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By Ayo Kehinde
Nigeria is on the brink of a full-blown national crisis, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has warned, declaring that the country’s spiraling insecurity has effectively reached a “state of war” and calling for an immediate shift to war-like measures to prevent further national collapse.
The stark warning was contained in a statement issued after the 38th meeting of the ACF Board of Directors held in Abuja, where northern leaders expressed grave concern over what they described as a rapidly deteriorating security situation that threatens the unity and survival of Nigeria.
The meeting, chaired by Bashir Dalhatu, was attended by prominent personalities, 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 the elder statesman, Mahmud Ahmed.
In language that underlines growing frustration among northern stakeholders, the forum said Nigeria’s security challenges, ranging from insurgency in the north-east to banditry, kidnappings and communal violence in the north-west and north-central, have morphed into an existential threat.
“Nigeria’s security crisis has moved far beyond a simple governance challenge… to a state of all-out war that now threatens the survival of Nigeria as we know it,” the statement read.
The ACF has criticized what it suggests is a slow and fragmented national response, insisting that the scale and persistence of the violence can no longer be addressed through conventional policy measures. He instead called on the federal government to elevate insecurity to the country’s top national emergency.
The human toll, the forum noted, was devastating. In states such as Borno, Plateau, Niger and Kwara, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed or displaced, while entire communities have been uprooted and livelihoods destroyed.
He also highlighted heavy casualties among Nigeria’s armed forces, including senior officers, warning that the protracted conflict is straining the nation’s security architecture and eroding public trust.
“This is not even counting the large numbers of our armed forces personnel… Families have been torn apart, livelihoods destroyed and entire generations traumatized,” the statement added.
Beyond the humanitarian crisis, the ACF has drawn a direct link between insecurity and Nigeria’s worsening economic conditions, particularly in the agricultural sector. He warned that persistent attacks on farming communities have disrupted food production and supply chains, fueling inflation and worsening rural poverty.
“Insecurity is now directly undermining Nigeria’s economy… The longer the crisis persists, the more expensive it becomes to resolve,” the forum said.
In a key recommendation, the ACF called for a “wartime approach” to national security, urging the government to temporarily reduce non-essential spending and redirect resources toward security operations, intelligence gathering, and stabilization efforts.
“Extraordinary threats require extraordinary measures,” he stresses, arguing that prioritizing security is not a deviation from development but its necessary foundation.
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