•Sen Nenadi Usman, Interim National Chairman of the Labour Party
The Labour Party (LP) is alarmed by unfolding security challenges in the country, which the party said made Nigeria “drifting towards state failure.”
The party called for urgent measures to tackle poverty and insecurity, both which it alleged had reached “catastrophic levels,” reports Nigerian Tribune.
The Interim National Chairman of the party, Senator Nenadi Usman, took the stance in her reaction on Sunday to the abduction of over 300 pupils of St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, in Agwarra Local Government Area of Niger State by terrorists.
Usman, who said she was saddened by the incident, noted that the fact the attack took place without detection meant that Nigeria was in a deeper crisis.
“The Nigerian state cannot continue to watch helplessly while its citizens are attacked with reckless abandon.
“Our country is drifting dangerously towards the precipice of state failure, and this reality should trouble every well-meaning Nigerian.
“Nothing captures our national distress more starkly than the current surge of violence across the country. Painfully, schools – the very beacon of hope and the pathway to the future for our children – are now being shut down nationwide because the state can no longer guarantee their safety. This is unacceptable and should alarm every one of us”, the former minister of finance, stated.
She urged the Federal Government to “act decisively to halt this dangerous descent into anarchy.”
According to Usman, factors fuelling insecurity like hunger and deprivation, must be addressed squarely by the government.
“A critical starting point is to address the hunger and extreme hardship ravaging the land.
“In any society where poverty has reached catastrophic levels, insecurity becomes an inevitable consequence. He who sows the wind should not be surprised to reap the whirlwind.
“The government must also demonstrate a sincerity of purpose in its approach to insecurity. The present administration must go beyond routine condemnations of criminality and commence a real, structured, coordinated, and enduring process of policing the nation,” she added.
Terror attacks have focused on soft targets in the past few days.
Before the Niger attack, 25 girls had been abducted from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town, Kebbi State, by gunmen on Monday last week.
While the case of Maga town sent shockwaves, the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) in Eruku town in Kwara state was also attacked by terrorists, leading to nationwide outrage and fear.
