North faced with existential threat, extreme poverty – Gombe gov

Northern governors and traditional rulers on Monday opened a crucial joint meeting in Kaduna, with insecurity, climate change and the alarming rise in Almajiri and out-of-school children dominating deliberations.

Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Governor of Gombe State, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, in a keynote address said that the region is confronted with an “existential threat” driven by terrorism, extreme poverty and worsening social vulnerabilities.

Gov Yahaya who disclosed this at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, venue of the Forum meeting said the recent abductions of schoolchildren in Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Kano, Niger and Sokoto states, alongside renewed Boko Haram attacks in Borno and Yobe, had once again exposed the fragility of security in the region.

While commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the swift rescue of some victims, he said that the North must never allow terrorists to dictate the future of education.

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According to him, “An attack on education is a direct assault on our future,” noting that terrorists target schools and farmlands to cripple the empowerment tools of the youth.

The governor said insecurity had morphed beyond localised banditry into a full-scale national emergency threatening the survival of the North and Nigeria as a whole. “This menace spares no one, the poor and the rich, Muslims and Christians, the young and the old,” he said.

He linked the escalating violence to deep-seated underdevelopment, illiteracy, lack of opportunities, and the intensifying effects of climate change, which are heightening conflicts over land and water resources.

Yahaya said this was why the forum placed the Almajiri and out-of-school children crisis top on its agenda, describing the situation as a “stain on our conscience.”

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He said the North must move beyond rhetoric and adopt coordinated actions to ensure every child is in school.

The NSGF chairman reaffirmed support for the establishment of state police, calling it a critical reform needed to tackle widespread insecurity.

He welcomed President Tinubu’s directive to the National Assembly to create the constitutional framework, urging lawmakers to accord the reform urgent priority.

He added that achieving sustainable peace would require synergy among political leaders, traditional institutions and religious authorities, stressing that traditional rulers must continue to play stabilising roles while religious leaders should promote tolerance.