Former President Olusegun Obasanjo delivered one of his most forceful public interventions in years on Friday, warning that Nigeria is sliding into a security collapse and insisting that citizens have a right to seek international assistance if the government cannot protect them.
Speaking at the Plateau State Unity Christmas Carol and Praise Festival, Obasanjo issued a blistering rebuke of President Bola Tinubu’s administration over his handling of the security problems the nation is facing, with many killed or abducted. His remarks drew loud applause from the crowd.
“No matter what religion you belong to, no matter where you come from, no matter the profession, we Nigerians are being killed,” Obasanjo said. “And our government seems to be incapable of protecting us. We are part of the world community. If our government cannot do it, we have the right to call on the international community to do for us what our government cannot do for us.”
Obasanjo condemned attempts to downplay killings by using ethno-religious sentiments.
“And for anybody to say because those who are being killed belong to this region, belong to this religion, belong to this tribe, and then others too are being killed, (that) cannot be an acceptable excuse,” he said.
“That cannot be an acceptable excuse,” he said.
A Nation Exhausted by Bloodshed
His comments come at a time of escalating violence across Nigeria. Mass abductions in the North-West, killings in Borno state, and renewed terror raids on highways have fuelled widespread anger and despair.
President Bola Tinubu, widely criticised for his handling of the intensifying crisis, declared a national security emergency on Wednesday, ordering the police and other security agencies to recruit more personnel and pursue attackers.
But his government has yet to inspire public confidence. Many Nigerians view its response as weak, slow, and unable to track, arrest, or prosecute perpetrators despite repeated atrocities against innocent people.
In recent weeks, terrorists have abducted schoolchildren from dormitories in Kebbi and Niger states and have killed people. After 24 girls kidnapped from a school in Kebbi were freed this week, the presidency shocked the nation by admitting that officials simply contacted the terrorists and asked them to release the children.
A similar pattern followed the abduction of worshippers from a church in Kwara State. No arrests were made, no suspects were neutralised, and authorities offered no credible explanation – fueling widespread suspicion that ransoms were paid. Meanwhile, dozens of children taken from a school in Niger State remain missing.
Public outrage has surged as the crisis deepens. The national debate intensified after former U.S. President Donald Trump issued a controversial threat of possible military action in Nigeria over the killing of Christians.
While the Nigerian government and foreign media have dismissed that framing, most Nigerians online say the situation has reached breaking point – arguing that the state has failed to protect its citizens and that outside intervention is increasingly being seen as a last resort.
Obasanjo’s intervention reflects that mood: a growing sense that the security situation is no longer contained and that traditional political caution is giving way to public demands for decisive action.
“Why Are We Negotiating?”
Obasanjo accused the government of failing to deploy the technology already available. He recalled that even before he left office in 2007, Nigeria had the capacity to identify and track criminal suspects. Today, he said, surveillance tools are even more advanced.
“With drones, you can sniff them out, you can take them out,” he said. “Why are we not doing that? Why are we apologizing? Why are we negotiating?”
He rejected any proposal to negotiate with bandits, saying appeasement only emboldens armed groups that have continued to kidnap children, raid villages, and attack worshippers during services.
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