Commander Jerry Omodara’s sudden alarm over Senator Sunday Karimi’s comment would be more convincing if it came from someone who has delivered tangible results in the position he has held for nearly a decade.
For nine years as Special Adviser on Security, communities across Kogi West and beyond have buried loved ones lost to bandit attacks, kidnappings, and senseless violence. Yet instead of addressing these failures, Omodara prefers to manufacture “division” where none exists.
How Does Karimi’s Statement Cause Division?
What exactly did Senator Karimi say that warrants such exaggerated panic?
Did he insult anyone?
Did he encourage violence?
Did he call for conflict?
The answer is simple: No.
Karimi made a political comment—nothing more. Every senatorial district has the right to discuss its political aspirations, frustrations, and expectations. That is not division; that is democracy.
If Omodara believes that ordinary political expression can “set Kogi West on fire,” then perhaps the real issue is the fragile state of security under his watch.
A Security Adviser’s Job Is Security — Not Censorship
The people of Kogi are asking legitimate questions:
Why are farmers still being driven from their lands by bandits?
Why do kidnappers operate boldly on highways and within communities?
Why do families still pay ransoms to rescue loved ones?
Why is insecurity still a daily threat after nine years of promises?
These are the true threats to unity—not Karimi’s speech at Kabba Day.
A security adviser who has presided over ongoing insecurity should not be more concerned about political conversations than the rising casualty figures of innocent citizens.
Kogi West Will Not Be Silenced
Omodara’s warnings sound more like an attempt to stifle the political rights of Kogi West ahead of 2027 than a call for unity. But a district that has suffered violence, marginalization, and underdevelopment cannot be bullied into silence.
Unity does not grow from intimidation.
Unity grows from justice, equity, and safety.
Leadership should first protect lives before lecturing citizens on political correctness.
Political opinions do not kill people.
Bandits do.
And that is where Omodara’s focus should have been all these years.
– Joseph Clement is a political analyst, he writes from Abuja.
