Youth Forum Warns Nigeria Risks Collapse Over Soaring Insecurity

A youth group, the Nigeria Youth Forum (NYF), has raised the alarm over the worsening insecurity across the country, warning that Nigeria is dangerously approaching total collapse if urgent action is not taken.

In Abuja, speaking through its national president, Comrade Toriah Olajide Felani, the group said the spate of killings in Benue, Zamfara, Katsina, Borno, and Plateau states, as well as the rise of terror-linked cells in Kwara State, reflects a coordinated attack on Nigeria’s stability.

Rejecting the proposed National Assembly security summit, the NYF described it as another round of “talk shows and hollow communiqués” that offer no real solutions.

“We have no confidence in the National Assembly’s planned summit. If decisive action like sacking one GOC or Commissioner of Police had been taken, others would sit up,” Felani said.

The forum accused political leaders of chasing shadows while Nigeria bleeds, pointing to weekly massacres and rising unrest with no substantial government response beyond condolence messages and recycled statements.

Citing a BBC Hausa investigation, the group highlighted that between January and March 2025, at least 3,610 Nigerians were killed by bandits and insurgents. Niger State alone recorded 631 deaths, 251 kidnappings, and 178 attacks. Zamfara followed with 585 killings, 918 abductions, and 250 attacks.

Further data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) showed over 4,500 fatalities and more than 7,000 abductions from May 2023 to May 2024. The North-West and North-Central zones bore the brunt, with over 2,900 combined deaths and nearly 5,700 abductions.

In addition, Beacon Consulting reported that 13,346 Nigerians were killed and 9,207 abducted between May 2023 and September 2024, affecting 667 local government areas across the country.

In the National Assembly, Hon. Ahmadu Jaha from Borno State also warned of worsening threats, revealing that Boko Haram and ISWAP now deploy weaponized drones superior to those used by the military.

He lamented that 22 of Borno’s 27 LGAs were once under terrorist control.

Echoing his concerns, the NYF said Nigeria is facing a sophisticated insurgency that now includes foreign mercenaries such as Tuareg fighters and Berber militias from the Sahel.

“These are not mere local clashes but organized assaults on national sovereignty,” Felani warned.

The group cautioned that if insecurity persists, Nigeria could face total breakdown: banks closed, markets deserted, roads controlled by militias, and citizens unable to flee the chaos.

Dismissing tribal explanations, the NYF stressed that the root of the crisis is state failure.

“This is not a Fulani problem—it’s a national emergency made worse by weak borders and institutional decay. When a country collapses, wealth and status offer no protection,” the group said.

They called for an overhaul of the security structure, better funding, modern technology for combat, and strong political leadership from the presidency.

Additionally, the Forum urged the government to boost investment in agriculture to fight hunger and youth unemployment, noting that Nigeria has 84 million hectares of arable land, but only 35% is currently in use—mostly for subsistence farming.

“If we get it right, Nigeria could become Africa’s agricultural powerhouse,” the Forum concluded.