Ex-NHIA Boss Prof. Yusuf Warns Insecurity Will Persist Without Tackling Poverty, Hunger, Illiteracy

Former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Prof. Usman Yusuf, has warned that insecurity in Nigeria will continue unless government addresses poverty, hunger, illiteracy, youth unemployment and bad governance alongside security operations.

Yusuf, who spoke during an interview on Arise TV monitored on Monday, described the massacre of worshippers at Unguwan Mantau in Katsina State as “horrific” and a clear sign of leadership failure.

“About 100 terrorists rode into this village on motorcycles and gunned down worshippers. The primary responsibility of any government is to protect life and property. If they cannot do that, then that government has no need to be a government,” he said.

He argued that banditry cannot be defeated on the battlefield alone, stressing that soldiers can only provide an enabling environment for peace. According to him, traditional rulers, clerics, elders and grassroots leaders must be involved in reconciliation and prevention efforts.

The former NHIA boss listed poverty, hunger, out-of-school children, drugs, illiteracy, corruption and bad governance as the major “fuels” of insecurity. “You can buy drones and planes, but if you don’t tackle these fuels you will not make the country safe,” he warned.

Yusuf also linked insecurity to worsening malnutrition in the North. He cited aid group figures showing that Kebbi State admits about 400 severely malnourished children daily into feeding centres, while 652 children reportedly died from severe malnutrition in Katsina State in the first half of 2025.

He urged President Bola Tinubu to provide stronger leadership by convening security chiefs, governors and community leaders to adopt locally driven solutions. He also called for a post-mortem on past strategies and warned against economic policies that deepen hunger.

“There is no military and there is no police force that can quell the anger of a hungry people. Hunger has a national security implication that our government is not realizing,” he said.