Lives are being lost. Kidnapping is spreading across communities. Families are struggling to put food on their tables, while the rising cost of living continues to place enormous pressure on ordinary Nigerians.
For many families, the question is no longer about living comfortably. It is about survival.
A mother worries about what her children will eat the next day. A father works hard but still finds his income insufficient to meet the basic needs of his family. Children go to bed hungry, while husbands and wives argue over financial difficulties. In some homes, economic hardship is gradually turning into frustration, tension and hopelessness.
But beyond the statistics are human lives. Some people leave their homes in the morning and never return. Some travel to visit loved ones, go to work, attend school or carry out their daily activities, only for their families to be left waiting and wondering what happened to them. Behind every missing person is a family living with fear, uncertainty and unanswered questions.
This raises an important question: How do we solve the problems facing the masses?
The challenges of insecurity and food insecurity cannot be addressed separately. They are closely connected.
When farmers are afraid to travel to their farms because of kidnapping or attacks, agricultural production can suffer. When food production falls, scarcity can push prices higher. When food prices rise while incomes remain stagnant, families are forced to make difficult choices between food, transportation, healthcare, education and other basic needs.
The result is a cycle that affects everyone, particularly low-income households.
When the lives and livelihoods of the masses are not secure, food security cannot be guaranteed. Insecurity prevents farmers from accessing their farms, disrupts the movement of food and affects businesses and markets. Ultimately, the insecurity of lives can become the insecurity of food.
Security must therefore be treated as a foundation for economic survival. Farmers must be able to go to their farms without fear. Children must be able to travel to school safely. Workers must be able to move from one place to another without constantly fearing for their lives. Businesses must be able to operate without constant fear of attacks, kidnapping or extortion.
People are becoming afraid to carry out their daily activities. The places where they should feel safe, their homes, workplaces, farms, schools and roads, are no longer always secure.
People should be able to leave their homes to work, trade, study and farm and return safely to their families. But when the home is no longer completely safe, the workplace is not safe, and travelling from one place to another comes with fear, a difficult question arises:
Should ordinary people simply hide in their homes because they are afraid of being attacked?
People cannot stop living because they are afraid. They need an environment where they can work, farm, trade, study and move freely without constantly worrying about whether they will return home safely.
A society cannot achieve food security when its farmers are afraid to farm. It cannot achieve economic growth when businesses are afraid to operate. And families cannot live with dignity when leaving home means wondering whether their loved ones will return safely.
The solution cannot be for Nigerians to run away from their homes, abandon their farms or stop pursuing their livelihoods. The solution must be to build a society where people can stay, work, feed their families and live without fear.
Achieving this, however, is a collective responsibility. It requires selflessness, patriotism and a genuine commitment to the common good, from those in positions of leadership to every Nigerian. Leaders must prioritise the security and welfare of the people, while citizens must also recognise their responsibility to contribute positively to society. Every Nigerian has a role to play in building a safer and more prosperous country.
Nigeria cannot overcome these challenges through the efforts of leaders alone or citizens alone. It requires everyone to put aside selfish interests, embrace a sense of responsibility and work towards a country where lives and livelihoods are protected, families can feed themselves, and people can pursue their daily activities without fear.
