A Former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Professor Usman Yusuf, has argued that the Nigerian Government must prioritize dialogue in addressing insecurity, stressing that even powerful nations like the United States and Israel have had to engage in talks with adversaries.
He stated that those fueling violence are still Nigerians, not outsiders, and emphasized that the military is not designed to wage war against its own people. According to him, the only sustainable path forward is to de-escalate tensions, halt the bloodshed, and collectively chart a course toward peace.
He said in an interview with Arise TV, “The United States has been fighting the Taliban for God knows how long; they had to sit down. Israel, as we speak, is dropping bombs on Gaza but is talking to Hamas. You must sit down and fight. Especially, we are all Nigerians. All these Fulanis are not from the sky. The thieves they are fighting are not from the sky. The Hausas are not. We are Nigerians. The military—that’s not what they are trained for. The last thing a soldier wants to do is to kill his own. So we must find a way to sit down, de-escalate this, stop the bloodshed, and find a way—chart a way to peace.”
