Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, has said at least 150 million Nigerians have been affected by insecurity while agriculture and food availability have also been adversely affected by the scrounge.

Ribadu spoke in Abuja Friday at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

“Security is the biggest problem we are facing in all sectors, but the biggest victim of insecurity is agriculture because when it came in, it interfered with our lives.

“Nigerians are farmers. Either you’re a farmer or from a family of farmers, so all of us, one way or the other, it has affected us. Insecurity has turned our lives upside down.

“When we come together, we are better off. We must come together to give our people their lives back.

“Our people are in dire need of this. I don’t think there is any country in the world today which is facing the challenges we are facing. Because we are big, we are huge in number. Populations that are affected by the insecurity in Nigeria may be in excess of 120 to 150 million,” Ribadu said

He called for a whole-of-society approach to tackle the root causes of insecurity, such as poverty, lack of opportunity, and social exclusion.

He warned that the current security challenges pose a threat to national stability, citing the collapse of neighbouring countries in the Sahel region due to insurgencies.

“We are the only ones still standing strong in the Sahel, and that is thanks to the efforts of our security forces,” he said.

He said military operations alone would not resolve the crisis and stressed the importance of non-kinetic solutions that focus on Peace building and development.

Mrs Abiodun, the first wife of Pastor William Kumuyi, died 29 years ago on April 11, 2009, at the age of 57, after a brief illness.

But reflecting on the touching incident, Kumuyi, the General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, recounted the circumstances surrounding her death and blamed her passing on his absence from home

The couple got married on September 13, 1980, making their marriage span approximately 28 years.

The union was blessed with two children: Jeremiah and John.

Kumuyi later remarried in London on October 13, 2010.

The preacher, while speaking during the Global Workers’ Conference at the Deeper Life International Conference Centre, decried his first wife’s death, saying the devil took advantage of his absence while he was ministering at the church’s retreat that day.

“I was preaching here on Saturday, 11th April 2009, and the devil worked on my absence. My wife was at home because she had a challenge. I was driving out, the devil came, but I did not remember to close the spiritual door that nobody will sneak into that place (his house) and when I finished the Faith Clinic that morning, I received a message that my beloveth wife was gone.

“I ran to IBTC (home); I saw it had happened and I met some people there; they were praying and the Lord assured me that I should let it go, let that go, don’t bother about it,” the cleric said.

Despite the tragedy, Kumuyi said he chose not to dwell in sorrow but to turn the pain into spiritual passion to intensify his global evangelical mission.

He described the next move of his ministry as a “revenge” against the devil.

The cleric noted that the death of his wife marked the end of a painful chapter in his life, adding that the devil stood no chance of repeating such a tragedy in his household or ministry again.

“I let it (his wife’s death) go, but from that day, I said ‘that one happened, this other one will no more happen.’

“Since that time, for me to revenge on the devil, I have gone to many places since she left, I have covered most of the local governments in Nigeria, I have gone to almost all the nations of Africa, I have gone to all the continents of the world, blind eyes have opened, deaf ears have opened, the lame had risen up and walk and now I am getting to another level, the dead has now been raised and so I have come to tell you, those that have gone have gone, water under the bridge that has gone is gone, all that has gone has gone, now in your family you will be in charge.

“Anywhere I go, now I will be in charge. Nothing will be allowed to steal anything away,” Kumuyi added.

The Special Adviser dviser to President Bola Tinubu on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga , has blasted former vice president,-President Atiku Abubakar for his incessant criticism of Tinubu’s administration, saying they were motivated by political acrimony.

Onanuga was responding to Abubakar’s assessment of Tinubu’s second year in office.

In a statement issued Thursday, Onanuga said in two years, Tinubu has carried out the “most ambitious and audacious” economic and institutional reforms not witnessed in the country in decades.

“Atiku’s sweeping criticism is unfair and appears to be driven more by animosity than objective analysis,” the statement reads.

He added that “Unless former Vice President Atiku allowed personal grievances to cloud his judgment, he should, in good conscience, acknowledge the significant progress and positive achievements made by this administration over the past two years.”

Onanuga said Tinubu never promised that his reforms would be painless but was clear that they were necessary to save the country from the brink of fiscal collapse due to unsustainable spending.

He said the removal of subsidy on petrol and unification of the foreign exchange market were policies previous administrations deemed imperative but failed to implement.

He said unlike Abubakar and a few critics, “everyone” agrees the reforms have stabilised government finances, reduced systemic corruption, and attracted direct investments into social programmes and infrastructure.

“Foreign investors now see Nigeria as an irresistible destination. Since 2023, the Nigerian exchange has seen its ASI jump from 50,000 to over 110,000, and market capitalisation has increased to N69.4 trillion, from about N30 trillion before Tinubu’s ascension,” he said.

Faulting Abubakar’s assertion that Tinubu’s policies only favour the rich while punishing the poor, Onanuga said the president has implemented social safety nets, introduced targeted interventions for low-income households and increased the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000.

Onanuga said Abubakar’s remark that education has become out of reach for poor Nigerians is “entirely off the mark”.

“Everyone knows the claim is false. It is just an attempt to throw any muck at Bola Tinubu,” he said.

The presidential spokesperson said since last year, the government has introduced the student loan scheme to ensure that underprivileged children are not denied education because of poverty.

He said at the last count, over 600,000 students have benefitted from the scheme.

Onanuga said the Tinubu administration has made investments in medical care, including revitalising primary health centres, expanding health insurance, and working to reduce the cost of medicines.

He said Abubakar “ignorantly” accused the Tinubu administration of borrowing fresh money to support the 2025 budget, adding that the former vice-president “relied on social media gossip”.

“The finance minister has debunked this as untrue and said that even this year, the government only wants to borrow about $1.2 billion,” Onanuga said.

“Because Atiku does not like Bola Tinubu’s guts, he forgets to credit his administration with some of the fiscal achievements in the last two years. Revenue has increased phenomenally.

“The debt service ratio to revenue has declined from 93 per cent to 60 percent. This government has paid off the $3.4 billion IMF loan obtained in the Covid years.

“The current administration has discontinued Ways & Means deficit financing for the first time in decades.

“State revenue has risen, and subnational governments now have greater resources for local development and to pay their debts.”

Onanuga said criticism must be constructive, adding that Abubakar should also offer a solution when he opposes government policies.

“Otherwise, his opposition statements will be dismissed as mere partisan rhetoric and cheap talk,” he said.

Onanuga urged Nigerians to judge the current administration objectively.