As Northern Leaders Unveil Fresh Blueprint on Insecurity

How the governors of the 19 northern states and traditional rulers will implement the resolutions reached at their meeting in Kaduna recently will reveal their commitment to addressing the insecurity ravaging the region, Davidson Iriekpen writes 

 Afew months after they gathered in Kaduna for a meeting on the security situation in their region, the governors of the 19 states in the North met again recently to discuss solutions to the widening crisis.

The meeting also had traditional rulers led by the Sultan of Sokoto and Chairman of the Northern Traditional Rulers Council, Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar II, in attendance.

The leaders discussed how to tackle the worsening insecurity situation and other socioeconomic challenges affecting the region. They conducted a comprehensive assessment of the problem and proffered sustainable solutions which, if implemented, would go a long way in addressing the insecurity ravaging the region.

For over a decade, the northern region has been grappling with heightened security threats – ranging from killings, banditry, insurgency and kidnapping.

Different groups of terrorists are simultaneously running amok, putting the entire region under siege.

To many in the region, the situation is dire. Killings and kidnappings have surged, unsettling citizens and raising serious questions about the effectiveness of national security frameworks.

Over the years, what used to be episodic attacks have evolved into a sustained campaign of abductions, village raids and highway banditry that expose deep cracks in the country’s ability to protect its people.

The bandits have since extended their atrocities to the southern parts of the country, unsettling everyone.

Across the region, and some southern parts of the country, travellers avoid certain routes, farmers abandon their farmlands, and families adjust their routines around the unpredictability of violence. 

In the Middle Belt, attackers strike quickly, vanish into unmapped forests, and resurface in another location days later. Communities are left grieving while government assurances rarely transform into long-term relief.

Not only has insecurity devastated the region, it has also spread wide-scale poverty and hunger as farmers no longer go to their farms, which is the primary source of their livelihood.

The situation has also seriously affected education, further increasing the number of out-of-school children and spreading mass illiteracy.

The insecurity in the north has spread to the southern region, further putting the entire country on edge.

Confronted by these challenges, the leaders, in unison, agreed that only a joint action could halt violence.

The Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, Governor Inuwa Yahaya, said the security challenges confronting the north are multifaceted and affect both Muslims and Christians.

According to him, the present security situation in the north requires that leaders of the region unite and collectively address the key drivers of insecurity, such as underdevelopment and illiteracy, just as he cautioned against promoting divisive and one-sided narratives that undermine national cohesion, entrench divisions, and ultimately harm their collective efforts to tackle the challenges.

“To return northern Nigeria to the path of stability and prosperity, we must work together, hand in hand, to confront these challenges by investing massively in human capital development, critical infrastructure, and socioeconomic opportunities. In this light, we placed the issues of Almajiri and out-of-school children at the forefront of our agenda today.

“My dear colleagues, the reality of millions of our northern children roaming the streets instead of being in classrooms is not only unacceptable but also a stain on our collective conscience. We must move beyond rhetoric and take decisive and coordinated actions to put every child in school and equip them with the knowledge and skills required to achieve their God-given potential.

 “Our challenges are local, and their solutions, to a large extent, lie in this hall (the political and traditional leaders of northern Nigeria). I therefore call on all of us to engage in today’s discussions with the seriousness it demands. We must create local solutions to address our local problems.”

At the end of the meeting, the governors announced far-reaching resolutions issued in a communiqué. It includes their commitment to unity, stability, and the collective development of the region, as well as a pledge of renewed support for actions taken by President Bola Tinubu to intensify military operations against insurgents and criminal elements in their hideouts. They hailed the sacrifices of the security personnel engaged in counter-insurgency operations nationwide.

In one of its major resolutions, the forum reiterated full support for the establishment of the State Police. It urged federal and state lawmakers from the region to fast-track the legislative process required to actualise it.

The governors also identified illegal mining as a key driver of insecurity and recommended that the president direct the Minister of Solid Minerals to suspend mining activities for six months. The suspension, they said, would allow for a comprehensive audit and revalidation of all mining licences in consultation with state governments.

As part of broader security reforms, it approved the creation of a Regional Security Trust Fund. Each state and its local governments will contribute N1 billion monthly to be deducted at source under an agreed framework to strengthen security operations across the North.

On his part, the Sultan, who led the traditional leaders, called on the region’s governors to listen more attentively to their critics and to use constructive feedback to strengthen governance across the north.

He also called for more frequent engagement between governors and traditional leaders across the three geopolitical zones, proposing structured meetings to harmonise decisions affecting the north.

One important aspect the leaders left out during the meeting is their commitment to the swift prosecution of kidnappers, bandits and terror suspects as part of efforts to curb the escalating insecurity across their states.

If the perpetrators of violence are prosecuted for their actions, it will serve as a deterrent to others.

Notwithstanding, the governors’ meeting was good. For too long, they left the security of the people in the hands of the federal government, as if it were not their responsibility to protect the lives of citizens. Now that they have resolved to take action, they must be strategic, and their plans must be detailed and sustained.

A weakened public trust can only be rebuilt through visible, sustained action. Citizens want coordinated operations, not conflicting statements. 

The current moment calls for serious actions. What the country faces requires a recalibration of its security priorities. Intelligence must take precedence over brute force. Communities need to be integrated into early-warning mechanisms. Technology – especially aerial surveillance, communication tracking, and real-time mapping of forest corridors – must shift from policy statements to operational deployment.

The states must also be allowed clearer, legally backed roles in security management, as the current centralised structure is no longer sufficient to address a crisis spread across vast territories.

With this renewed determination, Nigerians are eagerly waiting to see how the governors’ deliberations will be implemented to restore peace and development to the region.