Former Rivers State governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has raised fresh concerns over Nigeria’s rising insecurity, describing the situation in parts of the country as reminiscent of a civil war.
Amaechi made the remarks on Tuesday while speaking at the African Democratic Congress (ADC) National Convention in Abuja, where he criticised the handling of security challenges under President Bola Tinubu.
“I watched yesterday in Nasarawa—people were running away from their community like a civil war. The civil war image came back to my head,” he said.
Reflecting on his tenure as governor, Amaechi stressed the importance of decisive leadership in tackling crime.
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“When I was governor of Rivers State, you couldn’t commit a crime, and I would sleep. I wouldn’t sleep until you were arrested. All of us would stay awake until the person was caught,” he added.
He faulted what he described as the Federal Government’s “distant response” to insecurity, saying leaders must take responsibility on the ground.
“Your citizens are trekking from one place to another like a civil war, and you are doing nothing. A leader must be in front during crises. If you don’t want to be in front, then step aside and allow another person to lead,” he said.
Amaechi also criticised recent economic policies, warning of worsening hardship.
“The taxes they’ve imposed—wait until June when they start collecting annual company taxes. Nobody will be able to buy petrol; nobody will be able to feed. Let me repeat, if Nigerians are not hungry, I am hungry. The situation is bad; it is terrible,” he stated.
“How can a man (Tinubu) who said he is a democrat, who fought on the side of NADECO, be stopping democracy? These people don’t care. What they care about is money.
“The man doesn’t care,” Amaechi said, adding, “They are using the institutions of government against the people of Nigeria… In one of his statements, he said, ‘Let the poor breathe.’ Are the poor breathing?”
Amaechi’s comments come amid renewed security concerns across the country.
In Nasarawa State, residents have reportedly been fleeing their communities on foot following repeated armed bandit attacks, abandoning homes and livelihoods in search of safety.
In the North-East, a recent airstrike at Jilli Market along the Yobe–Borno border has drawn scrutiny over alleged civilian casualties.
