By Otunba Abiodun Olufowobi
Every patriotic Nigerian should rejoice at the successful outcome of the hostage crisis involving the schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area, Oyo State.
The kinetic rescue operation was successfully executed and, according to reports, most of the kidnappers were neutralised. More importantly, the victims were rescued from a most traumatic ordeal.
Operations of this nature are far more complex than many people imagine. They require painstaking intelligence gathering, surveillance, planning, coordination and impeccable timing.
When dozens of innocent lives—particularly those of children—are involved, haste can be fatal. Such missions demand that the entire criminal network be brought within operational reach before action is taken, ensuring that the innocent are rescued while the guilty are decisively dealt with.
Throughout the ordeal, some opposition voices clamoured for immediate action, equating speed with competence. Fortunately, the rescue team ignored the noise and remained faithful to professional military judgment.
They took the time required to execute the operation successfully. Had anything gone wrong, the same critics would undoubtedly have transformed overnight into self-appointed military strategists, eager to declare President Bola Ahmed Tinubu an incompetent Commander-in-Chief.
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I also observed calls for Sunday Igboho to be drafted into the operation. To me, that was a recipe for disaster. Security operations of this magnitude are not vigilante expeditions.
They require specialised military intelligence, tactical planning, disciplined command structures and professional combat execution. However courageous any individual may be, bravery alone is no substitute for military training.
There is an even more fundamental question. Which responsible society outsources its security architecture to private militias? If a militia is empowered to conduct independent military operations today, what becomes of it tomorrow?
Do we institutionalise it as a parallel security force alongside the Nigeria Police, the Armed Forces, Amotekun or any future State Police? A state cannot afford competing centres of armed authority. Power without lawful control inevitably becomes a danger to society.
Indeed, if Sunday Igboho or any of his followers genuinely desire to contribute to public security, there are already legitimate institutions through which such service can be rendered. Existing security organisations, including Amotekun, provide lawful platforms within established command structures. Anything outside that framework risks creating unintended consequences that may ultimately prove more dangerous than the threats they seek to confront.
This successful operation offers important lessons for Nigerians. First, we must have greater confidence in our security forces. Military operations are rarely spectacles of instant gratification. Planning may appear slow, but when intelligence, logistics and timing finally align, success is often the reward.
Secondly, security operations cannot be conducted on the basis of public sentiment or social media pressure. They are products of years of professional education, rigorous training and operational experience. Nigerians should therefore afford our security agencies the benefit of the doubt instead of immediately converting themselves into instant security experts, dispensing advice that ranges from the sensible to the utterly ridiculous.
I congratulate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the leadership of our armed forces, and the brave men and women of Nigeria’s overt and covert security agencies whose professionalism brought this painful episode to a successful conclusion. I also congratulate the rescued victims and their families, whose faith and endurance have finally been rewarded.
May Nigeria continue to record victories over those who threaten the peace of our people. May the scourge of kidnapping be permanently defeated in our land. May no Nigerian ever again endure such a harrowing ordeal.
