The 2023 Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has strongly criticised President Bola Tinubu's nationwide security emergency declaration, arguing that the administration has "missed the point" by focusing on massive recruitment instead of tackling systemic corruption.
In an interview on Arise News on Thursday, November 27, 2025, Baba-Ahmed asserted that Nigeria’s security crisis is not a problem of inadequate personnel but a failure to address deep-seated issues within the security architecture.
Corruption, Not Numbers, Is the Problem
Baba-Ahmed specifically dismissed the President’s directive to rapidly recruit tens of thousands of new personnel into the Armed Forces and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
President Tinubu had authorised the police to recruit an additional 20,000 officers, bringing the total new intake to 50,000, as part of the emergency measures.
"It is not about numbers," Baba-Ahmed stated. "It is about reducing corruption in the war against insecurity itself."
He went on to question the allocation of the national security budget:
"The entire amount budgeted for security in this current budget, how much of that is actually going into the war, and how much is going into the 2027 elections? How much is going into private pockets? That is the problem."
Police Can End Insecurity in Two Months
The former vice-presidential candidate further argued that if the Federal Government were to eliminate corruption and political interference, the Nigerian Police Force alone could swiftly resolve the crises of banditry and terrorism.
"Once you remove that, Nigeria will become secure... Remove the Nigerian armed forces. The Nigerian police alone can eliminate insecurity and banditry within two months. Remove that corruption, remove political interest, give them all the support they want. They will do it,” he insisted.
Rejection of School Boarding Advisory
Baba-Ahmed also faulted another key part of the President’s declaration: the advisory urging state governments to reconsider establishing boarding schools in remote or poorly secured areas following the recent surge in mass abductions of students.
He rejected the directive as dangerous, warning that conceding educational territory to criminals would embolden them and hinder national development.
Background: Tinubu’s Security Emergency
Baba-Ahmed’s comments come a day after President Tinubu declared a security emergency in response to escalating violence and mass kidnappings across the country, particularly in states like Niger and Kebbi.
- The key measures announced by the President included:
- Massive recruitment into the police and military.
- Authorising the use of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camps as temporary police training depots.
- Directing the Department of State Services (DSS) to deploy trained forest guards to flush out bandits and terrorists.
- A call on the National Assembly to review laws to allow for the creation of State Police.
Baba-Ahmed's criticism frames the problem as an issue of accountability and resource management, placing the debate squarely on the fundamental strategy for restoring peace in Nigeria.