Northern governors on Monday issued a grave caution that the region could lose its future to rising insecurity and worsening poverty if leaders fail to act swiftly and decisively.
Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Gombe State governor, Muhammadu Yahaya, delivered the warning during a joint gathering of the Forum and the Northern Traditional Rulers Council in Kaduna.
Yahaya said the North now faces “the grim reality of insecurity and poverty that seeks to undermine our very existence,” stressing that the situation demands an urgent and united response.
The two-day assembly, hosted at the Kaduna State Government House, brought together 19 governors, traditional rulers, security leaders, and civil society groups in what participants described as a final, coordinated push to confront terrorism, banditry, and deepening social decline across the region.
Governor Yahaya said leaders will not be remembered for the number of projects they inaugurate, but for whether they manage to “bequeath to them a Northern Nigeria they can truly call home,” referring to future generations that depend on today’s decisions.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for what he called “strong leadership and steadfast commitment to Nigeria’s security, sovereignty and territorial integrity,” noting especially the federal rescue efforts for kidnapped schoolchildren.
The governor extended sympathy to the families of abducted pupils in Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Kano, Niger and Sokoto states, as well as to victims of recent Boko Haram assaults in Borno and Yobe. He said that attacks targeting education—“the bedrock of our children’s future”—represent an attack on the destiny of the region.
Cautioning that insecurity “spares no one—poor or rich, Muslim or Christian,” Yahaya urged northern leaders to end political rivalry and unite behind a common resolve to “ensure the very survival of the north and Nigeria at large.”
He also appealed for the rejection of divisive rhetoric, arguing that the situation is driven not only by criminality but also by years of underdevelopment, illiteracy, inadequate resource management, climate pressures and the abandonment of millions of Almajiri and out-of-school children.
A key focus of the meeting was the growing demand for the creation of state police. Reaffirming the NSGF’s May 10, 2025 communique, the governors maintained that state policing remains “a critical and effective mechanism” for confronting present-day security threats and urged the National Assembly to expedite the constitutional amendments required to establish it.
Traditional rulers were encouraged to apply their influence as “stabilizers,” while religious leaders were advised to promote tolerance and avoid provocative messages. The Forum also warned political actors to refrain from manipulating ethnic or religious differences for personal or political advantage.
Security agencies were encouraged to uphold active surveillance and rapid responses, and the judiciary was urged to ensure timely criminal justice processes.
In a collective declaration, the governors pledged close collaboration with the Federal Government under President Tinubu “to turn the tide and ensure lasting peace and stability for our region and the nation at large.”
What you should know
The Northern Governors’ Forum is raising its strongest alarm yet as insecurity, poverty and systemic neglect threaten the region’s stability.
Their unified call for state police, deeper collaboration with the Federal Government and the involvement of traditional and religious leaders highlights the urgency of reversing a decline that could define the North’s future.
