“Don’t depend on Government”: Retd Naval Commodore Olawunmi says FG “compromised’ as Nigerians are killed

“Take your lives back, defend yourself”

A retired Commodore has accused the Federal Government of complicity in Nigeria’s bloodletting and told citizens to stop waiting to be rescued.

Retired Commodore (Prof) Kunle Olawunmi, a Professor of Global Counter-Terrorism, said Nigeria’s insecurity is being enabled from above — and by hostile foreign actors.

—“The Government Has Been Compromised”—

Speaking at the maiden edition of Boiling Point Extra, a public policy discourse on school kidnapping and child safety, Olawunmi delivered a blistering verdict.

“The government is involved in what is going on. They have been compromised,” he declared.

He went further: “The foreign partners also, the hostile intelligence services, are involved.”

According to Olawunmi, Nigerians are fixated on “skirmishes, the tactical situations” while missing the bigger picture.

“The big picture is that the foreign governments are involved in what is going on, and our government today has been compromised to look the other way and allow people to be killed,” he said.

—“Don’t Blame the Soldiers”—

Olawunmi defended the Nigerian military, saying the problem is political, not professional.

“*I’ve been in the military… this is not the same military that we used to have,” he said.

Citing peacekeeping missions in Liberia and Sierra Leone, he argued Nigerian troops remain elite when given orders.

“If you ask them to enter the forests today, they will flush out those people,” he said.

“Nobody should call them pepper soup soldiers. They are soldiers and they obey orders. If you ask them to sit, they will sit. If you ask them to kill, they kill.”

—“Take Your Lives Back”—

His most direct message was to citizens: stop relying on the state for safety.

“My advice to our followers and the people listening is that we have to take our lives back. Don’t depend on this government. They’re not going to rescue you. Try to defend yourself,” Olawunmi said.

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He linked the crisis to “long-standing governance failures and historical developments,” insisting insecurity cannot be understood without examining broader politics.

—Boiling Point Extra—

The discourse, hosted by veteran broadcaster Ayo Arowojolu, was transmitted via Zoom and broadcast live across Lagos, Ogun and Delta States.

It was held in collaboration with the National Association of Seadogs, NAS, and featured Col. Lawrence Owosheni (retd), Mrs Rachael Awosusi (retd), Mr Yinka Quadri and Veteran Journalist, Mr Yemi Akuntunde.

From a former naval chief, it’s an extraordinary accusation: that government is looking away while citizens die, and that survival now depends on self-defence, not the state.