Nigeria’s security troubles remain my biggest problem – Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has again raised alarm over the country’s worsening insecurity, describing it as the most pressing problem confronting Nigeria, particularly in the North.

Speaking in Kaduna on Saturday through the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, Tinubu addressed guests at the 25th Anniversary of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the unveiling of the group’s Endowment Fund. He stressed the need for urgent action to rebuild public trust, strengthen unity and restore peace across northern communities.

The president warned that Nigeria’s development would continue to suffer unless insecurity was confronted with renewed intensity.

Tinubu said, “Nothing troubles me more gravely than the security crisis bedevilling Nigeria, especially Northern Nigeria.

“We cannot prosper when one limb of the national body is paralysed.”

He noted that his administration met a complex security landscape but was tackling it with “urgency and determination,” adding that efforts were ongoing to dismantle terrorist and bandit networks operating in the region and to halt the North’s economic decline.

Expressing confidence in the region’s economic future, Tinubu said he looked forward to the day crude oil tankers begin rolling out of Kolmani and other emerging northern oil fields.

He also highlighted major infrastructure projects intended to stimulate growth, stating that work on the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Superhighway was being accelerated to prepare it for commissioning.

Tinubu urged northern leaders to speak boldly and honestly about the region’s realities, cautioning that progress would remain elusive if vulnerable populations were left unprotected.

“We fail the day we sleep comfortably while millions sleep with empty bellies, the day fear becomes a permanent companion for travellers,” he said.

According to him, decades of structural problems have strained unity, but the broad representation at the ACF event showed a determination to resist division and rebuild solidarity.

Tinubu commended the ACF for acting as the voice of conscience in Northern Nigeria over the past 25 years, noting that the forum has consistently defended dignity, fairness and equality.

He described the Silver Jubilee as a milestone of advocacy, courage and principled service.

Calling for renewed commitment from leaders across all sectors, Tinubu said the values on which the ACF was founded remain essential for ensuring the stability of the North and the overall peace and development of the country.