Chinda Urges Lawmakers to Put Politics Aside in Curbing Insecurity

By Oluwakemi Kindness

Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, has urged federal lawmakers to rise above political, religious, and personal divides to confront Nigeria’s worsening security situation with a unified national strategy.

Speaking during Tuesday’s special plenary on national security, Chinda said the federal government must demonstrate greater policy consistency, especially in identifying and sanctioning the financiers of terrorism, insurgency, and banditry.

“If we cannot protect the lives and property of Nigerians as enshrined in our Constitution, are we worthy to continue to sit as a parliament?” he asked.

Chinda criticised what he described as a “fire brigade approach,” where government responds to attacks only after they occur.

He advocated proactive measures including deploying technology to secure schools, establishing institutionalised early-warning systems, and strengthening community and state policing frameworks.

The Minority Leader stressed that Nigeria’s borders remain poorly secured, allowing criminal elements and weapons to flow in freely. He proposed establishing a technologically enabled national border force to prevent cross-border movement of armed groups.

Chinda also highlighted the human dimension of insecurity, noting that many perpetrators live within communities where residents are often too afraid to report them.

He called for aggressive weapons mop-up operations, discouraging ransom payments, and expanding grassroots peace-building using traditional rulers and community leadership structures.

Chinda further pushed for stronger parliamentary oversight, suggesting that security chiefs regularly brief lawmakers behind closed doors to provide accurate data, strategies, and operational needs.

“We must remove tribe, religion, selfishness, pride, and anything that will prevent us from succeeding. We have the ability to solve this problem. But we must see ourselves as one,” he said.

He added that addressing insecurity is a collective responsibility, with parliament playing a central role through legislation, oversight, and community engagement.