The Pan-Yoruba socio-political group Afenifere has called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently seek both local and international assistance to confront Nigeria’s escalating security crisis, warning that the nation’s sovereignty is increasingly under threat.
In a communiqué issued by its Leader, Oba Oladipo Olaitan, and National Publicity Secretary, Prince Justice Faloye, the organisation expressed deep alarm over what it described as a deteriorating security environment and a federal government appearing unable to stem widespread violence.
Afenifere argued that persistent killings across the country, particularly in the Middle Belt, reflect the failures of Nigeria’s current governance structure, which it says has denied various ethnic nationalities meaningful self-determination.
The group criticised the continuation of a unitary system inherited from military rule, maintaining that it fuels marginalisation and leaves vulnerable communities exposed to attacks.
It condemned instances where government officials have been forced into negotiations with armed groups, portraying such moments as evidence of state weakness. The situation, it said, has drawn global attention and raised concerns abroad about the government’s role in failing to curb what it described as genocidal violence.
Afenifere urged the federal government to accept every form of genuine assistance capable of safeguarding citizens, insisting that the protection of lives and property remains the most basic responsibility of any administration.
It denounced the proliferation of internally displaced persons camps in the Middle Belt, arguing that indigenous populations have been uprooted while violent actors occupy their homes.
The group also referenced former U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent offer to help stop ethnic and religious killings, calling the gesture “redemptive” and linking Nigeria’s current political landscape to past foreign influence.
It renewed its longstanding demand for restructuring, asserting that no enduring solution is possible without devolving powers to states, granting them greater autonomy, and enabling local policing structures capable of addressing threats at the community level.
Afenifere insisted that genuine federalism remains essential to ending insecurity and restoring confidence in the Nigerian nation-state.
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