Insecurity in the Northwest: Tinubu’s Visit Raises More Questions Than Answers

Written and Compiled by George Omagbemi Sylvester | Sahara Weekly Nigeria

Context: Northwest Insecurity Landscape

Banditry crisis scale: Northwest Nigeria, especially Katsina, has been battered by bandits for over a decade. By late 2022, the conflict displaced more than 1.08 million people in rural areas of the region

Human toll: In Tinubu’s first two years (May 2023–May 2025), Amnesty International estimates over 10,200 civilians were killed across Nigeria in attacks by gunmen, including bandits

Continued carnage: Between April 2025 alone, rural violence in northern states claimed more than 150 lives, with thousands displaced and some of these attacks directly tied to bandit gangs

Bandit strength: There are believed to be around 30,000 bandits, operating in groups of tens to hundreds, using AK rifles and motorbikes for mass kidnappings, raids, terror tactics

1. Silence and Insensitivity
My question: What is President Tinubu doing in Katsina without a minute of silence, prayer or empathy for the bandit victims?

Reality check:
Tinubu attended a high-profile wedding in Katsina without any public act of mourning or memorial service for victims, a glaring oversight in a state still grieving mass abductions and killings.

Even Katsina’s traditional forums, such as elders from July 2024, publicly demanded more visible empathy and action, urging the President to re‑jig his cabinet and mount “Jungle Battalions” to defend the region

Takeaway: The optics of visiting in celebration while ignoring public mourning smack of a tone-deaf approach to widespread trauma, indicative of misplaced priorities.

2. Troops & Weaponry Deployment
My question: If not empty words of assurance, how many troops and weapons has Tinubu newly deployed?

Official statements and reality on the ground
In October 2024, Tinubu directed an intensified military push in Zamfara and the Northwest under Operation Fansan Yamma, urging the Defence Minister to “eradicate insecurity”

Recent military press claims include neutralizing notorious local kingpins like Kamilu Buzar, intensifying patrols in Katsina and rescuing kidnapped victims

Through 2024, the military reported killing 65 militia leaders, nearly 1,937 militants, arresting 2,782 suspects, and rescuing 1,854 hostages

Defence Chief Gen. Christopher Musa publicly proposed border fencing on June 3, 2025, but this remains a suggestion not an on‑the‑ground deployment

The gaps:
Tinubu has not published exact figures on how many new troops or weapons have been sent specifically to Katsina.

Security incidents (mass abductions, killings, displacement) continue unabated as of May 2025

Takeaway: Though military claims exist, no transparent data show a significant increase in boots or arms specifically pledged or delivered to Katsina.

3. Governor’s Pleas for Victims
My question: Has Katsina’s governor informed Tinubu about the plight of displaced victims; the loss of homes, farmlands, communities?

What we know
Katsina elders raised alarms in July 2024, urging Tinubu to prioritize food security and community roots which many victims have lost farmland and cannot afford meals

Tinubu’s May 2, 2025 visit featured agricultural mechanization projects (500 tractors and solar irrigation) aimed at boosting productivity

However, farmers publicly condemned this as “Bandits still control farmlands. No project succeeds without safety first.”

There is no record or public transcript showing the governor formally pleading for displaced victims, nor any federal response tied to those specific grievances.

Takeaway: While agricultural aid was discussed, no concrete federal plan to restore victims’ lives has been shared, leaving conversations confined to lofty speeches.

4. Why Only Katsina?
My question: Why did Tinubu visit only Katsina, rather than the entire Northwest region also besieged?

Focus and optics
Katsina is Tinubu’s home state, giving it symbolic and political weight and thus it became the only stop in the multi-state Northwest.

Victims and analysts argue this political calculation overshadowed other crisis zones like Zamfara, Sokoto and Kaduna.

On regional approach
In October 2024, the federal government ordered troops across the Northwest, including in Zamfara

Yet as of spring 2025 there was no evidence of Tinubu undertaking a coordinated regional tour to assess and address insecurity across the West-North zone.

Takeaway: The trip seems calibrate for political symbolism not an honest, regional intervention to map needs or coordinate cross-border operations.

5. Plans for the Northwest
My question: What are Tinubu’s actual plans for the Northwest region?

Public policies vs. implementation
Military offensives & intelligence reforms:

Bagged “Operation Fansan Yamma” and tighter coordination among defense and security agencies at the President’s behest

Measures include new military leadership and deploying resources to known hotspots, with claims of disrupting leadership of terror networks.

Border fencing proposal:

In June 2025, defence chiefs called for fencing Nigeria’s northern frontiers to stop infiltrations

However, no budget or timeframe is attached.

Agricultural revival:

The Katsina mechanization rollout is part of Tinubu’s larger emergency food security plan to stabilize food production, but these focus on crop yield, not security-for-food.

Security task force deployment:

Across 2024–25, Nigeria posted enhanced Joint Task Force activities, with claims of hundreds killed, criminals arrested and hostages freed.

Reality vs. rhetoric
Despite claimed gains, insecurity persists as evidenced by high death tolls in April 2025.

Reports of military collusion, such as soldiers allegedly aiding bandits in Katsina, surfaced on local media and social platforms just weeks ago, casting doubts on effectiveness.

Experts argue that military reinforcement alone is insufficient; reforms must include grazing policies, community policing, local intelligence reforms and socio-economic revival.

Takeaway: Tinubu’s approach skews toward military-first, highly centralized tactics, with no transparent blueprint for comprehensive socio-economic and local-focused anti-instability strategy.

📌 Summary Table
Question Reality & Analysis
1. Public empathy during visit? No signs of mourning or condolences; criticised by elders.
2. Troops & weapon deployment? General, unquantified deployment; claims of some success, but lacking clarity on new reinforcements specific to Katsina.
3. Governor’s pleas for victims? While state officials asked for more, no documented federal interventions for victims’ restitution.
4. Why only visit Katsina? Politically symbolic, neglecting crisis-wide coordination.
5. Northwest-wide plans? Military operations ongoing; border fencing still proposal; socioeconomic tactics disconnected from public security needs.

🔥 Implications & Strengthening the Argument
Tinubu prioritizes optics over accountability.
A celebration in a region still traumatized showcases shallow political gesture, empathy is missing from messaging.

Security claims lack transparency.
We hear troop-neutral count, not troop deployment. Without numbers or independent verification, it’s impossible to evaluate effectiveness.

Holistic policy absent.
Despite increased budgets and rhetoric, insecurity is growing, a sign that military solutions alone do not tackle root causes like displacement, livelihood collapse and weak governance.

Victims sidelined.
There’s no federal program to rehabilitate victims, rebuild infrastructure or return victims to their ancestral farmlands even though displacement continues at mass levels

Calls for reform ignored.
Voices from Katsina elders and analysts recommend JCM battalions, grazing reserves, intelligence reform and border security. Tinubu hasn’t adopted these in policy or budget.

🏛️ Final Analysis: Empty Promises?
In somber truth, President Tinubu’s trip to Katsina, replete with mechanization announcements but absent public grief, comes across as barely more than political theater. The mounting death toll, unabated kidnappings and economic dislocation are wildly out of sync with Tinubu’s upbeat claims of “improvement.”

What the people of Katsina (and indeed the wider Northwest) need is not glossy hometown visits or tractor fanfare.

They need:
Real troop numbers, logistics and weapons, verifiable on the ground.

A victim-restoration program like housing, farmland rehabilitation, compensation.

Community-engaged security architecture: local policing, grazing policies, intelligence sharing.

A regional strategy, not disjointed state visits, ensuring patterns of violence are addressed across borders and states.

Until these are visible, Tinubu’s hope‑offering words to grieving families remain, regrettably, wishful thinking.