By Adamu Aminu.
The death of Major General Rabe Abubakar, Rtd, must not be treated as another item in the cycle of national mourning. It is a clarion call. If insecurity can reach a retired general who once stood as the voice of our Armed Forces, then no Nigerian can claim distance from the threat.
The tide is rising, particularly across the north, and the nation stands at a dangerous edge.
In this moment, we call on His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and all of service chiefs to continue doing what is needful without delay or distraction.
The charge is clear: restore decisive momentum to security operations, strengthen intelligence gathering, and close every gap that allows violence to forge ahead. The men and women in uniform require leadership that matches their sacrifice with resources, strategy, and political will.
Half measures will no longer suffice.
But the government alone cannot stem this catastrophic trend. We therefore appeal to all well-meaning Nigerians to give full cooperation.
Security is not built by guns alone. It is built by communities that refuse to harbor criminality, by citizens who share credible information, by leaders who put national interest above division, and by a press that reports truth without fear.
Every village, market, mosque, church, and neighborhood must see itself as part of the frontline.
Late General Rabe Abubakar spent his career reminding Nigerians that peace is earned. His passing should now remind us that it must also be defended, daily and together.
Let Katsina, and every state bleeding under violence, feel the renewed weight of a united national response.
To the President and the service chiefs: act with urgency. To Nigerians: cooperate without reservation. The general’s final message is not his alone. It belongs to all of us. The time to answer it is now.
The nation is truly in a mourning mood — Adieu, Major General late Rabe Abubakar, Rtd.
May his soul, and the souls of all other Nigerians lost to the hands of kidnappers and bandits, rest in perfect peace.
Adamu Aminu writes from Kano.