The present government has done more than any before it in going after the heads of banditry leaders in the Northwest. The list it released last week is legendary. However, one bandit remains unchecked. He is still wreaking havoc on the rural populations of eastern Sokoto. Bello Turji is one too many in the statistics of banditry in this country.
While President Tinubu was enjoying a wedding gala in Katsina, Turji was busy rustling innocent Nigerian villagers from their homes in droves, not more than 170km away. “More than 100 villages are now empty,” said a woman on the BBC. Two days ago, Turji even issued an ultimatum to larger towns like Bafarawa—a local government headquarters and the hometown of a former governor of the state—to pack up and leave immediately.
It beggars belief that this is happening in a Nigeria which fought gallantly in the Second World War, defeated Biafra, and brought peace to the Congo, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Its citizens wonder why it cannot bring that mettle to bear on the ragtag bandits who roam the fringes of its northeast and northwest regions. If it can defend the citizens of other countries and enforce peace there, why would it sit on its hands while its own citizens suffer the inhuman treatment of insurgents and bandits for 14 years now? Charity begins at home.
The Nigerian Military
Ask ChatGPT, and it will roll out the enviable military capability of Nigeria: ranked 31st among 145 militaries in the world in the 2025 Global Firepower Index. It has approximately 230,000 active-duty members, with over 300 tanks, including VT-4, T-72, and Vickers Mk3 models; more than 2,000 armoured vehicles; artillery comprising SH-5 and SH-2 self-propelled howitzers, D-30 and D-74 towed howitzers, and RM-70 multiple rocket launchers; and a diverse array of infantry weapons, including AK-47 variants, IWI Tavor, FN FAL rifles, and RPG-7 launchers.
Its air force combat capabilities, according to the app, include a fleet of Alpha Jets, Chengdu J-7s, Embraer A-29 Super Tucanos, and JF-17 Thunders; helicopters such as Mi-35 attack helicopters, Bell UH-1H Hueys, and AgustaWestland AW109s; and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), including Bayraktar TB2s, Wing Loong IIs, and CH-4Bs.
Money? Far from it. The same country that was spending $1 million daily to bring peace to Liberia has allocated ₦17.9 trillion to defence between 2011 and 2024, according to figures from the Budget Office of the Federation.
The Bandits and Insurgents
What are the capabilities of Boko Haram and the bandits? The arrests made over the past 14 years have not shown that they possess anything beyond AK-47 rifles, PKM machine guns, and RPG-7 launchers. Their numbers run into a few thousands—perhaps 10,000 for Boko Haram at their height and 30,000 bandits, according to IPI Global Observatory.
The bandits have no formal education, no budget, no military training, no pension or gratuity, no officers, no generals, no fighter jets, no tanks, no barracks—nothing but motorcycles, a few small weapons and the barefaced audacity of hardened criminals. Yet, they continue to run rings around our forces.
With this statistics, one wonders why our forces cannot wipe the floor with these criminals within a month. When laymen like me speak, security officers often dismiss us as ignorant. Yes, we may know very little about their profession, but we will not hesitate to say that what they are doing is not enough, so long as our citizens remain unsafe from the rampage of bandits. What will they tell their counterparts from other countries if, with their large numbers, huge arsenal, and massive budget, they cannot holistically uproot bandits operating on the semi-arid plains of the northwest? The clock is ticking, and the patience of the people is wearing thin. It is high time they pulled their socks up and get the job done.
While we appreciate the sacrifices of our troops and the hard work of many officers, Nigerians will never be satisfied until the last bandit is defeated. No excuse by the authorities can be accepted. Nigeria must be peaceful in both towns and villages.
Conventional War
A conventional all-out war should be declared on Boko Haram and the bandits. Resources are required. But a country that can spend ₦15 trillion on a luxury road can surely spare a lesser amount to mobilise its army to stamp out AK-47-armed criminals within days. Its generals are trained enough to plan the battles and prosecute the war. Perhaps, its politicians aren’t ready. This is the logic that a layman like me understands. If the government wants peace, it must pay the price.
To liken the situation—as an excuse—to the asymmetrical engagements n Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, or Gaza is clutching at straws. There is no Afghan Tora Bora in Sabon Birni, nor Gaza tunnels in Maradun. No missiles or rocket launchers are in the hands of Turji, and no Yemeni caves for him to hide in. He doesn’t have the sophisticated training of Hezbollah, Hamas, or the Houthis. Not even drones. He is not a fighter for any cause but a bush criminal fattening his pockets by taking advantage of the incapacity of a failed state. So, this war is symmetrical. The sites of the enemy are known; the terrain plain. Aha.
The Nigerian military must take the bull by the horns and declare a full-fledged war on all bandits and Boko Haram insurgents. It must pressure the politicians to put their money where their mouth is and provide all the resources it needs to prosecute and win the war. Soldiers must leave their barracks. They have no business sleeping in their barracks when swathes of Nigerian land are in the hands of armed criminals.
On the other hand, the President can task the military with finishing the job within a time limit. He can make the positions of all top-ranking military officers hang by a thread, contingent on fulfilling the missions of the war—otherwise, they should be shown the door. Babangida in 1987 or so once asked his Inspector General of Police at a cabinet meeting: “My friend, where is Anini?” The IG got the message and the notorious Benin armed robber was nabbed within 2 weeks.
Jihad
If for any reason a conventional war that mobilises our entire military cannot be declared, can the President allow the Sultan and the Shehu of Borno, with the help of the Ulama, to declare a jihad and mobilise the faithful against Boko Haram and the bandits in their respective domains? With a budget less than a quarter of the new Lagos-Calabar highway, this nightmare could be over in less than two years and peace will return to the region.
I assure the President that millions of faithfuls, including yours sincerely, will be willing to throw their hats into the ring for such a noble cause. This may sound like a tall order, but stranger things have happened. Stranger still is for a country as big as Nigeria to be incapable of defeating homemade criminals after 14 long years.
This is exactly what Sultan Muhammadu Bello would have done to Turji and company. Nobody would be allowed to terrorise citizens without being promptly met with the full force of the law. The kato-da-gora, and civilian JTFs are no match for these criminals. What can defeat them easily is a determination fired by the faith of martyrdom.
Fulani and Kanuri Militias
I have heard many voices asking Fulani leaders—the Sultan, Emirs, Miyetti-Allah, and others—to call the bandits to order, as if hardened criminals recognise any tribal or moral authority or are fighting for a tribal cause. They are not fighting for anyone; they are fighting everyone. If they would listen, this banditry would have been dead and buried long ago. Banditry is thriving precisely because the government which reserves a monopoly over arms and other tools of coercion, has long been anaesthetised by the corruption of its personnel.
Well, if so, let the government, as an exception, and again with less than a quarter of ₦15 trillion, allow the Sultan to mobilise an army of Fulani to wipe out Turji and his fellow travellers in a matter of two years at most. I know there will be hundreds of thousands of Fulbe, again including yours sincerely, who will gladly roll up their sleeves to free the Northwest countryside from this menace. And if the government will not let us, then let other Nigerians stop blaming the Fulbe in general for the continuity of banditry in the country. Force is the only language the bandits understand and by the law only government speaks it. Given the same chance, our brave Kanuri masters can also wipe out Boko Haram in a matter of few months.
The hybridisation of our military and these militias can also be looked into. The military can train and advise the militia in the course of the war and oversee their disarmament when it is over.
Conclusion
The lives and property of our citizens are sacrosanct and in the hands of the President and his government. They hold the monopoly of power and must bear the guilt and shame of any failure to protect us. With the human and material resources at their disposal, no excuse will be accepted. People are subjected to untold suffering. Thousands are displaced in a season of intense heat, left to face the world with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
A full war must be declared on both bandits and Boko Haram insurgents. Whether fought by a conventional military, a jihad of the faithful, or by ethnic Fulbe and Kanuri militia, it must be waged. The incapacity displayed over the past 14 years is a slap in the face of the so-called giant of Africa. The time for half measures is over. It is time to draw a line in the sand and end this national embarrassment once and for all.
My President! Ending the menace of Boko Haram and banditry is a low hanging fruit for you against 2027. Can you plug it?
Aliyu U. Tilde
12 May 2025
