Nigeria is moving from one tragedy to another, and the question many people are now asking is simple: should a state of emergency be declared? Every week brings a new horror. Schoolchildren are kidnapped. Soldiers are ambushed. A brigadier general is killed. Churches are attacked. Communities are left helpless. And the government keeps giving speeches instead of giving security.
Today, the country is not safe, and pretending otherwise does not change the reality.
School children Cannot Sleep Safely
The kidnapping of girls in Kebbi is another painful reminder that Nigeria cannot protect its children. Bandits entered Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, kidnapped 25 girls, and only two managed to escape.
These are children. They should be in class, laughing, learning, planning their future. Instead, they are dragged into forests, traumatized, waiting for help that is slow, weak, or completely absent.
How many more schools must be attacked before the government admits that the situation is now out of control?
Another Church Attack
The attack on the church in Eruku is another example of how even sacred spaces are no longer safe. People went to pray and came back in body bags
A country where a brigadier general can be kidnapped and killed by terrorists is a country that has already crossed the red line. President Bola Tinubu himself confirmed the death of Brig. Gen. Musa Uba after ISWAP militants kidnapped him and killed four soldiers during the ambush.
If terrorists can capture and kill a senior military officer in uniform, then what chance does the ordinary Nigerian have? What chance does the farmer have? The student? The trader?
This is a sign that the terrorists no longer fear the Nigerian state. That alone is enough to declare a state of emergency.
More Children Taken in Niger State
The abduction in Niger State again shows that Nigeria’s nightmare keeps repeating itself. Armed men invaded St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School at 2am and kidnapped many students. Security forces are now combing the forests, but families are tired of hearing the same story over and over.
Every time the government says “we are on top of the situation,” another abduction happens the next day.
The Commissioner of Police promised commitment. We have heard this same promise for over ten years. Promises don’t rescue children. Action does.
Tinubu Says He Is Depressed
President Tinubu recently said he is depressed by the situation. But Nigerians are beyond depressed. Nigerians are exhausted, frustrated, angry, and losing hope. People are hungry. People are unsafe. People are grieving.
And yet the government behaves as if the problem is normal. We cannot continue like this.
Being depressed is not leadership. Leadership means taking bold action. Leadership means declaring a national emergency when the nation is bleeding every day.
Is This Still a Government?
Every tragedy now comes with three things:
- A government statement
- A condemnation
- A promise of investigation
But what Nigerians need is the one thing that never comes — safety.
Government officials speak more than they act. The security agencies react instead of prevent. The people suffer. And the terrorists expand.
When a country becomes a playground for bandits, Boko Haram, ISWAP, and unknown gunmen, then the government has failed in its number-one duty: protecting lives.
Why a State of Emergency Must Be Considered Now
A state of emergency is not a magic solution, but Nigeria cannot continue pretending. Things have moved from bad to dangerous. From dangerous to deadly. And from deadly to a national breakdown.
Declaring a state of emergency will:
- Force the government to focus fully on security
- Allow extraordinary measures to protect schools and communities
- Mobilise resources faster
- Reveal the truth about the weakness in our system
- Show terrorists that the state is no longer joking
We cannot wait for another mass abduction, another military ambush, another church slaughter, before acting.
Nigeria Is Slipping Away
Every time these incidents happen, people say, “God will help us.” But God has done His part. The government must do its part too. Nigerians cannot continue living in fear, losing loved ones, and pretending the country is still functioning normally.
Nigeria is bleeding, and the blood is everywhere, in Kebbi, in Borno, in Niger State, in churches, in barracks, in classrooms.
A state of emergency will not fix everything, but not declaring one means accepting this chaos as normal. And nothing about this situation is normal.
Final Word: Enough Is Enough
The country has reached its limit. If schoolchildren, soldiers, churchgoers, and ordinary citizens cannot be safe, then what exactly is the government governing?
The question is no longer whether a state of emergency is necessary. The real question is:
How much more can Nigerians endure before the government wakes up?
