Nigeria at a Crossroads: Insecurity, Poverty, and the Cry for Accountable Leadership -By Yasir Shehu Adam

In just the first three months of 2025, Nigeria has witnessed a disturbing rise in insecurity. According to HumAngle’s latest Conflict Tracker, 1,420 people were killed and 537 kidnapped across the country. The northern region, once a peaceful heartland, is now the epicenter of violence. From Zamfara to Benue, Borno to Kaduna, the blood of innocent Nigerians continues to stain our soil while those in power offer little more than silence and broken promises.

The numbers are shocking. The Northwest and North Central zones accounted for over half of the incidents and deaths recorded between January and March. In March alone, the North accounted for 66.9% of the total killings nationwide. Rural communities have become hunting grounds for bandits and kidnappers, with security forces often arriving long after the damage is done—if they show up at all.

Yet despite the horrors, the government has spent trillions on defence. From 2021 to 2024, the Ministry of Defence received N5.11 trillion. This year alone, N6.11 trillion has been allocated to security and defence, representing 11% of the national budget. But what do we have to show for it? Soldiers complain of unpaid allowances. Villages remain unprotected. Lives continue to be lost.

What’s driving this crisis? Security experts blame it on poor governance, lack of education, ungoverned spaces, and the easy availability of weapons. A broken justice system and widespread poverty have created fertile ground for violence. Millions of young people roam the streets jobless, hopeless, and easy targets for recruitment by criminal gangs. In many parts of the country, especially the North, there is no rule of law—just survival.

The consequences are devastating. Farmers are fleeing their lands. Food insecurity is rising. Children are missing school. Entire villages are abandoned. Internally displaced persons live in misery, without enough food, water, or healthcare. And still, our leaders seem more interested in politics than in solving these real, human problems.

It’s time to ask the hard questions. Where is the future of Nigeria heading? How can young people become the leaders of tomorrow when they are surrounded by insecurity, hunger, and poor education? The older generation keeps saying “the youth are the leaders of tomorrow”—but with no jobs, no safety, and no hope, how can that future be possible?

Our country needs a new direction. We need accountability and transparency from every level of government—local, state, and federal. Nigeria must stop being a place where politics is the fastest way to become rich by stealing from the people. We need leaders who serve, not steal—leaders like Sardauna Ahmadu Bello, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Chief Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Abubakar Tatari Ali—true patriots who lived to serve the people, not themselves.

The current economic hardship is only making insecurity worse. When people are hungry, jobless, and desperate, crime becomes a way out. That is why we need real solutions—not empty promises. We need job creation, youth empowerment, strong security, and an honest government that listens to its people.

Nigeria is crying. The people are tired. We cannot continue like this. Leaders must act now to stop this suffering. Let the bloodshed end. Let the voices of the poor be heard. Let every Nigerian, from the North to the South, be free to live in peace.

It’s not too late to change. But the time to act is now.

Yasir Shehu Adam (Dan Liman), Young Journalist and Writer from Bauchi