By Olayinka Iroye
Nigeria’s worsening security situation has become one of the gravest threats to national stability, unity, and development. From insurgency in the North-East to banditry in the North-West, violent crimes have steadily expanded into regions once considered relatively safe. Sadly, the South-West is no longer immune.
Looking back, many Nigerians trace the alarming rise in mass abductions to the infamous kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014. More than a decade later, the painful reality remains that some of those girls are still unaccounted for. What should have served as a decisive national warning sign was unfortunately politicised, trivialised, and turned into public entertainment in some quarters. The emotional outcry of former First Lady Patience Jonathan, who tearfully lamented the bloodshed, “This blood you are sharing, There is God o…” became a subject of mockery rather than a rallying point for collective national action. Today, Nigeria is paying dearly for years of complacency, political division, and weak institutional responses to insecurity.
When former President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office in 2015, one of the dominant national conversations centred on allegations of diversion and mismanagement of security funds. Since then, questions have continued to arise regarding the transparency and effectiveness of security votes and defence expenditures at different levels of government. While billions of naira have reportedly been allocated to security over the years, many communities across the country still remain vulnerable to attacks, kidnappings, and violent crimes.
For a long time, many people in the South-West believed the region was insulated from the scale of insecurity ravaging other parts of the country. Unfortunately, recent events have shattered that illusion. The Yoruba proverb which says, “Ti a ba ń gbọ́gbẹ̀gbẹ̀, tí a bá gbé e, wọ́n á gbé sí ẹ̀yìn kùlé Olúwa rẹ,” loosely translated to mean that danger ignored eventually arrives at one’s doorstep, has become increasingly relevant.
In 2025, I warned in one of my earlier articles that insecurity was gradually creeping toward the South-West. The signs were already visible. Traditional rulers were attacked and murdered in parts of Ekiti State. Kidnappings became frequent along the Eruku (Kwara) –Egbe (Kogi State) axis and several boundary communities linking Kwara and Ekiti States. Innocent travellers along the Osi–Obbo Ayegunle corridor and adjoining routes were abducted, held under terrible conditions, and only released after ransom payments.
Today, many communities across Ifelodun, Irepodun, and Ekiti Local Government Areas, stretching toward the Lafiagi/Pategi axis and parts of Kwara North, now live under constant fear. Areas bordering Niger State and Oyo State have become increasingly vulnerable to attacks by armed criminal groups. Reports of deserted villages and displaced residents are no longer uncommon in parts of Kwara State, particularly around rural settlements where criminal elements exploit weak security presence and difficult terrain.
The human cost of insecurity goes beyond statistics. It affects relationships, social life, economic activities, and communal trust. I personally know friends and associates living in affected communities whom many people now hesitate to visit due to fear of attacks on highways and rural roads. That is the tragic reality of a nation under siege.
The recent wave of attacks in parts of Oyo State further underscores the urgency of the situation. Reports of armed attacks on schools and rural communities have heightened fears among residents and raised serious concerns about the safety of students, teachers, and local inhabitants. Whether in Oyo, Kwara, Ondo, or Ekiti States, the pattern appears increasingly coordinated and sophisticated, suggesting the activities of organised criminal networks with possible local collaborators.
One troubling question continues to linger: how do heavily armed kidnappers move victims, sometimes in large numbers, across forests and communities without detection? This persistent mystery raises concerns about insider collaboration, intelligence failures, and the complicity of bad elements within affected communities. As the Yoruba saying goes, “Ti ikú ilé kò bá pa ni, ti òde kò lè pa ni”- external enemies often succeed when there is betrayal from within. Security experts have repeatedly warned against underestimating the capabilities of terrorist groups, bandits, and organised criminal syndicates. Nigeria must therefore move beyond reactive responses to proactive intelligence gathering, inter-state collaboration, and community-based security strategies.
Governors in the South-West and adjoining North-Central states must rise above political affiliations and work together more closely. Regional cooperation among states such as Oyo, Kwara, Ekiti, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, and Lagos is no longer optional; it has become a necessity. Criminal groups do not recognise state boundaries, and therefore security responses must equally transcend political and geographical divides.
Our traditional institutions also have critical roles to play. Traditional rulers remain the closest authorities to the grassroots and are often more familiar with the realities within their domains than formal state structures. They must strengthen local vigilance systems, support intelligence gathering, and work closely with security agencies and community leaders. Community policing, local intelligence networks, and grassroots vigilance should be revived and strengthened across the region.
At the same time, citizens must become more security conscious. Security is too important to be left solely in the hands of law enforcement agencies. Nigerians must cultivate the habit of reporting suspicious movements, strange gatherings, and unusual activities within their communities. The popular slogan, “If you see something, say something,” must become a collective civic responsibility.
This is not the time for ethnic grandstanding or political blame games. It is a time for unity, vigilance, and decisive action. While every Nigerian has the constitutional right to freedom of movement, authorities must ensure stricter monitoring of vulnerable entry points, forests, waterways, and rural corridors being exploited by criminal elements. Surveillance, intelligence sharing, and technology-driven security measures must be prioritised.
The painful truth is that the South-West is increasingly under pressure from criminal infiltration. Denial will only worsen the danger. The time to act is now, before insecurity becomes fully entrenched in a region historically known for relative peace, enterprise, and educational advancement.
Nigeria must not surrender to fear, lawlessness, and terror. Governments at all levels, security agencies, traditional institutions, religious leaders, community groups, and ordinary citizens must work together to reclaim our communities from criminal elements threatening national peace and stability.
The question before us now is simple but urgent: where do we go from here?
Iroye, a Public Relations Practitioner, Public Affairs Commentator, and Media Professional
