Insecurity Crisis: Northern Elders Urge Tinubu to Declare National Emergency

The Deputy Director General of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Salisu Mohammed, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immediately declare a national emergency on insecurity.

Mohammed made this strong appeal during an interview on Prime Time, a political affairs program aired on Arise Television, on Thursday. He emphasized that the alarming state of insecurity in Northern Nigeria has now spilled over into other regions of the country, making it a collective national problem that requires urgent and drastic intervention.

According to him, the worsening situation is no longer confined to the North but has metastasized into insecurity across Nigeria, threatening the peace, stability, and unity of the nation.

“The stance of the Northern Elders on the insecurity situation, not just in the North but in Nigeria as a whole, is that the President should officially declare a national emergency,” Mohammed stated.

He argued that the fight against insecurity should go beyond military action, stressing the need for a comprehensive societal approach that includes active citizen involvement alongside the efforts of the Armed Forces, the Police, and other security agencies.

Mohammed further highlighted that the current security architecture in Nigeria has been overwhelmed, and as such, traditional measures will no longer be sufficient. Declaring a national emergency, according to him, would allow for drastic handling of the crisis, ensuring that all sectors of society are mobilized towards restoring peace.

The Northern Elders Forum has consistently raised concerns about the persistent killings, kidnappings, and banditry in Northern Nigeria, noting that these security threats have increasingly undermined economic growth, disrupted education, and weakened social structures across the country.

For them, Tinubu’s administration must urgently prioritize national security as a matter of survival, rather than politics or regional focus.