By ALO360 Editorial Board
Anybody who lives in Nigeria knows that we are dealing with a variant of insecurity that has never been seen before. The spike is quite glaring to ignore or act obliviously.
Insecurity in Nigeria was predominantly in the North East, where Boko Haram terrorists were unleashing mayhem. From the North East, it spread to the North West, with banditry and cattle rustling. While Nigeria was still trying to understand the trend, North Central was captured, and the region is now dealing with massive killings and kidnappings.
Like leprosy that grows over time to affect the entire body, the insecurity has gotten to the South West, unfortunately.
The latest heartbreaking videos circulating online, where victims of the Oyo state school attack are pleading with the government to come to their rescue, are yet another unfortunate pointer that the war against insecurity is not yielding any tangible outcome.
On Friday, 15 May 2026, some gunmen attacked Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, and Community Grammar School/LA Primary School, Esiele, all of which are located in Ogbomosho, Oyo state, whisking away at least 45 schoolchildren and their teachers, according to reports.
Two staff members of the school were reportedly killed during the attack.
This is not the Nigeria we want. If this insecurity has gotten to the South-West and the heart of Yoruba land, Oyo state, then we should all be losing sleep because it is just a matter of time before it gets to our doorstep.
When it started in the Northeast, some turned a blind eye; it spread further and now no region of Nigeria in the real sense is safe, yet 2027 is the focus for those whose responsibility it is to guarantee the safety of its citizens.
GOVERNMENT MUST WAKE UP
Any government that fails to secure its citizens has lost the legitimacy to be called a government. But what is even worse is that without solving this security situation, politicians are still preoccupied with the next election. The president must act now. Even if he does not want to act before, the fact that these terrorists have gotten to his own doorstep should alarm him into action.
Nigerians are tired of marching orders while insecurity continues.
The Makinde-led Oyo state government has shut down four schools for security concerns, but shutting down schools is not a sustainable solution. The state government must sit up and do everything within its power, in collaboration with the federal government, to ensure the safe return of the abducted victims and also forestall further abductions. No Nigerian child should suffer such a horrendous fate because he wants to get education.
This is not the time for politics; leaders must roll up their sleeves and get to work before these monsters overrun the entire country.
