‘Our Region Is At Breaking Point’ -Northern Governors Cry out-

Nigeria’s Northern Governors have said the region Is on thebrink of losing its future to escalating insecurity and deepening povertyunless leaders take urgent and decisive action. Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, NSGF, andGombe State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya, stated this on Monday during a jointmeeting of the Forum and the Northern Traditional Rulers Council in Kaduna. The Northern States Governors’ Forum and NorthernTraditional Leaders Council were in an emergency meeting at Sir Kashim IbrahimHouse, Kaduna, amid escalating security concerns across the region. The Forum’s Chairman said the North is today confronted withthe grim reality of insecurity and poverty that seeks to undermine our veryexistence. The two-day meeting, held at the Kaduna State GovernmentHouse, drew 19 governors, traditional rulers, security chiefs and civil societyrepresentatives in what Is described as a final push for a coordinated responseto terrorism, banditry and social decay in the region. According to the Gombe state governor, future generationswould judge today’s leaders not by the number of projects they commission, butby whether they are able to bequeath to them a Northern Nigeria they can trulycall home. He, however, commended President Bola Tinubu for his ‘strongleadership and steadfast commitment to Nigeria’s security, sovereignty andterritorial integrity,’ particularly in the rescue efforts for abductedschoolchildren. The governor extended condolences to families of pupilsabducted in Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Kano, Niger and Sokoto states, as well asvictims of recent Boko Haram attacks in Borno and Yobe. He insisted thatattacks on education, “the bedrock of our children’s future” are an assault onthe region’s destiny. Yahaya, while warning that insecurity spares no one, poor orrich, Muslim or Christian, called for an end to partisan bickering and a unitedstand to ensure the very survival of the north and Nigeria at large. “We reject divisive narratives. The crisis is driven notonly by crime but also by underdevelopment, illiteracy, poor resourcemanagement, climate change and the abandonment of millions of Almajiri andout-of-school children,” he said. Topping the agenda was a renewed call for the establishmentof state police. Reaffirming the May 10, 2025, communique of the NSGF, thegovernors said state policing remains “a critical and effective mechanism” toaddress today’s security challenges and urged the National Assembly tofast-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 avoidincendiary rhetoric. Political leaders, the forum warned, must desist fromexploiting ethnic or religious differences for political gains.

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