The pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has called on Nigerians to unite against any form of foreign intervention in the country’s internal affairs and to pursue local solutions to insecurity through restructuring and the establishment of state police.
Afenifere call was contained in a statement jointly signed by the leader of the group, HRH Oba Oladipo Olaitan, and National Publicity Secretary, Prince Justice Faloye, who called on the Federal Government to urgently implement state police and the 2014 National Conference restructuring resolutions.
The group noted that the insecurity across the country and rising global concern over the nation’s stability were direct consequences of the government’s failure to decentralize policing and implement the 2014 National Conference recommendations.
Afenifere warned that the country’s deteriorating security situation had become a source of international embarrassment, creating fears that foreign powers could justify intervention under the guise of humanitarian assistance.
The group said implementing state and local government police would not only restore safety and public confidence but also eliminate the growing perception of Nigeria as a failed state unable to protect its citizens.
According to Afenifere, the over-centralized police structure has left the country vulnerable and ineffective in addressing widespread violence, kidnapping, and terrorism.
The group insisted that the President must take full responsibility for the current security crisis since all policing authority is tied to his office.
The statement read: ‘Afenifere appeals to Nigerians to unify against foreign intervention and implores all Nigerians to look for local solutions to our sectarian and ethnic conflicts in restructuring.
‘Afenifere and all peace loving Nigerians hereby demand immediate implementation of state police to curb insecurity, and the implemention of the 2014 Confab restructuring resolutions to ensure peace and unity.
‘This would not only save lives but remove the threat of foreign intervention in Nigeria’s affairs that has been conduced by the carnage and its attendant chaotic situation observed even from far-flung lands of a general absence of governance arising from insecurity or of ungoverned spaces’
The statement stated further that; ‘President Tinubu should not allow foreign military humanitarian intervention to cause religious and ethnic wars due to negligence or lack of political will to restructure Nigeria for peace and equity.
‘We must not forget our history that it was the excuse of curbing Transatlantic slavery that prompted foreign military humanitarian intervention that led to our colonization.
‘It is ironic that the influx of terrorists that partly led to the end of the Jonathan administration and coming to power of APC is now threatening our corporate existence due to the APC failure to restructure and implement state police.
‘The rising international condemnation of insecurity in Nigeria is an indictment of the government that has failed to implement state police to curb insecurity, and restructuring for equity and peaceful coexistence since the 2014 Confab
‘Immediate implementation of state police and the 2014 Confab resolutions will not only save lives but remove the threat of foreign intervention in Nigeria’s affairs,’ the statement
The statement further expressed concern over what it described as the Tinubu administration’s ‘penchant for over-centralization,’ warning that the failure to appoint ambassadors to key countries like the United States was weakening Nigeria’s diplomatic presence at a critical time.
The group stated that ‘ this administration’s penchant for overcentralization of governance is counterproductive, not only within our borders, but has now reflected in our diplomatic relations or lack of it.
‘The lack of ambassadors in USA and other nations is deplorable. Afenifere demands that the Tinubu administration immediately appoints ambassadors to all our world embassies, because it is obvious that the Presidency is incapable of directly administering our diplomatic relations, since we suddenly face the threat of foreign intervention and war without diplomatic buffers’
Reaffirming its earlier position during the midterm assessment of the Tinubu administration on May 29, 2025, the group said the continued delay in implementing restructuring had led to unnecessary bloodshed and deepened national division.
Afenifere insisted that only through true federalism, equitable power distribution, and community-based policing could Nigeria overcome its challenges and preserve its sovereignty.
‘Afenifere regards the ten years delay that has wasted thousands of lives unnecessarily as culpable gross negligence by the government. Regardless of the categorization of our insecurity as either religious or tribal genocide, the point is people are dying due to the failure to create state and local goverment police for efficiency, giving the people the right of self preservation in their states and localities.
‘In our recent midterm assessment of the Tinubu administration on May 29th 2025, Afenifere once again warned that the continued overcentralized police force made him ultimately responsible for the unnecessary deaths in the Middlebelt and across the Nation.
‘As long as policing is centralized and tied to the President, all blame of insecurity resides with his office. This is not only untenable for him but the whole country, since we are all bound to suffer the collective punishment of failure in other states, some of who allegedly bargain with terrorists’.