By Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Omirhobo
The attention of the public has been drawn to the communique issued by the 19 Northern Governors and the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council after their emergency meeting in Kaduna, where they called for a six-month suspension of mining activities, a ₦1 billion monthly regional security fund, and full support for state police.
While these resolutions appear bold on the surface, Nigerians must not forget the historical truth: The very same Northern political, religious, and traditional elites who now claim to be searching for solutions are the ones who created, nurtured, defended, and protected the insecurity consuming Nigeria today.
1. Northern leaders legitimized and romanticized bandits for years, influential Northern politicians, clerics, and community leaders openly described bandits as: “Freedom fighters” “Peacemakers” Individuals to be negotiated with, compensated, and granted amnesty Some even provided them moral justification and political cover. They refused to label them as terrorists, preferring weak euphemisms like “misguided youths.” Today those same leaders now want Nigerians to believe they are “suddenly” ready to confront the monsters they created?
2. They institutionalized the Sharia criminal justice system and weakened the Constitution The instability we face today did not start today. For over two decades, Northern elites: Propagated, implemented, and institutionalized the Sharia criminal justice system in 12 states Created a dual, unequal legal regime within a supposed secular republic Undermined national cohesion Inspired radicalization and parallel loyalty structures This deliberate political project fractured national unity and laid the foundation for today’s extremism and lawlessness.
3. They weaponized poverty and refused to educate their children Northern leaders also: Refused to prioritize basic education Allowed millions of out-of-school children, the highest in the world Weaponized poverty as a political tool Allowed ignorance, hunger, and unemployment to create the perfect breeding ground for banditry Now the same leaders who deliberately engineered mass illiteracy suddenly want billions deducted “at source” every month to fight insecurity
4. Mining suspension is not new; it is merely convenient Illegal mining has funded banditry for years. Communities screamed. Experts warned. Security agencies reported it. Northern leaders ignored every alarm until their own political and economic interests came under threat. A six-month mining suspension is not a courageous move; it is a late admission of complicity.
5. You cannot support State Police while empowering warlords The same elite who: Shielded terror financiers Negotiated with criminals Paid ransom under the table Released arrested bandits “to maintain peace “are now calling for State Police? If established without strict checks, state police in the hands of governors who cannot even manage education, transparency, or local government autonomy may become: Instruments of ethnic domination Tools for political thuggery Paramilitary wings for entrenched interests “Legalized banditry” under state authority
6. Real solutions require honesty, not propaganda If Northern leaders are serious about ending insecurity, they must first admit: “We caused this.” They must also undo their past mistakes: Dismantle ideological support for banditry End selective justice Reinforce constitutional supremacy over Sharia criminal law Mandate compulsory education for all children Punish terror financiers Stop shielding extremist clerics and warlords Empower communities instead of silencing them Until then, no communique or ₦1 billion deduction can rescue the North from the fire its leaders ignited.
Northern Nigeria’s insecurity is not an accident. It is the direct product of decades of elite decisions, ideological extremism, political hypocrisy, and social engineering. The same hands that fertilized the soil of banditry cannot pretend to be the gardeners of peace today. Nigeria must refuse to be deceived again.
