Former Chief of Army Staff, Buratai Suggests COVID-Style Lockdown to Tackle Terr%rism, B@nditry, and K+dnapping in Nigeria

Former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai (rtd.), has called for a drastic, nationwide approach to addressing insecurity, suggesting that the Federal Government could impose a COVID-19–style lockdown to deal with terr%rists, b@ndits, and k+dnappers.

Speaking on the persistence of insecurity, Buratai warned that the menace would last longer than many Nigerians expect unless the country adopts a long-term, all-inclusive strategy. According to him, insecurity is not a challenge that can simply be wished away but one that requires collective mobilization beyond the military.

“I don’t want to quote the number of years I mentioned. I say it will last longer. It’s a sort of a warning that we really need to have a long-term plan. It is not something that we just wish it away,” he said.

Drawing comparisons with the f+ght against COVID-19, Buratai highlighted the massive investments that went into information campaigns, communication, palliatives, and preventive measures during the pandemic, which eventually saw the entire country shut down.

“The whole nation was locked down because of COVID-19. But we can do the same thing. We can lock down this country to make sure that everybody concentrates and deals with this crisis of so-called terr%rists and b@ndits and kidn@ppers,” he noted.

He stressed that insecurity, like a pandemic or natural dis@ster, requires nationwide mobilization and shared responsibility, not just the efforts of security forces. Buratai also cited last year’s Maiduguri flood as an example of how the country rallied together to provide relief and rehabilitation, urging that the same level of urgency should be applied to the fight against insecurity.

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