As Nigeria reels from a surge of deadly attacks across several states, prominent voices, including Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, have raised alarm over what they describe as a worsening national crisis threatening lives and Nigeria’s global image.
Obi, in a strongly worded statement on Saturday, decried the wave of violence that has swept through Kano, Borno, Plateau, Kebbi, and Katsina states in the past 48 hours.
While calling for urgent, unified national action, Obi stated, “Even hitherto peaceful areas have turned into killing fields. We must tackle this insecurity now. It is destroying lives and demarketing our nation.”
The former Anambra governor listed chilling incidents that occurred within just a single day, including a suicide bombing in Kano that killed at least five people, the massacre of 12 wedding guests in Plateau, the death of 30 civilians in Kebbi during a bandit rampage, and a female suicide bomber who killed 24 in Borno. “And there are still many unreported cases,” he warned.
Obi said the international community is watching and expressed concern that the security breakdown, alongside endemic corruption, is damaging the country’s reputation.
“An administration that continuously allows insecurity and other vices to thrive is doing a grave disservice to the nation. Allowing these insecurities and corruption to continue is the real demarketing of the country.”
The recent attacks have reignited debate over the Tinubu administration’s handling of national security, as Nigerians call for more decisive action to stem the bloodshed and restore public confidence.
