Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, a prominent federal lawmaker, has strongly criticized his colleagues in the National Assembly. He condemned their approach to addressing Nigeria’s persistent security crisis.

During Wednesday’s plenary session, Senator Abaribe accused his fellow lawmakers of frequently dwelling on past events. He argued that their focus should squarely be on resolving present challenges.

He observed that lawmakers from the ruling party often draw comparisons between the current state of insecurity (in 2025) and the situation in 2015, when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in power. Abaribe dismissed these comparisons as unnecessary, stressing that the two periods of insecurity are fundamentally different in scope and nature.

The senator also directed criticism towards President Bola Tinubu. He expressed dismay that the President, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, has yet to investigate a crucial claim. Kebbi State Governor had alleged that a “higher authority” ordered troops to vacate Maga village just before bandits abducted 25 schoolgirls.

Senator Abaribe highlighted what he termed a hypocrisy in national discourse. “We are being told everyday to be patriotic,” he stated. “We are told not to speak against… we are told ‘Oh, you shouldn’t talk about the past and focus on the present.’”

He continued, pointing out the irony in the National Assembly’s debates: “Yet, on this floor, rather than focus on what we are supposed to talk about, we go back to say ‘Oh, during 2015, the Chibok girls happened, and oh, we are now rescuing people. People were not rescued at that time.’”

Abaribe further elaborated on the distinct and escalating nature of current security threats. He reminded his colleagues that during the Chibok incident in 2014, “17 local governments in Katsina were not having pallies with Bandits. People in Kebbi were not leaving all the rural areas and coming to only the urban areas to stay. People in Niger were not being kidnapped.”

He questioned the motive behind the constant comparisons. “So why do we, at any time we need to talk about the present issues of today, go back to start to look for excuses for our failures of today?” he asked rhetorically.

Finally, Senator Abaribe issued a strong call to action to the current administration. “Let us do the right thing,” he urged. “We are not blaming this government for what they are finding itself, but it is the government in power, and they should do the right thing.”