Nigeria and the Broken Covenant of Sovereignty -By Patrick Iwelunmor

Sovereignty is not a constitutional clause, nor is it a ceremonial display of flags, anthems, and official independence rituals. It is a sacred covenant between a nation and its people, a moral contract to protect, preserve, and defend both life and dignity. When that covenant is broken, sovereignty ceases to be a lived reality and becomes a distant illusion. It becomes a beautiful relic draped over a wounded conscience. Nigeria, sixty-five years after independence, stands before the world as a nation still wearing the robes of sovereignty, yet the fabric is torn and the seams are pulling apart.

In the hierarchy of statehood, the defense of borders is the first test of a nation’s maturity. A country that cannot guard its boundaries has already surrendered its autonomy. Every untracked rifle that slips through the border, every illegal miner that drills into our earth without accountability, and every bandit that storms a village without consequence diminishes the claim to sovereignty. When Senator Adams Oshiomhole alleged on the floor of the Senate that foreign actors, particularly from China, have been arming and sponsoring bandits to plunder Nigeria’s mineral wealth, he was not engaging in theatrics. He spoke with the anguish of one who has watched the slow erosion of a nation’s dignity. Whether or not every detail of his claim can be proven, the moral truth remains unchanged: Nigeria has lost control of vast portions of its territory and natural resources, and with that loss comes the silent death of sovereignty.

The tragedy deepens when one recalls the haunting revelation of Commodore Kunle Olawunmi, a former naval intelligence officer, who stated in 2021 that the Federal Government knows the sponsors of Boko Haram but has refused to prosecute them. His words were not the complaints of a bitter retiree but the confession of a patriot who had served within the heart of the security establishment. If the custodians of terror and the custodians of the state dine at the same table, then the covenant of nationhood has already been violated.

Nowhere is this betrayal more morally offensive than in the policy of reintegrating so-called repentant Boko Haram members into the Nigerian Army. Conceived under the Buhari administration, this decision represents one of the most disastrous experiments in modern counterinsurgency. Forgiveness cannot replace justice, and repentance cannot substitute for accountability. No nation that has suffered from terror rewards its tormentors with uniform and rank. True deradicalization must be conducted in isolation from the armed forces and must never insult the victims by turning executioners into guardians. This policy has broken the morale of the military and has deepened the public perception that Nigeria’s fight against terror is not a war but a performance.

The collapse of sovereignty becomes even clearer when one considers the paradox of Bello Turji. Here is an uneducated bandit lord, barely literate, yet powerful enough to hold entire communities in Zamfara and Sokoto under siege. Turji’s reign of terror illustrates the complete breakdown of intelligence gathering and the paralysis of state power. His videos circulate freely on social media, his location is often known, and yet he moves with impunity. The Nigerian state, with all its resources, claims helplessness in locating him. How can the most populous Black nation on earth fail to neutralize a single warlord operating within its borders?

To appreciate the scale of Nigeria’s failure, one must recall the swift rescue operation by the United States Navy SEAL Team 6 in 2020. An American farmer, Philip Walton, was kidnapped from his farm near Massalata in Niger Republic and taken across the border into northern Nigeria. Within hours, U.S. forces tracked his abductors using advanced satellite and human intelligence. In a daring nighttime raid inside Nigerian territory, they killed several terrorists and rescued Walton unhurt. That single operation, executed without Nigerian assistance, demonstrated the difference between competence and confusion. It revealed a painful truth: a sovereign state is not defined by the land it occupies but by the control it exercises over that land. When another nation can enter your territory, conduct a successful military operation, and leave without your knowledge, your sovereignty is not secure; it is symbolic.

From Zamfara to Niger, from Plateau to Kaduna, the same refrain continues. Reports of illegal mining and unchecked violence reveal a government unable to control either its wealth or its weapons. Arrests of Chinese nationals involved in illegal mining are occasionally announced, but prosecutions are rare and convictions even rarer. This pattern suggests that in Nigeria, sovereignty is not defended by justice but negotiated through silence.

A truly sovereign state commands fear and inspires loyalty. Nigeria inspires sympathy instead. Its citizens must negotiate survival daily with bandits, terrorists, and corrupt officials. In the north, farmers pay taxes to insurgents to access their own farmlands. In the south, kidnappers have replaced local authorities. The government has retreated from the moral geography of its people’s lives. When citizens begin to seek protection from non-state actors, the spiritual core of sovereignty has shifted away from the government.

It is even more insulting to reflect on the declaration of a United States Congressman who lamented that Nigeria, despite receiving billions of dollars in military aid from the United States, has still failed to contain terrorism. Such an indictment from a foreign ally underscores the hollowness of our security institutions and the absence of accountability among those entrusted with the defense of the nation. Nigeria’s problem is not a lack of support; it is a lack of sincerity.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must now confront this moral collapse with decisive leadership. Under his administration, monthly allocations to states have almost tripled due to the removal of fuel subsidy and other fiscal reforms. This financial windfall gives governors no excuse for complacency. Security is not an act of charity from the federal government; it is a constitutional duty shared by all levels of authority. Governors must invest massively in securing their territories through community policing, intelligence systems, and local vigilance networks. It is a betrayal of leadership to wait endlessly for Abuja while their people bleed. The war against insecurity must be localized, coordinated, and technology-driven.

Tinubu, for his part, must demonstrate that the era of evasion is over. Sovereignty cannot be restored by rhetoric but by truth, courage, and institutional renewal. The financiers and collaborators of banditry must be exposed and punished, no matter their rank or connection. The military must be depoliticized and guided by professionalism. Recruitment must be merit-based, training must meet modern standards, and discipline must be absolute. The policy of reabsorbing insurgents into the army must end permanently.

Economic sovereignty must also be reclaimed. When foreign companies and nationals exploit Nigeria’s mineral wealth with impunity, the nation becomes a colony of its own weakness. The government must strengthen mining laws, enforce transparency, and ensure that investment serves the people rather than plundering them. Sovereignty without economic control is like a flag without wind. It exists, but it does not fly.

Ultimately, sovereignty is not measured by the number of guns or soldiers a nation possesses. It is measured by truth, justice, and the faith of the governed. It is the sacred covenant that binds the conscience of the state to the soul of its people. When that covenant is broken, a nation drifts, not for lack of power, but for lack of moral direction.

Nigeria’s story is not beyond redemption. The covenant can still be renewed if the nation finds the courage to confront its failures, punish betrayal, and defend the dignity of its citizens. Sovereignty, once broken, can be restored only by truth and sacrifice. The time for that restoration is now.