By Musa Bakare
The statement by former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, that the North must put its house in order to end insecurity is not just a political comment, it is a bitter truth spoken at a critical moment in Nigeria’s history.
For far too long, Northern Nigeria has bled under the weight of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and the mass slaughter of innocent citizens. Villages have been wiped out. Farmers have abandoned their lands. Schools have closed. Communities now sleep with one eye open while criminals roam freely with weapons of war.
Yet, instead of sincere introspection and collective responsibility, what we often witness is a dangerous culture of scapegoating, blame-shifting, political hypocrisy, and empty rhetoric.
The time has come for Northern leaders, governors, emirs, elders, traditional rulers, political elites, religious leaders, and influential stakeholders to come together genuinely and confront the monster threatening the survival of the region. The North cannot continue pointing fingers at everybody else while refusing to confront the internal failures that helped create this nightmare.
No serious society defeats insecurity through denial. No region overcomes terrorism through the politics of blame. No community survives when leaders speak more about who to accuse than what to solve.
The painful reality is that Boko Haram, banditry, and violent extremism did not grow overnight. They fed on years of poverty, illiteracy, youth abandonment, weak governance, elite selfishness, porous borders, and the dangerous manipulation of religion and ethnicity for political advantage.
Millions of young people were left without quality education, jobs, opportunities, or hope. In many places, the government disappeared while criminal networks filled the vacuum. Weapons replaced wisdom. Fear replaced peace. Extremists replaced responsible authority.
This is why Northern leaders must stop pretending that insecurity is always somebody else’s fault. Every tragedy cannot endlessly be blamed on Abuja, political opponents, or foreign conspiracies while local realities are ignored. Leadership demands courage, honesty, and responsibility.
The emirs must rise beyond ceremonial appearances and become stronger voices for peace, accountability, and community vigilance. Northern governors must stop treating insecurity as a seasonal press conference issue and begin serious regional collaboration on intelligence sharing, border monitoring, education, youth empowerment, and rural development. Elders must stop playing politics with bloodshed. Religious leaders must preach unity, moderation, and peace instead of fueling division and extremism.
Enough of the politics of excuses. Enough of selective outrage. Enough of turning mass graves into political debates.
The North once stood as a pillar of discipline, commerce, scholarship, agriculture, and national influence. Today, insecurity is gradually destroying that proud legacy. Investors are afraid. Citizens are fleeing. Entire communities are trapped between poverty and violence.
This is no longer the time for silence or cosmetic solutions. The North must unite today to save itself. Not tomorrow. Now.
And let it be clearly understood: ending insecurity is not the responsibility of the Federal Government alone. Communities must reject informants who collaborate with terrorists. Politicians must stop empowering armed groups during elections. Citizens must stop protecting criminals because of tribe, religion, or political loyalty.
A society that excuses violence today will eventually become its victim tomorrow.
Sule Lamido’s warning must therefore not be ignored. It should awaken the conscience of the North. The region must abandon the culture of blame and embrace the courage of responsibility.
Because no meaningful development can happen where fear governs the land. No civilization survives when innocent blood becomes cheap. And no region can rise when its leaders refuse to confront the truth staring them in the face.
– Musa Asiru Bakare, a political analyst, writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
