It’s time for the leaders of the North to look inward

When news broke of the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Alhaji Isa Bawa, the Emir of Gobir in Sokoto State, a familiar shiver ran down the spine of Nigeria. For those closely following the security situation in the north, it was not just a headline. It was a festering wound that refuses to heal, a crisis that has become all too commonplace but remains as shocking and unacceptable as ever.

The assassination of a monarch is not just another statistic in the long list of victims. In the North, traditional rulers are more than figureheads; they are the living embodiments of cultural continuity and communal stability.

When bandits dare to attack such a symbolically important target, it sends shock waves through the entire social fabric. It makes people wonder: if even our monarchs are not safe, what hope is there for the rest of us?

But the death of the monarch, however significant, is just one thread in a tangle of violence that has unfolded in the North in recent weeks.

Let us look at the grim list of names: four farmers killed by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Borno; the killing of Governor Umar Dikko Radda’s liaison officer and his wife in Katsina, with another abducted wife; 13 farmers gunned down in Niger State, allegedly for collaborating with security forces. The list goes on, each incident more heartbreaking than the last.

I ask myself the same question that is on the lips of millions of northern Nigerians: how long can this go on? After every round of killings, we hear condemnations from the political leaders, and nothing is done until the next round of killings by bandits and terrorists. The frustration in the north is palpable and growing.

This brings me to a point I have been pondering for some time: the role of the Northern elites in addressing this crisis. They play a major role in taming the twin monsters of banditry and terrorism.

The region needs strong, visionary leaders now more than ever. Instead, we often see a cacophony of voices engaged in what I call “blamestorming” — pointing the finger at the federal government, at neighboring states, at foreign influence — everywhere but inward.

Don’t get me wrong; I understand the complexity of the security situation. The roots of this crisis are deep and intertwined with issues of poverty, education, environmental degradation and governance failure.

But understanding the problem is not enough. What the North needs now is action – decisive, coordinated and sustained action.

The solution to the North’s problems must come from within the North.

This is not to say that the federal government has no role to play. Of course it does. But northern leaders – political, religious and traditional – must take ownership of this crisis. They must go beyond expressions of grief and condemnation, beyond calls for more military intervention, and begin to address the root causes of insecurity in their backyards.

What might this look like in practice? First, it means investing heavily in education and economic development, and creating opportunities for the millions of young northerners who might otherwise be seduced by the false promises of extremist groups or criminal gangs. It means strengthening local governance structures and improving transparency to rebuild trust between communities and authorities.

It means that we must promote interfaith and interethnic dialogue to counter the narratives of division and hatred.

Most importantly, northern leaders must begin to work together across political, religious and ethnic lines. The security crisis does not discriminate between PDP and APC states, between Muslims and Christians, or between Hausa, Fulani and other ethnic groups. And the response should not either.

I am not naive enough to think that this will be easy. The challenges are enormous and vested interests will block change. But I also believe in the resilience and ingenuity of northern Nigerians.

It is time for leaders to rise up, to look beyond ethnic and political divisions and take ownership of the region’s destiny. The people of Northern Nigeria deserve nothing less than a return to peace, stability and prosperity.