Sam Amadi: Corruption Among Generals Fuelling Nigeria’s Insecurity
Nigeria’s security crisis cannot be resolved by simply adding more soldiers to the field, according to Sam Amadi, Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, who instead pointed to corruption within the military’s top ranks as a root cause.
Speaking on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’ on Friday, the former NERC Chairman argued that accountability, not army size, is what Nigeria’s security architecture is missing.
His comments come days after President Bola Tinubu approved plans to expand the Nigerian Army — a move Amadi believes misses the point entirely.
“Some of our generals and leaders must be held accountable. When the leadership is corrupt, it affects the entire nation,” he said.
For Amadi, the problem runs through the public sector as a whole. He linked corrupt leadership to falling institutional efficiency, weakened national commitment, and a steady erosion of public confidence — all of which, he said, leave the country less equipped to confront its security threats.
He also questioned how effectively Nigeria’s military resources are being deployed, noting that soldiers are now routinely pulled into peacekeeping duties and even road maintenance, at a time when criminal activity remains widespread nationwide.
“A military, of course, deployed for peacekeeping, for all kinds of things on the road, for even managing the roads, because our roads are now impassable. There are criminals everywhere,” he said.
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