Yemi Obafemi
Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has called for a national declaration of war against insecurity, warning that Nigeria risks total collapse if urgent action is not taken.
Obi made the call on Monday in a statement on his official X handle while reacting to the wave of killings and abductions in Borno, Sokoto, Katsina and Edo states over the weekend, which claimed more than 100 lives.
He described the spate of attacks, including the killing of eight NSCDC officers, the abduction of a Chinese national in Edo, the kidnapping of passengers on the Benin–Iyere–Oluku road, and the slaughter of five soldiers and 58 civilians in Borno, as evidence that Nigeria is in the grip of a “full-blown security emergency.”
“When over 100 Nigerians are killed in a single weekend, our casualty figures rival those of countries officially at war. This is no longer business as usual. It is time to declare a national war on insecurity to mobilise every resource, every agency, every state, and to suspend all distractions while we begin the process of reclaiming our nation from lawlessness,” Obi stated.
He commiserated with the families of the slain security personnel and civilians, urging that their killers be swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.
The former Anambra State governor faulted government officials’ frequent foreign trips, insisting that leadership must be demonstrated at home to personally coordinate the fight against insecurity.
He wrote:”Even foreign trips by government officials should be put on hold until the situation is brought under control. True leadership must be seen at home, personally coordinating the war against insecurity. Junketing around the world under the pretence of wooing investors, while the country bleeds, is to live in denial. Investors will not come into a war zone.
“No nation can prosper while its citizens live under siege. History shows that insecurity is the quickest path to national collapse, Somalia and Libya stand as painful warnings.
We must act now, with urgency and courage, to prevent a total descent into anarchy and rebuild Nigeria into a safe, secure, and productive nation for all.”
