Rising Insecurity Tests Nigeria’s Fragile Unity as the Nation Approaches a Dangerous Crossroad

By Sam Agogo

Nigeria is standing at a perilous intersection, threatened not just by the bullets of terrorists and bandits, but by the widening cracks in its national soul. The country is bleeding from attacks that cut across states, tribes, and religions, yet the divisions that weaken our collective resolve continue to grow. As the insecurity crisis deepens, a blunt and unavoidable question confronts us: Can we, even for once, unite as a nation to confront this menace before it destroys us completely?

This call is not sentimental—it is survival. Terrorism has no tribe. Banditry has no religion. Kidnapping has no political party. The bullets that killed farmers in Plateau did not ask for their ethnic identity. The bandits that swept through Niger State did not ask who was Christian or Muslim. The extremists behind countless abductions do not care whether their victims are Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Fulani, or Tiv. They strike because they can—because the Nigerian state is fractured, distracted, divided, and weakened by internal suspicions.

This is why I raise a controversial but necessary reflection: Can Nigeria learn from the unity of Israel during war?

Israel is one of the most religiously diverse nations in the world. Jews, Muslims, Christians, and the Druze community live side by side. Their political landscape is even more fragmented—multiple parties, shifting coalitions, and deep ideological differences that create constant tension. Yet the moment the nation faces an existential threat, they drop everything: political rivalries, religious arguments, doctrinal differences, and ideological wars. They form unity governments. They create war cabinets. They speak with one voice. They fight with one purpose—to defend the land, protect their people, and survive as a nation.

Nigeria may not like the Israeli example because of the polarizing nature of the Hamas conflict, but the lesson is not about Israel’s methods; it is about Israel’s unity. It is about the instinctive understanding that no nation survives a war when divided against itself.

During the 2020 EndSARS protests, Nigerians briefly tasted what true unity feels like. Christians guarded Muslims during prayers. Muslims protected Christians when they worshipped. Young people from every tribe shared food, shared water, shared pain, and shared hope. For once, the artificial walls melted away, and we saw each other—not as ethnic enemies, not as religious threats, not as political rivals—but as human beings fighting for dignity, justice, and safety.

That unity frightened the system because it showed the real power of a united Nigeria. Today, as insecurity spirals dangerously across the nation, that same unity is the one thing we desperately need but have failed to rebuild.

Our divisions are now our greatest weakness. Politicians exploit religion. Elites weaponize ethnicity. Communities retreat into silos of suspicion. Even in the face of escalating violence, many still prefer blame games over collective action.

But the truth is simple:
If Nigeria remains divided, insecurity will defeat us.
If Nigeria unites, insecurity cannot withstand us.

A nation of more than 200 million people, with some of the world’s bravest men and women, cannot be overrun by criminals—unless that nation is weakened internally. The enemy is counting on our division. Every day we fight each other instead of fighting insecurity, they grow stronger.

This is not the time for tribal politics.
This is not the time for religious pride.
This is not the time for political calculations.

This is the time for Nigeria to decide whether it wants to survive.

We must build a united front—Christians, Muslims, traditionalists; Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Fulani; South, East, North, West—everyone joining hands to protect what belongs to all of us. Without this unity, we will continue losing lives, losing territories, losing hope—and eventually losing the nation itself.

Israel fights as one. Nigeria, too, must learn to fight as one.

The time to unite is not tomorrow. The danger is already here. The question is no longer whether insecurity will destroy us—the only question is whether we will find the courage to stand together before it does.

For comments, reflections and further conversation:
Email: samuelagogo4one@yahoo.com
Phone: +234 805 584 7364