Arewa Group: Greatest threat to Nigeria today is Fear

The Arewa Political Action Group (APAG), Southern States Chapter, on Friday declared that worsening insecurity has become Nigeria’s greatest threat, accusing the Federal Government of failing to protect citizens. Speaking at a press conference on Friday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the group’s National Chairman, Comrade Mahmoud Alhassan Zamfara, said fear generated by kidnappings, killings and […]

The Arewa Political Action Group (APAG), Southern States Chapter, on Friday declared that worsening insecurity has become Nigeria’s greatest threat, accusing the Federal Government of failing to protect citizens.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the group’s National Chairman, Comrade Mahmoud Alhassan Zamfara, said fear generated by kidnappings, killings and violent attacks had become more damaging to the country than inflation, unemployment or corruption.

“The greatest threat to Nigeria today is no longer inflation. It is no longer unemployment. It is no longer even corruption. The greatest threat to Nigeria today is fear.

“Because a nation whose citizens are afraid to travel, afraid to farm, afraid to send their children to school, afraid to worship in their churches and mosques, and afraid to invest — that nation is slowly suffocating its own economy and dismantling its own future,” he said.

He said insecurity had evolved into a national emergency with devastating consequences for economic growth, food production, education and investment.

“Every kidnapping is not merely a security failure. It is an economic catastrophe. It is an educational crisis. It is an agricultural disaster. It is an investment deterrent. It is a national development emergency,” he said.

According to him, farmers are abandoning their lands, businesses are relocating, professionals are leaving the country and investors are increasingly reluctant to commit resources because of security concerns.

Zamfara described the situation in Northern Nigeria as particularly alarming, alleging that communities across the region had been devastated by insecurity and economic hardship.

“Under the present administration, Northern Nigeria faces what can only be described as systemic intimidation and security deterioration

“Our homes are no longer safe. Thousands of schools stand abandoned. Our communities have been hollowed out,” he said.

He claimed that thousands of young Northerners had fled their ancestral homes and farmlands in search of survival elsewhere.

“The human cost is devastating. Thousands of our youths have fled their ancestral homes and farmlands, migrating southward merely to survive from day to day,” he said.

Against that backdrop, Zamfara announced that the group had severed ties with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), saying its members could no longer support a party they believe has failed to address Nigeria’s mounting challenges.

“For the record, our total registered membership stands at six hundred and ninety-six thousand, nine hundred and forty-seven. We have resolved to dissociate ourselves entirely from a party that has failed to deliver meaningful progress for our nation and for the North in particular,” he said.

The group also adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its preferred political platform.

“We have chosen a new path. The Arewa Political Action Group has formally adopted the African Democratic Congress as the political vehicle to rescue our nation and our region,” he declared.

Explaining the decision, Zamfara said the country requires leadership capable of restoring security and rebuilding public confidence.

“We refuse to remain silent. We refuse to be complicit in the normalization of failure,” he said.

“Nigeria deserves leadership that prioritizes safety over propaganda, prosperity over partisanship, and competent governance over empty promises.”

Calling on Nigerians to look beyond party loyalties, he urged citizens across the country to unite in pursuit of national renewal.

“We call upon all citizens of conscience — North and South — to rise above fear, place the survival and dignity of our nation above partisan loyalty, and choose a future of security, prosperity and justice,” he said.