NIGERIA IS AT WAR, YET THE NATION REFUSES TO ADMIT IT

For more than a decade, Nigeria has been trapped in a vicious cycle of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, insurgency, and violent criminality. From the deadly campaigns of Boko Haram and ISWAP in the North-East, to the ruthless bandit networks terrorising the North-West, to separatist violence and criminal gangs operating in other parts of the federation, the country has become a battlefield where innocent citizens pay the ultimate price.

The bitter truth is that Nigeria is at war.

This is not a conventional war fought with tanks across international borders. It is an asymmetric war against terrorists, kidnappers, insurgents, and criminal syndicates who have relentlessly challenged the authority of the Nigerian state for years. Yet, despite the magnitude of the threat, the national response often appears fragmented, reactive, and insufficient.

The statistics are frightening.

According to security reports, Nigeria recorded approximately 12,954 deaths from violent incidents in 2025 alone, an increase from the previous year. Between 2006 and 2025, more than 222,000 people reportedly lost their lives in violent incidents across the country. Rural banditry, insurgency, kidnapping, communal conflicts, and terrorist attacks remain major drivers of insecurity.

Kidnapping has evolved into a lucrative criminal industry. Reports indicate that between July 2024 and June 2025, no fewer than 4,722 Nigerians were abducted, while over ₦2.57 billion was paid as ransom. During the same period, kidnappers reportedly demanded more than ₦48 billion from victims and their families.

These figures expose a grim reality: criminality has become an enterprise, and terror has become a business model.

Every ransom paid strengthens criminal networks. Every successful abduction emboldens kidnappers. Every attack left unanswered sends a dangerous message that the state is losing its monopoly on force.

The consequences are devastating. Farmers abandon their farmlands. Communities are displaced. Businesses collapse. Schools are attacked. Children grow up knowing fear more than freedom. The nation's economy bleeds while citizens are forced to fund their own survival through vigilante groups, private security arrangements, and ransom payments.

The tragedy is not merely the persistence of insecurity; it is the normalization of insecurity.

Mass abductions that once shocked the nation now barely dominate the headlines. Entire communities are attacked, villages are razed, and innocent Nigerians are slaughtered, yet public outrage fades quickly before the next tragedy emerges.

A nation cannot continue on this path without grave consequences.

If Nigeria is serious about preserving its sovereignty and territorial integrity, security must become the unquestionable national priority. Political calculations, bureaucratic delays, and institutional complacency must give way to decisive action. The Armed Forces, intelligence agencies, police, and other security institutions must be fully empowered, equipped, and coordinated to dismantle terrorist and criminal networks wherever they operate within the federation.

This is not the time for half-measures.

This is not the time for cosmetic solutions.

This is not the time for political rhetoric.

Nigeria must confront the reality that thousands of its citizens have died, thousands more have been kidnapped, and millions continue to live under the shadow of fear. A nation under siege cannot afford the luxury of complacency.

History will not judge leaders by their speeches. History will judge them by whether they secured the lives and property of the people entrusted to their care.

Nigeria is at war. The question is whether the nation possesses the courage, determination, and political will to fight and win that war.

Ahmad M. Salihu 

Work with the Bauchi State Ministry of Education