Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, senior member of the Northern Elders Forum, has sounded the alarm over worsening insecurity in northern Nigeria, calling on the federal government to take urgent and effective action. Speaking in an interview on Arise Television on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, he highlighted the growing impact of killings, kidnappings, and criminal activity on communities.
Baba-Ahmed described the current security situation as a continuation of long-standing challenges in the region, noting that recent spikes in violence have made life increasingly difficult. “We are, we’ve been under siege in the north for a very long time,” he said. “Other parts of the country have their own peculiar crimes, but in the north, we’ve been under this. This escalation is even more alarming.”
He criticised the federal government’s approach, describing measures as reactive rather than strategic. “We have been reduced to saying to the president and our governors, please don’t do something different because it doesn’t appear as if we’re winning this war. We’re retreating. We’re panicking. All we see are knee-jerk reactions,” he explained. Baba-Ahmed also pointed out that communities have increasingly resorted to negotiating with bandits just to get temporary relief, an approach that remains largely ineffective.
The elder expressed concern over the broader societal impact of insecurity, questioning whether closures of schools or other interventions are sufficient. “Are you going to close down markets where bandits and killers and Muslims and Christians mix? Are you going to shut down highways? Are you going to shut down everything until you win the war?” he asked, stressing the urgent need for a coordinated and sustainable security strategy.
Dr. Baba-Ahmed concluded by urging the government to recognise the scale of the threat and to act decisively.
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