Speaking against the backdrop of rising attacks and displacement, Obasanjo argued that security is not an abstract duty, but an existed reality for the ordinary Nigerians; like most farmers that are unable to tend their land, traders facing unsafe transport routes, families forced from their homes, travelers not getting to their destinations, tourist scared from visiting Nigeria, and so on. He said, when these basic protections fail, the social contract between citizens and the state begins to erode.
Groups such as Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, Lakurawa and the diverse offshoot of the kidnapping evil-sector, etc., have sustained operations over the years, largely due to diversified and web-spread funding streams. These include politically-engineered fundings, ransom payments from kidnappings, illegal mining, extortion of local communities and suspected global financial support networks. In this stead, some security experts have noted that the monetization of violence has entrenched a cycle in which criminality and insurgency reinforce each other. In most of the Nigeria regions, bandit groups, often loosely connected to extremist factions, have adopted similar funding models, turning rural economies into conflict zones and disrupting agricultural production.
He described the country’s security trajectory as a steady decline “from bad to worse”, warning against normalising violence and instability. Farther from the immediate human toll, the former president pointed to a wider economic consequences, such as reduced agricultural output, shrinking local businesses and declining investors’ confidence. In many rural areas, insecurity has cut off livelihoods, expanding poverty and widening inequality.
The human toll remains severe. Thousands have been displaced across northern/central/south-western Nigeria regions, with communities facing loss of livelihoods, limited access to education and strained healthcare systems. Farmers, in particular, have been forced off their land, contributing to food insecurity and rising prices in urban markets. Economically, the insecurity has deterred investment, slowed infrastructure development and increased government spending on defense, at the expense of social services. Key transport corridors and trade routes have become vulnerable, complicating domestic commerce and regional trade.
