A public and political affairs analyst, Elvis Elimihele has offered a controversial perspective on Nigeria’s worsening security crisis, arguing that many of the young men involved in kidnappings and rural banditry are themselves victims of deeper structural failures.
Speaking during an interview on Voice of the People TV, Elimihele urged the Nigerian public and policymakers to rethink their understanding of the players driving insecurity across the country.
According to him, the widespread tendency to label every armed group as “terrorists” oversimplifies the crisis and prevents the nation from confronting the real causes. “I keep telling people that those radical boys in the bush that come out with AK-47 to pick Nigerians into the bush are not the terrorists. Those boys are just victims of circumstances,” he said, insisting that many of the armed youths have been pushed into crime by desperation, poverty, and years of systemic neglect.
Elimihele explained that while their actions are criminal and must be addressed firmly, Nigeria must also interrogate the forces that push thousands of young people into violent survivalism. He argued that the masterminds of organized terror networks rarely appear on the frontlines, leaving impoverished and poorly educated youths to bear the brunt of the nation’s anger. View, More,
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