NORTHERN NIGERIA: A REGION RICH IN LEADERS, BUT POOR IN COLLECTIVE ACTION
By Bala Salihu Dawakin KuduColumnist and Public Affairs Commentator, Democracy Newsline, Abuja
August 9th, 2026
There comes a time when a society must move beyond asking “Who is to blame?” and begin asking the harder question: “What are we collectively doing to change our situation?”
The region has never lacked influential leaders. It has produced presidents, vice presidents, governors, senators, ministers, generals, diplomats, businessmen, academics, traditional rulers and religious scholars. Yet millions of Northerners continue to confront insecurity, poverty, unemployment, displacement, weak education and shrinking economic opportunities.
- Advertisement -
The problem is not the absence of talent or influence. The North has people, institutions, resources, agricultural potential, commercial centres, universities and a large youthful population. What it has struggled to build is a durable mechanism for turning these assets into coordinated regional action.
A governor naturally focuses on his state. A senator represents his constituency. A businessman protects his enterprise. A traditional ruler serves his domain. A religious leader guides his followers. But who is consistently thinking about Northern Nigeria ten, twenty or thirty years from now?
Who is coordinating a regional response to insecurity? Who is developing a common human-capital strategy? Who is planning how agriculture, manufacturing, technology, mining and trade can generate jobs on a scale that matches the region’s population?
These questions cannot be answered by another conference or another speech about unity. They require institutions, measurable targets and sustained cooperation.
Political competition is part of democracy. But when political rivalry becomes permanent hostility, the public pays the price.
Bandits do not ask whether their victims support the APC or PDP. Kidnappers do not check political affiliation. Poverty does not stop at a state boundary. A hungry child does not care which political faction controls a local government.
Northern leaders should therefore be able to disagree politically while cooperating on security, education, infrastructure and economic development. Criticism should not be treated as betrayal, and demanding better governance should not be mistaken for opposition to government.
The North needs leaders who can tell those in power uncomfortable truths: this policy is failing; this community is suffering; this school is not working; citizens are not adequately protected; government must do better.
Northern Nigeria is diverse. Its ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural differences must be respected. But diversity should never become an excuse for indifference.
Insecurity in one state can disrupt trade, agriculture and movement across several others. The displacement of farmers affects food production and markets. Attacks on schools damage human capital. Unsafe roads weaken commerce and discourage investment.
Criminal networks often exploit boundaries between jurisdictions. Governments and institutions must therefore cooperate across those same boundaries.
Security remains fundamental, but military operations alone cannot resolve a crisis rooted partly in poverty, weak institutions, unemployment and social vulnerability. Development and security must be pursued together.
If Northern leaders are looking for the most important long-term investment, they should look first at education.
Education is not merely a social service. It is an economic strategy, a security strategy and a poverty-reduction strategy.
The North needs competent teachers, better teacher training, functional technical and vocational education, digital skills, scholarships for disadvantaged children, stronger universities and sustained rehabilitation of schools affected by conflict.
The greatest security programme the region can build may ultimately be a generation of educated, skilled and economically productive young people.
Agriculture deserves the same urgency. The North possesses enormous agricultural potential, but production must move beyond subsistence. Irrigation, storage, rural roads, agricultural finance, modern inputs, processing facilities and dependable markets are essential.
The objective should be simple: produce more, process more and retain more value within the region.
The experience of states such as Borno, Kano, Kaduna and¢ Zamfara demonstrates that individual leadership matters—but individuals alone cannot permanently solve structural problems.
Borno’s long struggle with insurgency shows the importance of institutions that can survive individual political careers. Kano’s historic commercial and intellectual influence should be directed toward industrialisation, education, technology and economic competitiveness. Kaduna’s political and administrative importance must translate into a stronger contemporary development legacy. Zamfara’s security crisis demands sustained attention to the protection of citizens and the restoration of normal economic life.
The North-Central must also remain central to the conversation. Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Niger, Kogi and Kwara have distinct identities and histories, but they share many challenges, including insecurity, agricultural disruption, unemployment and infrastructure deficits.
No Nigerian life should become less valuable because of ethnicity, religion, geography or political affiliation.
Perhaps the most damaging political habit is the belief that one powerful individual will eventually rescue the region.
A credible, non-partisan Northern development framework could bring together governors, legislators, traditional institutions, business leaders, academics, religious scholars, civil society, security professionals, women and young people.
Its purpose should not be patronage or the manufacture of political candidates. Its purpose should be measurable development.
Set ten-year targets. Set twenty-year targets. Measure school enrolment and learning outcomes. Measure employment, agricultural productivity, investment and security. Publish the results. Let citizens know who is delivering and who is failing.
Its businessmen must ask how much of their wealth is being invested in the future of Northern children. Its intellectuals must be prepared to speak truth to power. Its religious and traditional leaders must deploy their influence for peace, education and responsible citizenship. Its journalists must continue to hold power accountable without becoming instruments of political factions.
Citizens, too, must reject the habit of celebrating failure simply because the failed leader belongs to their party, community or ethnic group.
The verdict on leadership should ultimately be measured in the lives of ordinary people.
Are they safer?Are their children better educated?Are there more jobs?Are businesses growing?Are families more prosperous and hopeful?
Bala Salihu Dawakin Kudu Columnist/Public Affairs Commentator, Democracy Newsline, Abuja 08060017934
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER 9TH AUGUST, 2026)
