Nigeria's Insecurity — A Sustainable Structure for the Future (Part 3)

Those who fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it.

When talking about the lessons that the youth in Nigeria need to know, Rev. Ladi Peter Thompson asked them to remember the past.

He mentioned that young Nigerians need to remember the EndSARS debacle and realise that they are dealing with merciless predators, people who have no value for the life of a young person.

These are the same people who came out of independence, but Rev. Thompson stressed that it is interdependence that brings prosperity, not independence itself.

What is needed, he said, is direct intervention and for the youths to read books like Civil Disobedience. After all, readers are leaders.

They must realise, he warned, that if they come out together without a strategy, the predators will kill them. So they have to create more sophisticated means of protest and negotiation to demand that righteousness reigns. If they do not want to waste their lives, then certain demands should be made.

They should call for regional defence organs, which Rev. Thompson described as a vote of “no confidence” in the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s ability to protect lives and property.

Secondly, to stop the madness, the younger generation also needs to create a framework locally and globally to enable gun laws. That is, to create a responsible gun culture in Nigeria.

Rev. Thompson admitted that this is not something he would have encouraged in the past, as Africans are not violence-prone people. But the question he asked is difficult to ignore: What else is there to do with a government that arms terrorists to kill its own civilians?

He also argued that there should be no election in Nigeria until the insecurity issue is solved. Until the systemic flaws in Nigeria are addressed, he said, there is no use for another election.

Taking a leaf from America in 1776, Rev. Thompson noted that nothing happening in Nigeria is new; it has already happened before. In studying the colonial system, there is a lot of information to be unravelled. All this information, he said, needs to be made available to the general public so they can learn the truth and move forward from there.

Nigeria claims to be following an American-style democratic system, so why, he asked, should Nigerians not sit down to learn from the same Democratic Republic that is already two hundred and fifty years old?

It was Benjamin Franklin who wisely observed that two passions drive men to extremities: the love of power and the love of money. Knowing this, Sir Benjamin instructed that when drafting the American Constitution, there must be firewalls to ensure that the position that gives power must not be the same that gives money. Because if they are not separated, men will kill to get there as well as kill to stay there.

In addition to asking that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces define the enemy, Rev. Thompson urged that Nigerian youths also need to properly use digital thought to get their voices heard.

What makes a nation, he said, is no longer minerals. Instead, it is the architecture of thoughts that determines how rich or poor a people truly are.

Rev. Thompson also suggested that a time frame be attached to these demands, proposing two weeks for that to be done.

The greatest asset that Nigeria has, he said, is the Nigerian spirit, the one that refuses to bow despite all challenges. It is an indomitable spirit that cannot be easily explained. And while it is sorrowful to witness the deaths and corruption, it is not all for nothing.

Underneath all the pain, something is shifting in the minds of young Nigerians. Rev. Thompson reminded us that everything in life has a purpose, including this current pain. The purpose of it is that the younger generation cannot grow up with the same mindset as the older generation. There is a maturation of the Nigerian spirit in the young generation.

If Nigeria solves its problems, Africa is free. But first, the wicked generation has to be confronted and neutralized.

While the sensible solution might be to encourage younger people to get into politics and contest for positions, Rev. Thompson warned that it is a terrible decision since they are dealing with a merciless and wicked generation. It is death on arrival and a signing of bondage. Instead, he said, there can only be victory through innovation.

Lastly, the most important thing about Rev. Ladi Peter Thompson’s speech was his words to the youths: there are better days ahead. The youths are the leaders of today, not tomorrow.

Read Next: 10 Ways the West Exploits Africa’s Wealth

P.S. In case you want to, feel free to reach out to me. If you need a guide on how to discover your purpose, drop me a message here or email me at sopiensofgod@gmail.com, and we’ll arrange a call.

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You can also check out these posts: 

1. 10 Strategic Solutions for Africa’s Development

2. The Danger of Silence —African Youth Must Rise!

3. Democracy Is A Scam In Africa; Here's What Works (L1)

4. A Wakeup Call to All Africans and People of African Descent

5. Move Africa! 

Nigeria's Insecurity — Lessons for Nigerian Youth (Part 2)

For the Nigerian patriots currently working in America, it is a situation between David and Goliath. While organisations like the International Committee on Nigeria (ICON) exist to support them, the struggles remain overwhelming.

The good exists, as well as the bad, in the international religious and political scenes.

There are men of goodwill, putting in the work, the heart, zeal, and passion into ensuring that Nigeria is made great again. They have countered the corrosive act of American companies pumping money into a country that doesn't need it, on the edge of its ruins.

Yet, it does not matter whether or not Nigeria has American allies. As Rev. Thompson made clear, we need to stop believing that the future of Nigeria will be determined in America.

To root out the problem, as well as proffer a solution, he said, we must identify the set of Nigerians that need to stand up and take a stand for their nation. This includes church leaders talking out of both sides of their mouths.

Pseudo-leaders have been created to represent the Church in Nigeria, completely boycotting the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). A gross misrepresentation of what Christianity, and CAN, are truly about.

There are now "Ahabs" in church leadership, Rev. Thompson noted, the people comfortable with the generation after them dying, as long as they get to enjoy today.

Let it be clear that the primary responsibility of the government is the protection of lives and property. A government, he argued, immediately forfeits its moral mandate to lead when it cannot guarantee internal safety.

Based on this doctrine of necessity, Rev. Thompson stressed the importance of looking at the younger generation of Nigerians and teaching them some lessons.

There are two sets of people in Nigeria right now, he said: the wicked and the digital generation.

The first lesson Nigerian youths must learn, as he pointed out, comes from a tragedy in South Korea in May 2014. A ferry capsized while carrying high school students to Jeju Island. During this incident, 250 students lost their lives following instructions to remain in their cabins, while crew members and many adults escaped.

The ingrained culture of obedience, similarly common in Africa, led to those deaths. It is the same culture, Rev. Thompson warned, that implies elder and grey hair equate to wisdom.

It is important to remember that those under 35 years of age form approximately 70% of Nigeria's population.

Nigeria's youths need to be warned about the people who are trading their tomorrow to enjoy today.

The youths need to put on their thinking caps, learning from people like Anthony Enahoro, who moved a motion for Nigeria's independence at 30, as well as Dr. Matthew Taiwo Mbu, who became Nigeria's first High Commissioner to London at just 25.

These people, amongst other older patriots, have proved that age is not a limit to high achievements.

However, while some of them were patriots looking for the good in Nigeria, Rev. Thompson said the majority of that generation could be subsumed as a wicked generation.

He described them as the most decorated political failures on the African continent, a political class willing to sacrifice the lives of younger people and weaponise poverty.

If the youths continue to look at these people for a solution, they will waste their lives. We will go under a supremacist agenda and realise, too late, that men of ill will, when they gather together globally, have no respect for human worth.

Read Next: Part 3

P.S. In case you want to, feel free to reach out to me. If you need a guide on how to discover your purpose, drop me a message here or email me at sopiensofgod@gmail.com, and we’ll arrange a call.

Will you like to write a book – share your story, ideas or knowledge in a book, now it’s easier than ever. In 3 weeks, your book will be written and published. Send a message to: bookminds247@gmail.com. 

Get books here: Click here

Get books on Amazon: Amazon Books

Check out our website: Wordflixx Publishers

If you want customized songs for you or your loved ones' birthday, wedding, or any ceremony, Iseay music got you. Contact @ sopiensofgod@gmail.com

You can also check out these posts: 

1. 10 Strategic Solutions for Africa’s Development

2. The Danger of Silence —African Youth Must Rise!

3. Democracy Is A Scam In Africa; Here's What Works (L1)

4. A Wakeup Call to All Africans and People of African Descent

5. Move Africa! 

Nigeria's Insecurity: An Interview with Rev. Ladi Peter Thompson ( Part 1)

Every day, Nigerians wake up to fresh reports of banditry, kidnapping, and killings. The conversations have become so frequent that insecurity now dominates our national discourse. Recently, I had the opportunity to watch an interview in which Rev. Ladi Peter Thompson shared his views on the insecurity in Nigeria, its root causes, and what he believes are the solutions. His perspective challenged many of the popular narratives surrounding this crisis.

I decided to share some of that conversation in this article because I believe the insights are worth acting on. I hope you find it helpful. If you find it valuable, kindly share it with others.

Nigeria, as the most populous country in Africa, is reputable and well known for many things, including her creativity and innovation.

However, recent events surrounding insecurity in Nigeria have given it a new identity: a home for insecurity.

Conversations surrounding banditry and kidnapping grow more common with each passing day. An avenue to share opinions, rant, and discuss the government's failures now unites Nigeria in ways that culture no longer can.

Rev. Ladi Peter Thompson, a security expert who served as the Deputy Secretary General for Directors for Peace and Security at the African Union, offered a counterposition to the noise surrounding this crisis during an interview.

Talking about it, he said, is not enough. What Nigeria needs is a solution.

Rev. Thompson made it clear that Nigerians need to put pressure on the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces before there can be any true change.

Several issues stood out in his assessment of Nigeria's fight to combat the insecurity crisis. The first being that the Commander-in-Chief of Nigeria's Armed Forces has refused to define the enemy. As Rev. Thompson noted, the inability to define the enemy is also an inability to decisively defeat them.

He pointed out that the internal agents destroying Nigeria are fewer than the media, or even the people, have presumed them to be. But because Nigerians, as well as their leaders, have refused to "name names," the noise continues.

Another question Rev. Thompson raised is why already convicted terrorists are reintegrated and given room not only to return to the midst of civilians but also to serve as military officers, among the very people whose colleagues, friends, and family members they killed.

He reminded us that Nigeria has a population of approximately two hundred and forty million people. Without the complicity that exists within Nigeria, he argued, it would not be impossible for two hundred and forty million people to intelligently establish that the primary responsibility of governance has been abandoned.

About religion, Rev. Thompson was clear.

The terrorism crisis in Nigeria, he said, is not a religious problem. Instead, it is a supremacist agenda wearing a religious cover. The Kanuris and the Fulanis, who do not see eye to eye, are fighting for a position as the predator of the nation.

He acknowledged that America has done the country a great service with its recent intervention. But he noted that, before the current administration, the American government was actively aiding the defeat of Nigeria. Nigeria was traded off on the table, sacrificed to keep certain Western states safe at the expense of a destroyed Nigeria.

He went further to describe Nigeria's response to this intervention, which is flooding the United States of America with money and denying the existence of a genocide. As a result, many people in Washington, previously passionate about speaking up against the genocide, have since been dampened and discouraged from doing so. All but a select few have refused to be swayed.

This, Rev. Thompson said, goes to prove a bitter truth: whatever problem money cannot solve will be solved with more money.

To truly solve Nigeria's problems, we must first understand that the greatest problem in the equation is Nigerians themselves. But in the same vein, we also hold the solution in our hands.

Read Next: Part 2

P.S. In case you want to, feel free to reach out to me. If you need a guide on how to discover your purpose, drop me a message here or email me at sopiensofgod@gmail.com, and we’ll arrange a call.

Will you like to write a book – share your story, ideas or knowledge in a book, now it’s easier than ever. In 3 weeks, your book will be written and published. Send a message to: bookminds247@gmail.com. 

Get books here: Click here

Get books on Amazon: Amazon Books

Check out our website: Wordflixx Publishers

If you want customized songs for you or your loved ones' birthday, wedding, or any ceremony, Iseay music got you. Contact @ sopiensofgod@gmail.com

You can also check out these posts: 

1. 10 Strategic Solutions for Africa’s Development

2. The Danger of Silence —African Youth Must Rise!

3. Democracy Is A Scam In Africa; Here's What Works (L1)

4. A Wakeup Call to All Africans and People of African Descent

5. Move Africa!