A Northern elder and public affairs commentator, Alhaji Dabo Sambo, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to, as a matter of urgency, confront the growing insecurity and banditry in the north.
He warned the president that it could significantly cut his chances of being re-elected in 2027 should he not do so.
Speaking to reporters, Sambo enumerated the nation’s most significant challenge as security, where lives and property are under perpetual threat.
He stressed that the security of the people was one of the fundamental responsibilities of the government and warned that underperformance on this score shall be politically expensive for Tinubu.
Sambo said, “If President Tinubu refuses to wipe out the security challenges, he will definitely not win the 2027 election,”; he warned, drawing parallels with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s defeat in 2015, which he also attributed to unchecked insecurity.”;
“The era of carton noodles and salt distribution during campaigns is over,”; he said.
“People want security and food. Without these, they will not vote,”; he said.
He pointed out that the North-West and North-East zones, which are responsible for cultivating more than 60% of food in Nigeria are ravaged by banditry and kidnappings.
He said terrorism led the farmers to flee their fields, and food output declined, leading to price hikes and famine.
“Food is scarce in Nigeria and people are hungry,”; Sambo stated, linking the growing food crisis to insecurity in the North-East and North-Wes regions that are responsible for over 60% of the country’s agricultural output.
He also referred to the broader economic impacts of insecurity, such as the depreciation of the Naira, high transport charges, and inflation, which are systematically draining the savings of common citizens.
Sambo averred that Tinubu must do something within six months to contain the security situation and attempt to resuscitate local farming within one year.
He warned that otherwise, it could mirror the fate of the then President, Goodluck Jonathan, who failed to secure his re-election in 2015 primarily due to the same problems.
