Nigeria is in the middle of a crisis where citizens are kidnapped and killed, schools are attacked, and entire communities live under constant fear. Yet the conversation from some government and policy circles remains fixated on dialogue with the very criminals responsible. Recently, the Director General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies stated that negotiating with bandits “is acceptable if it ensures safety.” But that position raises a fundamental question: why are we even at a point where talking to killers is being presented as a legitimate security strategy?
This is not a theoretical debate. It is playing out against the backdrop of relentless killings, kidnappings, and mass displacement across northwestern and north-central Nigeria. Some insiders have even claimed that the Federal Government knows the identities and locations of these terrorists, yet continues to engage them in dialogue instead of dismantling their networks.
Negotiations might appear reasonable on the surface if the only measure of success is temporary calm. But security experts have repeatedly warned that peace deals are worthless if bandits retain their weapons and continue terrorizing communities. Without genuine disarmament, dialogue does not bring peace. It legitimizes violence and rewards criminal behavior.
For years, Nigerians have watched insecurity persist while those in power speak in contradictions. One day, negotiations can “ensure safety.” The next, the public is urged to trust military operations. Yet kidnappings, bandit attacks, and widespread fear continue to define daily life across many states. Some analysts have gone further, suggesting the government is deliberately failing to resolve the crisis, a suspicion that grows harder to dismiss with each passing year.
The ordinary Nigerian is left with a bitter reality. There is no serious plan, no decisive action, and no credible end in sight. Negotiating with those who kill your people, without demanding disarmament or accountability, is not peacemaking. It is surrender dressed in policy language. Until the government chooses action over endless discussion, insecurity will remain one of Nigeria’s most stubborn and devastating failures.
