Northern States Govs
Bolatito Mercy
The Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has called for a complete overhaul of how the North tackles insecurity. Speaking on Monday at the Northern Traditional Rulers Council meeting in Dutse, Jigawa State, he said the region has reached a point where “silence, hesitation and routine responses are no longer acceptable”. The forum declared that worsening banditry, insurgency, farmer-herder clashes and communal violence can no longer be addressed with meetings and communiqués that are never implemented.
Governor Yahaya’s message was blunt: “Enough of meetings that do not produce results. Enough of communiqués that are not implemented. Enough of promises that are not followed by action”. He argued that the old methods have failed and that leaders must now act with the seriousness the crisis demands. The theme of the Dutse meeting was “Peace, Unity and Development of Northern Nigeria,” and Yahaya stressed that without security there can be no unity, and without both, there can be no development.
The governor linked the security crisis to decades of socio-economic neglect. He noted that about 86 million people in Northern Nigeria live in multidimensional poverty, while the majority of Nigeria’s out-of-school children are concentrated in the region. Poverty, illiteracy and youth unemployment, he said, have created fertile ground for criminal networks and violent extremist groups to recruit vulnerable youths.
To reverse the trend, Yahaya advocated comprehensive reforms. These include establishing state police, increasing investment in education and skills acquisition, youth empowerment programmes, agricultural revitalisation, and enhanced support for security agencies. He also urged full implementation of local government autonomy, arguing that autonomous LGs could invest in grassroots development and support policing with logistics and infrastructure. Traditional rulers were described as “essential partners in security, unity and development,” with a charge to strengthen community vigilance and grassroots intelligence gathering.
The security situation has displaced entire communities, forced farmers to abandon farmlands, shut down markets and schools, and left millions living in constant fear. Yahaya cited the killing of retired Major-General Rabe Abubakar by bandits in Katsina as proof that “no one is safe until everyone is safe”. He warned that persistent insecurity is eroding social cohesion and economic progress across the North.
Other voices at the meeting reinforced the urgency. Jigawa Governor Umar Namadi listed insecurity, poverty, youth unemployment, climate pressures, drug abuse, declining social values and farmer-herder conflicts as core challenges. The IGP, Tunji Rilwan Disu, reaffirmed police commitment to combating crime, while former Army Chief Tukur Buratai proposed a National Emergency Command reporting directly to the President to dismantle terrorist and bandit strongholds.
The NSGF’s position builds on earlier resolutions. In May 2026, northern governors had already backed state police and called for a six-month suspension of mining to audit licenses, saying illegal mining fuels armed groups. They also agreed to create a regional Security Trust Fund, with each state and its LGs contributing ₦1bn monthly for joint operations. The current call from Governor Yahaya signals that the forum wants those plans moved from paper to action, insisting that leaders can no longer afford “silence, hesitation or unimplemented resolutions.
