“First Lady Warns: Broken Families Threaten Nigeria’s Security”

Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has warned that the erosion of family values is a major factor fueling insecurity and social vices across the country.

Speaking at the opening of Exercise Haske Biyu 2025 at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State, Mrs. Tinubu—represented by the wife of the Vice President, Hajiya Nana Shettima—urged families to reclaim their role as society’s foundation.

On the theme “Family and National Security”, she stressed that many parents, overwhelmed by economic struggles, have abandoned their responsibility of raising children, leaving them vulnerable to cultism, drug abuse, prostitution, and extremist influences.

“Parental absence creates a void filled by bad company and destructive habits, with consequences not just for families but also for national security,” she said, adding that “a strong family builds a strong nation.”

The First Lady highlighted religion’s role in shaping morals, calling on religious and traditional leaders to intensify efforts in guiding youths with sound values. She reaffirmed President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, noting the Conditional Cash Transfer programme that will provide N25,000 in three tranches to 15 million vulnerable households.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, and Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Matthew Kukah, also underscored the family’s central role in nation-building. The Sultan warned that corruption, illicit wealth, and social media excesses were eroding discipline, while Bishop Kukah linked youth radicalisation to poor upbringing, lack of education, and the pursuit of quick wealth.

Earlier, Commandant of the AFCSC, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Idris Alhaji, said the three-week multi-agency exercise was designed to sharpen responses to internal security threats, strengthen inter-agency collaboration, and generate practical solutions to insecurity.