Ezekwesili Says Nigeria’s Security Breakdown Is Rooted in Deep Institutional Decay

A former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, says Nigeria’s worsening security crisis and repeated mass abductions of schoolchildren are the direct outcome of years of unchecked corruption that has hollowed out key state institutions.

In a series of posts on Monday, the Bring Back Our Girls co-convener argued that corruption has eaten so deeply into the country’s foundations that institutions such as the military and judiciary can no longer function as they were designed to. She described them as “compromised and incapable,” adding that Nigeria is now living with the consequences of long-ignored governance failures.

She pointed to data from UNICEF and Save the Children showing the scale of the crisis: more than 1,680 students were abducted in 70 attacks between 2014 and 2022, while another 816 students were taken in 22 attacks between 2023 and November 2025.

A Decade After Chibok, Ezekwesili Says the Pattern Shows State Failure

Reflecting on over ten years of advocacy after the Chibok girls’ abduction in 2014, Ezekwesili said the recurring kidnappings can no longer be seen as isolated tragedies. Instead, they signal a deeper breakdown in the state’s ability, or willingness, to protect children.

She stressed that the latest wave of abductions shows that governments at all levels have failed in their most basic duty of safeguarding citizens. According to her, Nigeria is now dealing with “deliberate negligence,” not a lack of understanding or experience.

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Ezekwesili argued that any government that continues to operate without securing schools or rescuing abducted students “accepts that it governs without legitimacy.”

“Enough said,” she wrote.