The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has warned that Nigerians are now living in what it described as a “state of war,” as worsening insecurity continues to spread across the country.
The alarm was raised in a communiqué issued after the forum’s 38th Board of Trustees meeting held in Abuja on Wednesday, April 15.
The meeting, chaired by Bashir Dalhatu, was attended by prominent northern leaders, including former Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar, former Chief of Army Staff Tukur Buratai, former President of the United Nations General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, and Mahmud Ahmed.
In its communiqué, the forum said the scale and intensity of violence across the country have gone beyond isolated incidents, warning that ordinary Nigerians are now bearing the full weight of a prolonged security breakdown.
It said, “Nigeria’s security crisis has moved far beyond a routine governance challenge; it has since evolved from insurgency in the North-East, banditry and mass kidnappings across the North-West and North-Central, persistent inter-communal clashes, violent conflict between herders and farmers, to a state of all-out war that now threatens the continued existence of Nigeria as we know it.
The scale, persistence, and human cost of violence demand a fundamental shift in national priorities.”
The forum stressed that the situation must no longer be treated as one of several governance concerns, but as the country’s most urgent crisis.
It said, “The time has come for the government of Nigeria to treat this crisis not as one issue among many, but as the overriding national emergency.”
Highlighting the human impact, the ACF pointed to the widespread loss of lives and displacement affecting communities across multiple states.
It said, “Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians have been killed or displaced in Borno, Plateau, Niger, Kwara and many other places.”
The forum added that members of the armed forces have also suffered heavy casualties, leaving families and communities devastated.
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It said, “This is not even counting the large number of our armed forces personnel, including very senior military officers. Families have been shattered, livelihoods destroyed, and entire generations traumatized.”
Beyond the humanitarian toll, the forum warned that insecurity is crippling economic activity, particularly in northern Nigeria, where farming and rural livelihoods have been severely disrupted.
It said, “Insecurity is now directly undermining Nigeria’s economy. Agriculture, especially in the North, is under severe threat.
Supply chains are disrupted, inflation is worsened, and rural economies are collapsing. The longer the crisis persists, the more expensive it becomes to fix.
Redirecting national resources toward security is not a diversion from economic development; it is a prerequisite for it.”
Calling for decisive action, the ACF urged the Federal Government to adopt emergency measures to confront the crisis.
It said, “War-time approach is required. Extraordinary threats require extraordinary measures.
Nigeria needs to temporarily suspend or scale down budgeting on non-essential projects and focus national energy, funding, and leadership attention on bringing the security crisis to an end without further delay.
This does not mean abandoning development but sequencing it correctly, secure the nation first, then build it.”
The forum warned that the continued escalation of violence poses a serious threat to both lives and the country’s future, urging immediate and comprehensive steps to restore security nationwide.