Following the tragic death of Gen. Mohammed Rabe (rtd) in kidnappers’den, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Kogi Central Senatorial District, Chief Momoh Obaro, has called for the adoption of a “Marshall Plan” to address kidnapping, banditry and insurgency in Nigeria.
Obaro, who is also the secretary of the APC in the United Kingdom (UK), made the call in a post on his social media page.
He stressed that the country’s worsening insecurity requires a holistic, evidence-based approach rather than partisan blame.
The development economist and data scientist, said the roots of insecurity predated the administration of President Bola Tinubu and were deeply tied to poverty, unemployment and other structural deficiencies.
“Treating insecurity solely as a failure of the current administration ignores the deep-seated structural deficits that have allowed criminal networks to flourish since 2009. If we are to secure the nation, we must pivot from reactive blame to proactive, evidence-based reform,” he stated.
Describing poverty as “the primary recruiter for terror,” Obaro argued that millions of Nigerians living on the margins of survival are vulnerable to recruitment by insurgents, bandits and kidnappers.
He noted that with unemployment estimated at 33 per cent and underemployment even higher, many young people have been excluded from the formal economy.”
“The removal of fuel subsidies and the depreciation of the naira have eroded the purchasing power of even the employed, including frontline security personnel. When a police officer or soldier struggles to feed their family, the integrity of our security architecture is compromised, creating vulnerabilities where intelligence and equipment can be commodified for survival,” he said.
Obaro explained that the proposed Marshall Plan should focus on human capital development through vocational training and labour-intensive infrastructure projects to engage idle youths and create economic opportunities.
He also lamented the lack of a robust national database, saying that effective law enforcement cannot thrive without reliable, actionable data.
While acknowledging the progress made through the National Identification Number (NIN) initiative, he said the system remains disconnected from physical realities and called for the establishment of a digital registry, address-based intelligence and economic profiling to strengthen community policing.”
“Prioritise the completion of a National Urban Addressing System and integrate state-level residency databases with federal security biometrics to create a real-time Public Safety Dashboard,” he recommended.
The APC stalwart further advocated the restoration of genuine local government autonomy, arguing that the weakening of local councils over the years has created vast ungoverned spaces, particularly in rural communities.”
“Nature abhors a vacuum. The systematic degradation of the Local Government Area system over the last two decades has created vast ungoverned spaces across rural Nigeria. When local leaders are treated as mere extensions of state governors rather than autonomous administrators, the link between the people and the state is severed,” he said.
He maintained that federal allocations intended for grassroots development often fail to reach local communities, thereby undermining the provision of essential services and weakening public trust.
According to him, constitutional amendments guaranteeing financial and administrative autonomy for local governments are necessary to ensure that resources reach communities where insecurity is most severe.
Obaro also called for the convening of a National Security Consensus Forum involving federal, state and local governments, traditional rulers and civil society organisations to forge a common strategy for economic stabilisation, the speedy dispensation of justice, and the devolution of security responsibilities.
He urged Nigerians to desist from politicising the country’s security challenges, insisting that the crisis requires collective action.”
“The insecurity crisis is not a partisan problem; it is a Nigerian problem. The federal government cannot resolve it in isolation, nor can it be policed away without addressing the underlying poverty and structural decay,” he said.
Calling for unity among stakeholders, Obaro stressed that the combination of modern border technology, financial intelligence, economic inclusion and community trust would provide a sustainable pathway to securing the country.”
“The tools are within our reach, the strategy is clear, and the time for all stakeholders to bring their fingers to the deck is now,” he added.
