Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Monday warned that the erosion of family values is fuelling 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, said families must reclaim their role as the foundation of society.
On the theme “Family and National Security”, the First Lady noted that many parents, in the struggle to survive, have abandoned their primary duty of raising children, leaving them vulnerable to cultism, drug abuse, prostitution, and extremist ideologies.
“This parental absence creates a void which often gets filled by bad company and destructive behaviour. The outcome is not only catastrophic for families but also dangerous for national security,” she warned.
According to her, the family remains the bedrock of society, where Nigerians of different tribes, religions, and traditions first learn values of love, respect, sacrifice, and duty. “A strong family builds a strong nation,” she stressed.
As Special Guest of Honour, Mrs. Tinubu also underscored the role of religion in strengthening morals and unity, urging religious and traditional leaders to intensify efforts in teaching young people the right principles of faith and reinforcing positive values.
She assured that President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda was committed to supporting families, citing the scaled-up Conditional Cash Transfer programme, which will deliver N25,000 in three tranches to 15 million vulnerable households.
She also pledged that her Renewed Hope Initiative would continue to complement government interventions to uplift families and promote stability.
“I urge us all to go forward from Exercise Haske Biyu stronger, more united and mindful of why we serve: for family, for love of country, and for a more secure tomorrow,” she said while declaring the three-week training exercise open.
Also speaking at the event, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, stressed the centrality of family values to Nigeria’s peace and security.
“The smallest yet most important building block of society is the family. Weak families produce weak communities while strong families sustain peaceful and resilient nations,” the Sultan said.
He stressed that most values shaping security culture are acquired in childhood within the family, long before schools or other institutions exert influence. “The world has not and will never invent anything to replace the family,” he declared.
Recalling the Sokoto Caliphate, the Sultan cited Sheikh Abdullahi’s writings on child-rearing, which served as social policy, as proof that strong family values underpin governance and stability. He warned, however, that corruption, illicit wealth, and negative influences from technology and social media were eroding family discipline and exposing children to online dangers.
To address these, he advocated stronger marriage advisory councils, curriculum reforms to promote values, effective drug control, and tighter regulation of harmful digital content. He also urged the government to ensure no child is left out of school and to properly fund agencies tackling out-of-school children.
Delivering a paper on “Relationship Between Family Dynamics and National Security,” Bishop Kukah—represented by Rev. John Joseph Hayab, Chairman of CAN in the 19 northern states and the FCT—said socialisation and value formation begin at home.
“Many parents, due to several factors, are unable to raise their children to be responsible citizens,” Hayab observed, linking youth radicalisation to defective family upbringing.
He added that lack of access to formal education, disinterest in schooling, and the quest for quick wealth were fuelling youth unrest. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it,” he said, quoting Proverbs 22:6. “This timeless wisdom underscores the vital role of family in shaping character, values, and discipline.”
Earlier, Commandant of the AFCSC, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Idris Alhaji, described Exercise Haske Biyu as a bold, multi-agency initiative designed to sharpen responses to internal security and low-intensity conflicts.
Running from September 15 to October 3, the exercise brings together senior officers from security agencies, ministries, NGOs, media, and strategic partners to build synergy and develop practical solutions to contemporary threats.
Highlights include strategic lectures, operational planning drills, case studies, field demonstrations, and an interactive “Day in the Life of a Soldier” for civilian participants.
The Commandant expressed optimism that the exercise would strengthen inter-agency collaboration and generate actionable strategies for tackling insecurity in Nigeria.
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