOD OF ITS HEROES.
By Barry Chukwunyem Anuchi
The brutal murder of Brigadier General Uba by bandits in Borno stands as a heartbreaking testament to Nigeria’s collapsing security reality. It was not merely the death of an officer. It was the slaughter of a patriot, a symbol of national defence, executed by criminals who now act as though they own the land. The recording of his execution, circulated without restraint, revealed a truth Nigerians try to avoid: the state is losing control, and the protectors of the nation are becoming victims.
What is even more devastating is the collective silence that followed. A man who dedicated his life to the nation fell in the line of duty, and after a few days of online outrage, the nation moved on as if nothing had happened. A whole Brigadier General, gunned down like a civilian casualty, and Nigeria buried the news with frightening ease.
This silence is not coincidence. It exposes a nation gradually accepting insecurity as normal and tragedy as routine.
While the North is ravaged by terrorism, banditry, and mass graves of forgotten victims, political attention suddenly shifted to Port Harcourt. A state of emergency was declared not because terrorists took over, not because the civilian population was at risk, but because of political rivalry. The swiftness of state response in Rivers State sharply contradicted the eerie quietness that followed the death of a senior military commander.
The message is loud and painful: politics in Nigeria commands urgency; national security does not.
But the consequences are deep and far-reaching. If a Brigadier General can be hunted down and killed publicly without provoking a national reform in security strategy, what hope is left for farmers, school children, commuters, or security officers posted in remote villages? If the life of a general means so little to the country he defended, then the lives of ordinary citizens are worth even less.
The tragedy does not end on the battlefield. It continues in the homes of fallen soldiers widows waiting for compensation that never arrives, children dropping out of school because their breadwinner is gone, parents burying their sons without honour, respect, or even government presence. The Nigerian military has lost thousands of men to terrorism, yet families continue to battle bureaucracy, humiliation, and silence.
This is why young Nigerians are increasingly refusing to join the armed forces. It is not due to lack of patriotism. It is due to fear, injustice, and mistrust. They watch soldiers die without armour without intelligence support without proper welfare. They watch corrupt officers enrich themselves while those on the frontlines are abandoned. They watch families of the fallen live in poverty and regret. Who will volunteer to die for a country that does not value sacrifice?
The murder of Brigadier General Uba should have been a national turning point, a complete reassessment of counter-terrorism strategy, military funding, intelligence coordination, and welfare for security personnel. Instead, nothing changed. The war against terrorism continues, but the hearts of those expected to fight it are breaking.
A nation that fails to honour and protect its protectors is already walking toward self-destruction.
Nigeria is slowly drifting from insecurity to hopelessness. Terrorists and criminals grow fearless, not because they are strong, but because the state has become predictable, reactive, not proactive; political, not patriotic. If this continues, the country faces not only territorial loss but emotional and psychological collapse.
Security must rise above politics. The Nigerian state must restore dignity to military service, adequate funding, modern equipment, psychological support, fair compensation, and national honour for the fallen. Every soldier’s blood must matter. Every family of fallen heroes must be cared for. Every attack on security personnel must be met with strategic and decisive retaliation.
Brigadier General Uba’s death must not become another footnote in Nigeria’s tragic story. It should be the moment the nation remembers that no country survives by ignoring the wounds of its defenders.
Nigeria must choose:
Will it continue to move on like nothing happened,
or will it finally honour the blood it has spilt?
