"We Are Bleeding": Northern Youth Group Demands Tinubu Deploy Tantita's Security Model to Save the North

The Northern Youth Progressive Network (NYPN) has issued an urgent appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, calling for the immediate expansion of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Ltd's operations to Northern Nigeria describing its community-driven security approach as "peace that cannot wait."

In a press statement signed by its Chairman, Comrade Sunday Lawee, and released in Abuja on Thursday, the group lauded Tantita for engineering what it called a remarkable transformation in pipeline security across the Niger Delta.

According to NYPN, the scourge of crude oil theft had once pushed Nigeria's economy to the brink, with international oil companies fleeing and billions of naira vanishing through pipeline vandalism.

"Before Tantita, our oil pipelines were ATMs for criminals. Crude theft was a national embarrassment. Then came Tantita. In just months, the story changed. Oil theft crashed. Production soared. The creeks went from war zones to work zones," the statement declared.

The group attributed Tantita's achievements to a potent combination of "intelligence, cutting-edge technology, local knowledge, and respect for the people" distilling its formula as: Trust the locals. Pay the youths. Partner with the chiefs. Deliver results.

Quoting the Managing Director of Tantita Security Services, the group underscored the company's philosophy: "We don't protect the asset against the people we protect the asset with the people."

NYPN urged the President to replicate this proven model in the North, where it said banditry, insurgency, and kidnapping have turned farming, education, and commerce into daily struggles for survival.

"Sir, we respectfully but firmly urge you: Expand Tantita's mandate to Northern Nigeria. Now. The North is bleeding. Bandits tax our farmers before they harvest. Insurgents bomb our schools. Kidnappers auction our children. Highways have become death traps," Lawee stated.

The group argued that if Tantita could secure thousands of kilometers of pipelines across treacherous swampy terrain, it could equally help protect villages, forests, and farmlands in the North—especially when paired with traditional rulers, local vigilantes, hunters, and security agencies.

NYPN was careful to clarify that it was not calling for the dissolution of the Army, Police, or DSS, but rather for "strategic reinforcement" through enhanced collaboration.

"We are not asking you to disband the Army or Police. We are asking for strategic reinforcement. The same way Tantita backs the Navy and NSCDC in the South, let them back the Army, Police, and DSS in the North. Collaboration, not competition. Results, not rhetoric," it said.

The group also commended the GCEO of NNPC Ltd, the National Security Adviser, and the Chief of Defence Staff for their support of Tantita's operations.

NYPN concluded that Nigeria cannot afford "two standards of security" and that extending Tantita's mandate to the North would demonstrate that the President rewards competence and believes in homegrown Nigerian capacity.

"Mr. President, history is watching. Be the leader who deployed home-grown solutions without fear or favour. Expanding Tantita to the North will prove three things: that you reward competence, that you believe in Nigerian capacity, and that the North is not forgotten," the statement added.