By Faruk Ahmed

We read the headlines and look away. We hear the stories and change the subject. We have become numb to the unthinkable.

But we must not look away from this: bandits in Nigeria have moved beyond kidnapping and killing. They now barbecue and eat the corpses of their victims.

Let that reality sink in.

Will you wait until they consume the flesh of your brother, your sister, your child—before you accept that this is not just a "security problem," but a profound descent into hell?

You might ask, “How did we get here?” The answer is not just in the bush; it is in the bank.

The weapons that slaughter Nigerians are not forged in distant lands. They are sold from our own armouries by our own protectors.

Operation Hadin Kai recently arrested 15 policemen and 18 soldiers for selling weapons to terrorists. An armourer had ₦45 million in his account. A police inspector had ₦135 million flowing through his account. A soldier had ₦34 million. Another officer in Katsina was killing his own colleagues to steal and sell their rifles.

Why? Greed? Poor pay? Yes. But that is only half the truth.

The full, rotting truth is captured in the old proverb: “A fish rots from the head down.”

These low-ranking personnel are mere conduits. They are small pipes in a vast, corrupt plumbing system that floods our country with violence. The real architects sit in comfort, their pockets heavy with money meant for bullets, armoured vehicles, and soldiers’ salaries.

Think of the wife of a former Chief of Army Staff, famously buying land and building mosques. A noble act, yes—but funded by what? A soldier’s salary? We all know the answer. We all whisper about it. It is time to stop whispering.

This is how the vicious cycle works:

1. Corrupt officials at the top steal funds meant for security, leaving soldiers underpaid, underequipped, and desperate.

2. The resulting insecurity justifies massive, secretive "security votes" for state governors—a honey pot of billions of naira with no oversight.

3. This secret cash is used for everything but security: political thugs, patronage, and outright theft. Some of these thugs are the very criminals terrorising us.

4. The more violent a state becomes, the more security votes it requests, and the more politicians steal. They have no incentive for the violence to end.

We are not just being terrorised. We are being farmed. Our pain is their profit.

But we can sever this umbilical cord feeding the monster.

We cannot outgun them, but we can outsmart them. We can cut off the money.

This is why the #FixNaijaTop3 movement, a coalition of Nigerian citizens, created the #PassThePROACTIVEBill petition.

The Public Resources Oversight and Accountability for Countering Terrorism, Insurgency, and Violence (PROACTIVE) Bill is a surgical strike at the financial heart of this crisis. It demands:

1. Total Transparency: Every naira of "security votes" must be published online quarterly—every payment, every recipient, every purpose. No more secrets.

2. Open Contracts: All government contracts must be published from start to finish, ending inflated deals for cronies.

3. Independent Audits: A committee of citizens, auditors, and experts must have the power to investigate and enforce compliance.

This bill will ensure our soldiers are paid and equipped, and it will expose the traitors hiding in uniform and in government offices.

Your signature is not just a click. It is an act of defiance.

It is a declaration that you refuse to be farmed. You refuse to be eaten. You refuse to pay for the feast of your own destruction.

When we arrive at the National Assembly with 100,000 signatures, lawmakers will not be able to look away. We will force them to listen. We will force them to act.

Do not wait for the knock on your door. Do not wait for the unthinkable to become personal.

👉 SIGN THE PETITION NOW. Demand that our lawmakers #PassThePROACTIVEBill.

👉 SHARE THIS STORY. Tag everyone you know. Flood social media with the truth.

The road to a safer Nigeria does not begin with a bullet. It begins with your signature.

➡️ SIGN HERE: https://www.change.org/end-secret-security-votes

#PassThePROACTIVEBill #FixNaijaTop3 #SecurityVotes #EndInsecurity

Ahmed is the Lead Catalyst of the #FixNaijaTop3 campaign