Adebayo: More Military Divisions Won’t End Insecurity Without Manpower, Equipment

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, Adewole Adebayo, has criticised the Federal Government’s expansion of military formations, arguing that creating more divisions without adequate manpower, equipment and strategic capacity will not end insecurity.

Adebayo made the remarks while assessing the Tinubu administration’s security strategy ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

He acknowledged the expansion of the military but questioned whether the new formations had sufficient personnel and resources to operate effectively.

“I know that President Tinubu himself knows that creating more divisions is nonsensical if you don’t have the strength of the division,” Adebayo said.

He argued that the government should focus on rebuilding the operational capacity of existing formations before establishing additional ones.

“What I would do as Commander-in-Chief is to make sure that the Army gets its form back, the Navy gets its form back, and the Air Force gets its form back,” he said.

According to him, military formations must be properly staffed, equipped and assigned specific operational capabilities.

He suggested that specialised formations could be established to handle emerging threats, including unmanned aerial systems and other modern warfare requirements.

“If you are going to create additional divisions, it will be that the existing divisions are full strength and over-supplied with men, and you want to now create an additional division,” he said.

Adebayo also called for a stronger relationship between security forces and the communities they serve.

He proposed greater local participation in security structures, arguing that communities would have greater confidence in officers who understood their environment and culture.

“The relationship between these divisions and their host is very important,” he said.

He also accused the government of over-politicising insecurity and said the armed forces needed stronger leadership and better oversight.

According to him, three major problems must be addressed: “One, you are over-politicising security and insecurity. Two, the armed forces are not properly led, and you are not auditing their processes and actions. Three, the general environment in the country is tense, and the citizens are not on the side of the government.”

Adebayo promised that an SDP administration would restructure the security architecture, improve intelligence gathering and rebuild trust between security agencies and citizens.

He said government must also demonstrate commitment to citizens’ welfare because public support was essential to defeating terrorism, banditry and kidnapping.

“The easiest way to defeat insecurity is for the government to communicate to the people that they are on their side, and they will be on the side of the government,” he said.