The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has declared that Nigeria’s worsening security situation has escalated to what it described as a “state of war,” urging the Federal Government to take urgent and extraordinary measures to address the crisis.The position was contained in a communiqué issued after the forum’s 38th Board of Trustees meeting held in Abuja, chaired by its Board Chairman, Bashir Dalhatu.
The meeting brought together prominent northern leaders, including Mahmud Yayale Ahmed, Mohammed D. Abubakar, Tukur Yusufu Buratai, and Tijjani Muhammad-Bande. In the communiqué, the forum stated that Nigeria’s security challenges—ranging from insurgency and banditry to communal clashes—have evolved into a broader and more dangerous crisis threatening national stability.
“The scale, persistence and human cost of violence demand a fundamental shift in national priorities,” the ACF said, stressing that the situation must now be treated as an overriding national emergency. The group lamented that hundreds of thousands of Nigerians have been killed or displaced across several states, including Borno, Plateau, Niger, and Kwara, noting that members of the armed forces are also among the casualties.It added that the humanitarian impact has left families shattered, livelihoods destroyed, and communities deeply traumatised.
According to the forum, insecurity is also severely affecting the nation’s economy, particularly agriculture in northern Nigeria, where farming activities and supply chains have been disrupted, worsening inflation and rural hardship.“Redirecting national resources toward security is not a diversion from economic development; it is a prerequisite for it,” the communiqué stated. The ACF called on the Federal Government to adopt what it described as a “war-time approach,” including the temporary suspension or scaling down of non-essential projects to concentrate resources on addressing insecurity.
“Extraordinary threats require extraordinary measures,” the forum said, adding that national efforts, funding, and leadership attention must be focused on ending the crisis without delay. Warning that Nigeria is at a critical juncture, the group stressed that continued escalation of violence poses a threat not only to lives but also to the country’s future.
“Nigeria stands at a critical crossroads. The escalating security crisis threatens not just lives, but the very stability and future of the nation,” the communiqué added. The forum concluded that until Nigerians can live, work, and travel without fear, meaningful national progress will remain unattainable, urging decisive and comprehensive action to restore security across the country.
