Arewa Youths Finger Opposition In Escalation Of Insecurity

Arewa Youth Assembly has pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to provide the Armed Forces with more weapons, drones, better logistics and real-time intelligence platforms to win the war against terrorists and other criminals in the country.

At a press conference in Abuja yesterday, the group alleged that the opposition was fuelling insecurity as the election season approaches.

The speaker of the Arewa Youth Assembly, Mohammed Salihu Danlami, said the recurring trend points to a deliberate, sustained effort by elements within the opposition determined to destabilise the nation for crude political advantage.

Danlami said the consistent timing of these security breaches strongly suggests they were being fuelled and sustained to create fear, confusion and distrust among the people.

He said; “The troubling pattern can no longer be ignored. Every election cycle, insecurity rises to a peak across different parts of Nigeria. This is not random. It raises a fundamental, unavoidable question: Why is it that it is only when elections draw near that insecurity surges across the land?

“We. Therefore, allege with full conviction and supporting intelligence that certain actors within the opposition are complicit in sponsoring and fuelling insecurity as a strategy to weaken the state and discredit the government.

“Let this message be unmistakable to all involved in this destructive enterprise: There will be no elections without Nigeria. If insecurity is allowed to destroy the nation, then the very elections they seek to influence will cease to exist. No ambition. No political calculation. No quest for power is worth the collapse of our country,” he said.

Danlami commended the unwavering commitment of the national security adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and the service chiefs, especially the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olufemi Oluyede and the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, for leading the war against insecurity.

He said their leadership, courage and sacrifice have continued to inspire confidence within the armed forces and among Nigerians as hundreds of kidnapped citizens have been rescued without ransom payments in several operations.

“Major bandit and terrorist enclaves across the country have been dismantled and occupied by troops. The dreaded terrorists of the Lake Chad region have been pushed to the fringes and denied freedom of action through sustained air and ground offensives.

“The morale of the rank and file has been visibly rebuilt. Soldiers now receive timely support, battlefield rewards, and reinforcement. The era of abandoning troops to die without backup has ended.

“Intelligence sharing between the army, air force, and navy has been restructured, leading to the pre-emptive destruction of several arms caches and logistics bases belonging to political bandits,” Danlami added.