60yrs After Sardauna: Northern leaders, groups decry governance decline

Northern leaders, groups decry

…Plans April convention to tackle insecurity, shape future Northern leaders and civic groups have raised alarm over what they describe as a steady decline in leadership quality, governance standards and social cohesion in Northern Nigeria, 60 years after the assassination of Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto. The concerns were jointly expressed on Thursday in Kaduna by a coalition of Northern organisations, including the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Arewa House and several others, alongside a similar announcement on Friday in…

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Insecurity: “North running out of time” – Region’s leaders raise alarm in Kaduna

Northern leaders meeting

…Govs., Sultan unite on State Police Northern political and traditional leaders yesterday held a high-stakes emergency security summit in Kaduna, issuing their strongest collective warning yet that the North risks “losing its future” to escalating insecurity, deepening poverty and social collapse unless urgent, coordinated action is taken. The joint meeting of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and the Northern Traditional Rulers Council brought together the 19 governors of the region, led by Forum Chairman and Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya; traditional rulers, led by the Sultan of…

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ACF@25: Northern leaders, Afenifere demand urgent national unity to confront deepening insecurity 

ACF@25 conference

Northern leaders, converging in Kaduna for the climax of the 25th Anniversary of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), yesterday issued a stark warning that the North must urgently rebuild its unity to confront escalating insecurity.  This call was dramatically amplified by Southern Nigerian statesman, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, leader of the Yoruba socio-cultural group Afenifere, who declared the current level of violence is the worst the Nigerian State has experienced since independence in 1960. Kaduna State governor, Senator Uba Sani, represented by his Deputy Hadiza Balarabe, reaffirmed the state’s commitment to…

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2027: Northern leaders meet Afenifere, back Tinubu’s re-election

Northern leaders meet Afenifere

Some leaders from the northern part of the country yesterday visited the leadership of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, to declare their collaboration with the South-West region in supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027. The northern leaders, under the aegis of the ‘Arewa Think Tank”, said they were impressed with the mid-term scorecard of the president, hence the move to support him to run for a second-term. The convener of the group, Muhammad Yakubu, led the team from the North to visit leaders of Afenifere at the residence of…

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Northern leaders meet in Kaduna for region’s unity, economy

Northern leaders meet

Leaders from the 19 Northern states and Abuja, at the weekend, converged on Kaduna to chart a new course for the region’s unity, institutional strength, and economic revitalisation. Speaking at the Unity and Development Summit held at Arewa House, Kaduna, former Zamfara State governor and Senator, AbdulAziz Yari, urged leaders, elders, and youths across the region to close ranks and pursue a shared vision anchored on unity, strengthened traditional institutions, inclusive education, and economic resilience. Yari, who chaired the summit, said the region’s longstanding challenges, ranging from insecurity to youth…

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North’s Poor Devt. Indices: “Take responsibility, collectively come-up with prompt solution to address challenges” – Gov. Uba Sani urges Northern leaders

Gov. Uba Sani

Kaduna State governor, Uba Sani, has lamented that insecurity has retarded developments in critical sectors in the North, noting that the region faces an existential threat. Speaking when the leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), paid him a courtesy visit on Monday at the Government House, Kaduna, the governor lamented that poverty and insecurity were the biggest challenges facing the country, adding that the challenges remained the major sources of worry for political leaders in the country. Sanu said, It is clear that Northern Nigeria faces an existential threat.…

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Northern, South-West leaders urged to back Badagry-Sokoto Superhighway construction

Superhighway construction

A pro-democracy group, ‘The Democratic Front‘, has called on leaders in Nigerias Northern and South-West regions to rally behind the construction of the 1,000-kilometre Badagry-Sokoto Superhighway. TDF emphasised the project as a crucial catalyst for economic development, facilitating trade, and improving accessibility between the regions. The group advocating for socio-economic development in Nigeria, in an issued statement yesterday, signed by its Chairman, ?anjuma Muhammadu, and Secretary, Wale Adedayo, called on the 19 northern State governors and their counterparts in Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo states to rally support for the project…

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Economic Hardship strains relationship between Tinubu, Northern leaders

The once-strong alliance between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and influential Northern leaders faces turmoil amidst economic challenges. Northern figures, who observers say were pivotal in Tinubu’s rise to power, are grappling with public backlash due to the country’s economic downturn, especially in the impoverished North. Most of the northern leaders, especially the former State governors, who were instrumental to Tinubus emergence are finding it difficult to face their people on the rationale for such support, as the current economic hardship in the country has had crushing effect on the north,…

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Northern leaders launch Abuja Roundtable to tackle insecurity

In an effort to confront the challenges confronting northern Nigeria especially insecurity, some eminent sons and daughters of the region, have founded Abuja Roundtable, an independent, non-partisan, Non-Governmental Organisation, (NGO), to address the ever-evolving challenges facing the region. Disclosing this yesterday, at the initiatives maiden in Abuja, a former presidential candidate, Bashir Tofa, lamented that the state of insecurity across Nigeria is worrisome, adding that in Northern Nigeria, it has reached existential proportions, threatening to render the region hostile to civilised existence. Tofa, who spoke on behalf of the Initiative,…

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