Former Zamfara Central senator, Kabiru Marafa, has defended his support for US President Donald Trump, arguing that Nigeria needed strong external pressure to confront rising insecurity.
He said many Nigerians reacted emotionally to Trump’s warning, instead of looking at the scale of killings across northern Nigeria.
During an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Marafa said the country’s security collapse was forcing entire communities to negotiate with bandits.
He warned that banditry had grown into a “value chain” supported by illegal mining interests and alleged saboteurs within the security architecture.
Marafa said “sovereignty means nothing to a dead man.” He explained that Trump’s remarks pushed Nigerian authorities to review the failing security system, as the killings had reached levels that demanded international attention.
He however added that both Christians and Muslims were victims of daily violence in the North-West, seeing no specific religious coloration to the tragedy.
He said many villages in Zamfara had surrendered to armed groups because they no longer trusted state protection, adding that bandits often arrived for peace meetings wearing police or military camouflage while security forces stood by helplessly.
Illegal Mining Fueling Violence
The senator linked the violence to illegal mining rings in Zamfara and neighbouring states to this menace.
He argued that criminal networks profit from chaos and keep communities under fear to maintain control of mining zones.
Reports from institutions like the International Crisis Group and Nigeria’s NEITI have corroborated this assertion, highlighting similar concerns over unregulated mining and conflict.
He insisted that security agencies already know the actors behind the crisis but lack the political backing to act.
Asked what specifically he thought was the solution, the former senator called on President Bola Tinubu to govern as President of Nigeria, not as leader of the APC, or a section of the country, as he is often accused of.
Marafa said the victims of violence were not asking about political parties.
“President Tinubu has the power and the public support to act boldly,” he said.
Marafa warned against too high expectation placed on the new Defence Minister, Gen. Chris Musa asserting that no defence minister would succeed unless the presidency removed saboteurs inside the Ministry of Defence and other agencies.
He said Nigeria’s intelligence community had enough information to expose collaborators, but political will had been weak for years.
With banditry evolving into a profitable criminal economy, he asked whether Nigeria was ready to confront those benefiting from the crisis.
He claimed criminals were running hybrid operations tied to mining, arms trafficking and extortion. The senator said this network cannot survive without help from inside government.
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