Former Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Solomon Dalung, has said the rate at which crimes are being perpetuated in the country without prosecution, shows crime has been informally legalized under the current government.
Dalung who was a strong political allie of President Muhammadu Buhari and made the statement on Sunday in an interview with the Nigerian Tribune.
Dalung said crime has been commercialized by powerful individuals in the country whom he described as 'conflict entrepreneurs'. He said these individuals are not doing enough to end insecurity because they are benefitting from the terrible situation.
He said, "I think there is one thing Nigerians have not understood about the ongoing security situation: there is an emergence of conflict entrepreneurs, those benefiting from the security situation.
"You have them within the system, those who benefit from the security budget and are unwilling to allow the situation to end. We have merchants of weapons, who are making heavy businesses out of the pathetic security situation. You have unemployed youths who are now recruited either as actors or promoters. This is just like an entrepreneur; it is an economy to these people.
"The political economy of the crisis itself is challenge number one and also the inability of the state to discharge its primary responsibility of protecting lives and properties has compounded the entire situation.
"We kept receiving assurances from the government and security agencies about putting in their best. Their best has not been good enough, because the situation keeps degenerating on a daily basis with emerging new trends in criminalities.
"I think the relationship between the state that is responsible, the emerging political economy of conflict entrepreneurs and the recruitment of the unemployed youthful populations and their manipulation and engagement in sustaining this crisis is the serious situation we are dealing with," he added.
Dalung has previously expressed regrets that the government under which he once served, has failed the Nigerian people.
Dalung who made the statement in an interview with BBC Hausa, said despite having worked with the Buhari government during his first term in office, and is still a card carrying member of the APC, he is not afraid to speak truth to power.
He said the current state of the nation is frightening as Nigerians are forced to seek alternative means of survival in their own country as government doesn't exist.
He said, “In the north, if you are a Muslim and you want to travel, you must pray, fast for days before embarking on the journey. If you are Christian and you want to travel, you must fast and pray for days before you travel.
“Even if the journey is successful, you will still go to the hospital because of high blood pressure arising from fear during the journey. We have never experienced this kind of situation. Imagine in the north, before you go to your farm, you will have to pay gunmen to allow you farm. If you want to harvest your farm produced, you will still have to pay gunmen before they allow you to harvest.
“So how can there be farming in the North? We have never experienced this kind of situation. It is our APC government, but this government has not address the needs of Nigerians. It is our government, but if we are not doing the correct thing, it is our responsibility to speak out because we spoke against some people in the past and we need to speak to ourselves too.
“You know me and everybody in Nigeria knows me. Whether I am still a minister, even if I am the president, whatever I see that is not right, I must speak out, not because of myself, but in the interest of the generality of the people,” he said.