Nigeria’s Northern Governors have said the region Is on the brink of losing its future to escalating insecurity and deepening poverty unless leaders take urgent and decisive action.
Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, NSGF, and
Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya, stated this on Monday during a joint
meeting of the Forum and the Northern Traditional Rulers Council in Kaduna.
The Northern States Governors’ Forum and Northern
Traditional Leaders Council were in an emergency meeting at Sir Kashim Ibrahim
House, Kaduna, amid escalating security concerns across the region.
The Forum’s Chairman said the North is today confronted with
the grim reality of insecurity and poverty that seeks to undermine our very
existence.
The two-day meeting, held at the Kaduna State Government
House, drew 19 governors, traditional rulers, security chiefs and civil society
representatives in what Is described as a final push for a coordinated response
to terrorism, banditry and social decay in the region.
According to the Gombe state governor, future generations
would judge today’s leaders not by the number of projects they commission, but
by whether they are able to bequeath to them a Northern Nigeria they can truly
call home.
He, however, commended President Bola Tinubu for his ‘strong
leadership and steadfast commitment to Nigeria’s security, sovereignty and
territorial integrity,’ particularly in the rescue efforts for abducted
schoolchildren.
The governor extended condolences to families of pupils
abducted in Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Kano, Niger and Sokoto states, as well as
victims of recent Boko Haram attacks in Borno and Yobe. He insisted that
attacks on education, “the bedrock of our children’s future” are an assault on
the region’s destiny.
Yahaya, while warning that insecurity spares no one, poor or
rich, Muslim or Christian, called for an end to partisan bickering and a united
stand to ensure the very survival of the north and Nigeria at large.
“We reject divisive narratives. The crisis is driven not
only by crime but also by underdevelopment, illiteracy, poor resource
management, climate change and the abandonment of millions of Almajiri and
out-of-school children,” he said.
Topping the agenda was a renewed call for the establishment
of state police. Reaffirming the May 10, 2025, communique of the NSGF, the
governors said state policing remains “a critical and effective mechanism” to
address today’s security challenges and urged the National Assembly to
fast-track constitutional amendments required to make it a reality.
Traditional rulers were tasked to deploy their influence as
“stabilizers,” while religious leaders were urged to preach tolerance and avoid
incendiary rhetoric. Political leaders, the forum warned, must desist from
exploiting ethnic or religious differences for political gains.
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