The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s push for Nigeria to secure a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, saying the move is absurd while the country continues to struggle with worsening insecurity.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi on Sunday, the party said it was wrong for the government to be asking for global responsibilities when it cannot protect the lives of its own citizens.

“It is shocking that the Tinubu administration is asking for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council while bandits are slaughtering Nigerians and taking over parts of the country,” the ADC said.

“How can a government that cannot provide peace or security at home expect to be taken seriously at the global table where security is discussed?”

“Just last Friday, gunmen attacked a mosque in Yandoto village, Zamfara State, killing worshippers and abducting others. Only weeks earlier, about 45 people were killed in Zamfara, entire villages were sacked, and dozens kidnapped. In Katsina, a similar attack left about 47 people dead with many more injured or taken hostage,” the party added.

“In only two months, over 140 Nigerians have been murdered in Zamfara and Katsina alone. Amnesty International reported that more than 10,000 lives have been lost since May 2025 to attacks by armed groups. These are not statistics; they are human beings, Nigerians this administration promised renewed hope.”

According to the statement, the ADC had last month raised the alarm that armed groups in Zamfara State had forced farmers to pay over N56 million before being allowed access to their farmlands.

The party argued that the scale of lawlessness in the state raises serious questions about Nigeria’s territorial control, noting that when non-state actors impose levies, restrict access to land, and kill without consequences, they function as a parallel authority rather than ordinary criminals.

“This is no longer just about insecurity; it is about Nigeria’s territorial integrity being eroded under President Bola Tinubu,” the ADC said.

“What we see today is not simply a security lapse, but clear evidence, written in blood and innocent lives lost, of a government that has lost control.”

“In any serious country, these tragedies would have led to resignations, emergency meetings, and a complete review of strategy. Here, they are reduced to routine condolence messages from presidential propagandists,” the statement continued.

“It is therefore absurd that the same administration, under whose watch Nigerians are being killed daily and bandits are taking control of territories, now seeks to sit at the highest table of global security discussions.”

“The world is not fooled by fine speeches in New York. They see that parts of Nigeria have become killing fields, where life has become, in truth, nasty, brutish, and short.”

The statement added that Nigeria’s push for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council will continue to be seen as unrealistic until the government proves it can protect its own citizens.

“True leadership on the world stage must begin with responsibility at home, yet the country remains soaked in blood while promises of protection go unfulfilled.”

The ADC also criticised President Bola Tinubu for missing the commissioning of 874 new officers at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna for the second consecutive year.

The party argued that at a time of worsening insecurity, the President should have used the event to inspire the officers and reassure northern communities under attack. Instead, he chose to attend the commissioning of the renovated National Arts Theater in Lagos, which the party described as a misplaced priority.

“With all these signals, this administration is plagued by misplaced priorities. The President has become a passive spectator, watching from a distance while villages burn and prayers end in gunfire,” the ADC said.

“With such tragic indifference, this government risks creating the dangerous perception that some Nigerian lives matter less than others. A President who was quick to declare a state of emergency over a political crisis in Rivers, but remains silent on the killings in Zamfara and Katsina, cannot claim that all lives matter.”

“We therefore repeat our call for the immediate declaration of a state of emergency in Zamfara State. The siege on that state must end, and the tide of bloodshed must be stopped.”

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