By RismadarVoice Media
December 28, 2025
Former presidential candidate, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has described the recent United States airstrikes on Islamic State (IS) enclaves in Nigeria as fresh evidence of deep-seated security failures under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.
Olawepo-Hashim said the reported US military action, allegedly carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities against IS-linked elements operating in parts of the North-West, underscored growing international concern over Nigeria’s deteriorating security situation.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Ilorin, the former presidential hopeful said Nigeria’s reliance on foreign military intervention amounted to a “damning indictment” of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, arguing that the country’s internal security architecture had remained weak, ineffective.
According to him, global powers could not afford to ignore the emergence of an IS foothold in Nigeria, which he described as “too large, too strategic, too important to be allowed to fail.”
Olawepo-Hashim disclosed that since 2021, particularly in the past year, his team had repeatedly warned that security modelling in the North-West pointed to a dangerous trajectory, including the possible emergence of an IS-aligned enclave if urgent action was not taken.
He attributed the worsening insecurity to deepening poverty, prolonged governance failures, weakened state institutions, which he said had emboldened extremist groups while shrinking the space for moderate political, secular voices.
“More worrying is the elevation of individuals who enable or rationalise extremism into positions of political influence, creating conditions under which terror groups can aspire to territorial control,” he said.
The former presidential candidate also referenced the recent explosion in Offa, Kwara State, which triggered panic, destruction of property, noting that such incidents further exposed the fragility of Nigeria’s internal security and intelligence coordination.
While acknowledging that foreign airstrikes could temporarily degrade terrorist capabilities, Olawepo-Hashim stressed that sustainable peace could only be achieved through comprehensive internal reforms.
He warned that repeated external interventions, if not properly managed, could raise serious sovereignty, accountability concerns, adding that any security cooperation with foreign partners must be guided by transparency, clear frameworks, strict oversight.
“The situation in the North-West is dire. Without urgent internal reforms, improved governance, decisive political leadership, external military interventions will not deliver lasting results,” he said.
Olawepo-Hashim further questioned the readiness of the APC-led government to implement the far-reaching reforms needed to stabilize the country, arguing that unresolved political compromises dating back to the 2015 power struggle had weakened the government’s resolve to confront extremist elements.
He warned that Nigeria could no longer afford denial or half-measures in the face of what he described as an existential threat, calling for courageous leadership to halt the nation’s slide into deeper insecurity.
