By Muhammad Mamman
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration for pursuing a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council while Nigeria continues to grapple with worsening insecurity.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party argued that Nigeria should not seek greater global responsibilities when it is failing in its most basic duty of safeguarding lives and property at home.
“The Tinubu administration finds it fitting to ask for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council even as bandits slaughter Nigerians and occupy swathes of territory,” Abdullahi said.
The ADC cited recent killings in Zamfara and Katsina, including an attack on worshippers in a Zamfara mosque, where several people were murdered and others abducted. It noted that more than 140 lives had been lost in the two states within two months, with Amnesty International reporting over 10,000 killed nationwide by armed groups as of May 2025.
“These were not statistics but human beings – Nigerians promised renewed hope by this administration,” the party stressed.
The ADC further alleged that armed gangs in Zamfara had extorted over ₦56 million from farmers in exchange for access to their farmlands. “With such brigandage, we are compelled to ask whether Zamfara is still part of Nigeria. When non-state actors levy taxes, control farms and kill with impunity, they cease to be mere criminals — they become a parallel government,” it declared.
According to the party, the crisis now threatens Nigeria’s territorial integrity, with the government appearing either unwilling or unable to restore order. “This is no longer just about insecurity. It is about Nigeria’s very sovereignty being subverted under President Tinubu. What we see is not a mere lapse in security but proof, written in blood and corpses, of a government that has lost control,” it said.
Beyond insecurity, the ADC faulted the President for missing last Saturday’s passing-out parade at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), where 874 officers were commissioned. The party noted that Tinubu also failed to attend the ceremony in 2024, choosing instead to commission the renovated National Arts Theatre in Lagos.
“With Nigeria in such dire straits, we expected the President to use the NDA platform to inspire and charge new officers. Instead, he chose optics over duty. This reflects an administration consumed by misplaced priorities — a passive spectator while villages burn and prayers end in gunfire,” Abdullahi added.
The ADC called for the immediate declaration of a state of emergency in Zamfara, insisting the government must act urgently to halt the bloodshed.
