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By Myke Agunwa
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s push for Nigeria’s permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, describing it as hypocritical in the face of rising insurgency and worsening insecurity across the country.
In a statement on Sunday, ADC spokesman Bolaji Abdullahi said it was laughable for President Tinubu to canvass for expanded global responsibilities while failing to provide basic protection for citizens at home.
“Nigeria cannot ask for expanded global responsibilities while persistently failing to meet its most fundamental obligation of protecting lives and property at home,” the statement read.
The party lamented that bandits and insurgents have tightened their grip on swathes of Zamfara and Katsina States, where villagers are routinely killed, abducted, or extorted, while government response has remained largely ceremonial.
Furthermore, ADC faulted the President’s absence at Saturday’s passing-out parade at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna, where 874 officers were commissioned into the Army. According to the party, Tinubu chose instead to attend the commissioning of the renovated National Arts Theater in Lagos, a decision it said smacks of misplaced priorities.
“We recall that, just like in 2024, the Commander-in-Chief was once again missing in action, while the nation’s military welcomed new officers. This was a moment he should have used to inspire courage and reassure northern citizens under siege,” ADC said.
The coalition party reeled out chilling statistics, noting that gunmen last Friday attacked a mosque in Yandoto village, Zamfara State, massacring worshippers and abducting several others. A few weeks earlier, no fewer than 45 villagers were killed in Zamfara, with dozens abducted. In Katsina State, about 47 lives were lost in another bloody attack.
“In just two months, more than 140 Nigerians have been murdered in Katsina and Zamfara alone,” the ADC said, citing Amnesty International’s May 2025 report, which documented over 10,000 lives lost nationwide to armed groups.
The party said the crisis in Zamfara had escalated beyond insecurity, alleging that bandits now extort farmers, collecting over N56 million as “taxes” to grant them access to farmlands. “When non-state actors control farms, collect levies, and kill with impunity, they are no longer criminals—they are a parallel government,” it warned.
ADC declared that the current crisis signifies not just a security breakdown but a threat to Nigeria’s territorial integrity. “What is happening is not a mere failure of security. It is evidence, written in blood and piles of innocent bodies, of a government that has lost control,” the statement read.
The party added that in more serious nations, such tragedies would have triggered resignations, emergency meetings, and comprehensive security overhauls. Instead, Nigeria has been left with condolence tweets and propaganda.
The ADC wondered how Tinubu hoped to convince the international community of Nigeria’s readiness for a Security Council seat while parts of the country remain “killing fields.”
“Fortunately, the world sees beyond fine speeches in New York. They see that lives in Nigeria are brutish, nasty, and short,” it said, stressing that leadership on the global stage must start with responsibility at home.
The party maintained that Nigeria’s UN Security Council request would remain laughable until Tinubu’s government demonstrates the capacity and will to protect its people.
ADC urged the President to immediately declare a state of emergency in Zamfara and halt the bloodletting in the northwest.
“The Commander-in-Chief has become a passive spectator, watching from a safe distance while villages burn and prayers end in gunfire. With tragic indifference, this administration risks creating the perception that some lives matter less than others,” the statement warned.