By Our Reporter
The Northern Ethnic Nationality Forum (NENF), a coalition of socio-cultural and political leaders from the 19 northern states, has called on President Bola Tinubu to overhaul the nation’s security architecture by appointing new military leaders with a clear, result-driven mandate to end insecurity and banditry in the region.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja and signed by its Convener, Dominic Alanche, the group urged the president to immediately declare a state of emergency on security across Northern Nigeria.
According to NENF, the current service chiefs have failed to justify the enormous resources at their disposal and should be dismissed without delay.
“This is not a call for militarization but for a targeted, multi-agency emergency operation to flush out terrorists, dismantle their networks, and restore order,” the statement read.
The forum lamented that terrorism, banditry, and kidnapping have crippled the economic lifelines of the North, with farming, trade, and transportation bearing the harshest brunt of the crisis. The situation, it warned, has now degenerated into a “full-blown catastrophe.”
While applauding Tinubu’s economic reforms, including fuel subsidy removal and foreign exchange unification, NENF urged the government to match these policies with stronger interventions to ease the hardship facing Nigerians.
The group recommended a faster rollout of palliatives, large-scale investment in agriculture and manufacturing, and tangible improvements in power, transport, and infrastructure.
It further appealed to the president to demonstrate empathy and share in the sacrifices of citizens, cautioning that there is a growing disconnect between government and the people.
Assuring Tinubu of its political support, the forum said: “We supported the President’s ambition and are willing to stand by him again in 2027. However, our continued support will depend on effective, empathetic, and decisive governance.”
The NENF concluded by calling on the president to act urgently, stressing that delay would only worsen the insecurity and deepen the economic hardship in the country.
With additional report from the Vanguard