Northern leaders, comprising the Northern Governors’ Forum and traditional rulers, have expressed support for the fast implementation of state policing reform, citing it as a crucial tool for confronting the security concerns bedeviling the country.
The Northern leaders contend that Nigeria’s centralised policing model is no longer able to satisfy the needs of a country with more than 200 million citizens and a large amount of unregulated territory.
The Northern leaders issued a warning against spreading polarising and biassed narratives that erode national unity, deepen rifts, and ultimately hinder regional efforts to address security issues.
On Monday, Northern leaders convened an important conference in Kaduna State to discuss how to address the region’s growing insecurity and other socioeconomic issues.
The Northern leaders forum’s chairman, Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State, presided over the meeting, which was hosted by Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State. The region is currently dealing with increased security risks, such as banditry, kidnapping, farmer-herder disputes, and disruptions to economic activity.
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Governor Uba Sani stated in his welcome speech that the assembly highlights their will to take a cohesive stance in addressing the growing security and socioeconomic issues facing the north.
“The public conversation about insecurity in the north has become more complicated. A few voices driven by political motives have worked to create the impression that northern governors have grown complacent, nothing could be further from the truth. We know the weight of the mandate entrusted to us, we lead the urgency of every security threat and every developmental need.
“And we are fully aware that our people expect clarity, responsiveness and results. Every governor sitting here works tirelessly to secure our communities. We coordinate, compare strategies, share intelligence and hold one another accountable.
“We operate an informal effective peer review mechanism where no idea is too small to be tested and no successful intervention is too insignificant to be replicated. Kindly permit me to reiterate the imperative of state police.
“Nigeria’s centralised policing model can no longer meet the demands of a nation with over two hundred million people with vast ungoverned spaces. With fewer than four hundred thousand police officers nationwide, many rural communities are left without meaningful protection.
“Your excellencies, our region has gone far, we are dismantling new obstacles and building new pathways of cooperation and development. But the challenges remain; some inherited, some emerging, some shaped by global uncertainty. What matters now is that we face them together, with clarity and determination.”
Multifaceted security challenge
Speaking during the Northern leaders conference, the head of the Governors’ forum, Governor Yahaya, said the security concerns confronting the north are multidimensional and affect both Muslims and Christians.
He applauded the strong efforts taken by President Bola Tinubu to secure the nation, especially in the face of heightened international pressure.
“At this critical moment, we express our strong and unflinching support to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We commend the decisive efforts he is taking to secure our nation, especially in the face of heightened international pressure.
“While we welcome constructive international cooperation in tackling our security challenges, such help must be offered in a manner that preserves Nigeria’s territorial integrity, dignity and sovereignty, while acknowledging our complexities.
“The security challenges we are facing are multifaceted. Our people, Muslims and Christians alike, continue to suffer from these acts of terror and criminality. Members of our armed forces, drawn from every tribe and faith, have paid the supreme price and are working tirelessly to defeat our common enemies and protect our communities.
“We must, therefore, resist the urge to promote simplistic, divisive, and one-sided narratives that undermine national cohesion, entrench divisions, and ultimately harm our collective efforts. The objective of our enemies is to sow discord and distrust amongst us; we must not allow them to win.
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“While we confront these threats, we must acknowledge that they do not exist in a vacuum. As leaders, we must take full responsibility. The roots of these crises lie in the deep-seated problems of underdevelopment, illiteracy, crippling lack of opportunities, as well as the pressing challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, and poor resource management. These factors exacerbate existing tensions, fuel conflicts over dwindling resources, and deprive our rural communities of their very livelihood.”
‘Northern leaders must unite’
Governor Yahaya also added that the present security situation in the north requires that the northern leaders must unite and collectively address the key drivers of insecurity such as underdevelopment and illiteracy, just as he cautions against promoting divisive and one-sided narratives that undermine national cohesion, entrench divisions and ultimately harm their collective efforts to tackle the challenges.
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