At least 15 million Nigerians have been impacted by insecurity, according to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Ribadu made this revelation on Friday in Abuja during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Counter Terrorism Centre and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.
The MoU is designed to support agribusiness and livelihood empowerment for communities affected by terrorism and violent extremism.
Highlighting the widespread consequences of insecurity, Ribadu noted that agriculture—Nigeria’s dominant sector—has suffered the most.
“Insecurity is the biggest problem we are facing in all sectors but the biggest victim of insecurity is agriculture because when it came in, it interfered with our lives, Nigerians are farmers. It is either you are a farmer or from a family of farmers, so all of us, in one way or the other, it has affected us. Insecurity has turned our lives upside down. We are better off when we come together. We must come together to give our people their lives back,” he said.
He further stated, “Our people are in dire need of this. I don’t think there is any country in the world today which is facing the challenges we are facing. Because we are big, we are huge in number. Populations that are affected by the insecurity in Nigeria, maybe it is in excess of 120 to 150 million.”
Ribadu called for a unified approach across society to tackle the root causes of insecurity, such as poverty, limited opportunities, and social exclusion. He also warned that the ongoing security challenges threaten national stability and noted that Nigeria remains one of the few countries in the Sahel region still holding strong against insurgency.
“We are the only ones still standing strong in the Sahel, and that is thanks to the efforts of our security forces. But we are in difficulty,” he said.
The NSA stressed the importance of complementing military interventions with non-violent, developmental strategies that promote sustainable peace.
In his remarks, the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Muktar Maiha, advocated a shift in focus from military responses to agricultural development, especially in rural areas.
He urged the government to, “replace armoured tanks with tractors” and to also “replace machine guns with milking machines.”
“Once people are productively engaged, they will not be available for recruitment no matter the enticement and this is what we are looking at. We want Nigeria’s countryside to be the symbol of what we want,” the minister added.
