Terrorists War Declaration: Peter Obi’s Uncompromising Pledge If Elected
By: Abudu Olalekan
Peter Obi isn’t mincing words. The Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate just vowed to do what many Nigerians are desperate for—declare an outright war on terrorists. No negotiations. No ambiguity.
He said it plain and clear in an Arise TV interview Monday. The context? A grim discussion on Nigeria’s spiraling insecurity, fresh off the devastating attack in Borno that killed Brigadier-General Oseni Braimah and his men. The tragedy seemed to crystallize his resolve.
“No nation will lose about 10 of its senior officers without a response,” Obi stated. His position was absolute. “I will declare war on the terrorists. There is nothing like negotiation.”
For Obi, this isn’t just talk. He’s pointing back to his time as Anambra Governor as proof that a decisive, no-nonsense approach works. He literally walked into President Obasanjo’s office and demanded the authority to handle the state’s security crisis his way. “I had to come here and tell President Obasanjo, this is what I want to do and you must allow me to do it,” he recalled.
And he says the results speak for themselves—figures like former army commander Jarrell Enenche and late security officials John Haruna and Commissioner Bello can attest. He even cited a former Inspector-General of Police, Abubakar, who claimed Anambra had zero major robberies or kidnappings for five straight years under this model.
But here’s where it gets nuanced. Obi insists military force alone isn’t a silver bullet. The insecurity we see today? He calls it the “cumulative effect of leadership failure over the years.” It’s about eroded governance, abandoned youth, collapsed values—the whole system.
So his plan is two-pronged: hit hard and immediate with security, while simultaneously rebuilding the nation’s institutions for the long haul. “You start building while you are pushing. You bring governance, justice, people are punished if they do the wrong thing,” he explained.
When the interviewer pointed out he’d need the presidency to execute this, Obi didn’t argue. He just detailed the allies he’d call on—names like el-Rufai and Kwankwaso—and stressed his commitment to being physically present in the hardest-hit regions. “I intend to be in the north,” he stated.
His closing promise was about leadership style. No remote control governance. “I am not going to lead from the back. People will see, they will feel it.”
One thing’s clear: Obi’s framing the 2027 conversation around a stark, action-first promise. Whether you agree with him or not, he’s drawing a very clear line in the sand.
